Govt may ask for $700m from Newmont

Govt may ask for $700m from Newmont

JAKARTA: The government will possibly demand up to US$700
million in compensation from mining firm PT Newmont Minahasa Raya
in a civil suit it will file next week over alleged pollution to
Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi.

Sudarsono, deputy for legal affairs at the Office of the State
Minister for the Environment, said on Wednesday that the amount
was still an estimate based on previous environmental cases
involving mining operations.

The compensation, he added, was to cover existing and
potential damages Newmont could have caused during its operation
in Buyat Bay, such as water pollution, ecosystem destruction, and
economic impacts on local residents. --JP