Court dismisses civil suit against Newmont

Court dismisses civil suit against Newmont

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court dropped on Tuesday a US$133
million civil suit against mining company PT Newmont Minahasa
Raya (NMR), a local subsidiary of US-based Newmont.

The suit was in response to pollution allegations by NMR, but
the judges decided that they did not have jurisdiction to hear
the controversial case.

Presiding judge Sudarto stated that, according to the contract
between the Indonesian government and the mining firm, any
disputes arising between the two had to be resolved through
reconciliation and/or international arbitration.

NMR, a local subsidiary of the world's largest gold producer,
Newmont Mining Corp., has been accused of polluting Buyat Bay in
North Sulawesi through its waste disposal processing that
environmental activists claim released mercury and arsenic into
the bay and poisoned local villagers.

In a separate criminal case taking place in North Sulawesi, an
American executive is on trial, but that case is not affected by
the South Jakarta Court's decision. The criminal case is
currently being heard by the Manado District Court, with the
company's president director Richard Ness as the main defendant.

NMR shut down operations in September last year after deciding
that the mine was fully exploited.

Prosecutors in the civil suit said they would appeal Tuesday's
verdict.

"We can always appeal," prosecutor Purwani Utami said, adding
that she would consult the State Minister of the Environment
Rachmat Witoelar, whose office filed the suit.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post, however, Rachmat stated that he
had not been informed of the verdict and could not comment.

"I just arrived back from a trip. I'll have to get all the
information first," he said over the phone on Tuesday.

Prosecutors had previously insisted that the agreed upon
contract terms were only applicable in business disputes between
the two parties, but not for pollution.

Newmont hailed the court ruling. NMR spokesman Rubi Purnomo
said the firm was "pleased that the judges recognized and
enforced the government's commitment to us to resolve disputes
according to the agreed terms in the contract".

In a statement, Ness said the verdict was "good for the
investment climate" and was "fair".

NMR started operations in late 1996 after signing a working
contract with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The
company has persistently denied any wrongdoing and said its
disposal processes were properly approved by the government.

A government-sanctioned probe and a police examination, have
concluded that the bay was heavily polluted, but other
researchers, including the World Health Organization (WHO), have
concluded that the Bay was not polluted.