Government Urged to Secure Continuity of PT AR's Operations in North Sumatra

JAKARTA, REPUBLIKA.CO.ID — President Prabowo Subianto has revoked the licences of 28 companies in the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra (Sumut), and West Sumatra (Sumbar) found to have violated forest rules, contributing to floods and landslides in November 2025. One of those affected is PT Agincourt Resources (PT AR).

The Chairman of the Indonesian Geologists Association (IAGI), STJ Budi Santoso, regards the application of good mining practice as the key to addressing the controversy surrounding PT AR’s operating system. The company has been operating in the Garoga River Basin (DAS Garoga), Batang Toru, North Sumatra.

According to Budi, expert assessments of the technical and environmental principles have been met. Therefore, the government is expected to provide clarity on the sustainability of the company’s operations.

“For the case in the Agincourt area or, more generally, in the Garoga DAS, I think the material is more than sufficient to explain what happened and the factors that influenced it. Mining activities in the Garoga DAS already meet all the principles previously stated,” Budi told reporters in Jakarta, on Thursday (5 March 2026).

Based on a geospatial forensics study of the Garoga DAS by Cenago ITB (Centre for Analysis and Applying Geospatial Information, Bandung Institute of Technology), the contribution of corporate activity to disasters is very insignificant compared with the extreme natural factors. The disaster occurred due to very high rainfall.

According to Cenago ITB’s geoscience-based forensic study, although there is apparent land-use change, the percentage of land-use change relative to the area of the DAS is very small. Among them, PT AGR’s contribution to the DAS is 1.6 percent, PT TBS 0.4 percent, and PT NSHE 0.02 percent.