Govt to send team to check cyanide study on Newmont

Govt to send team to check cyanide study on Newmont

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government will send a team to take tailing samples from gold
mining firm Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) in Minahasa, North
Sulawesi, following a report that cyanide levels in the tailings
exceeded the government limit.

"We will conduct an independent test next month without any
funds from NMR," Imam Hendargo, deputy assistant in charge of
environmental impact management at the Office of the State
Minister for the Environment, said on Friday.

The team will charter a ship from the Agency for the
Assessment and Application of Technology to conduct the tests on
the Newmont tailings. The team will also coordinate with the
Regional Environmental Impact Management Agency for the tests.

"We have asked permission from NMR to conduct the test and the
company has welcomed it," Imam said.

Newmont and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi)
agreed on Wednesday to verify the results of a study by the
environmental group which stated that cyanide levels in the
company's tailings were above government-set levels, causing
health and environmental problems.

Walhi's study claimed that cyanide levels in the Newmont
tailings were four times higher than the government allowed
level.

Newmont insists its free cyanide is at 0.02 milligrams per
liter and weak acid dissociable cyanide at between 0.2 and 0.48
milligrams per liter, both below the government-allowed level of
0.5.

The company uses cyanide to extract gold from crushed ore.

Under Law No. 23/1997 on environmental management, a firm that
intentionally pollutes the environment can be given various
penalties, ranging from a seizure of profits to closure of the
company.

The government suspended the operation of PT Indorayon Inti
Utama in Porsea, North Sumatra, in 1998 due to allegations of
environmental damage caused by the company. The company, under
the new name of PT Toba Pulp Lestari, resumed operation in March
2002.

Also, Imam said the government and Padjadjaran University
would deploy a joint team to examine the tailings of gold and
copper mining firm Freeport Indonesia in Papua.

"We hope to conduct such tests every year to get independent
reports on the tailings of big mining companies," he said.

Yanuardi Rasudin, deputy assistant in charge of mining,
energy, oil and gas at the state minister's office, said the
government wanted to check that the total suspended solid (TSS)
in Freeport's tailings did not exceed the minimum allowed level
of 400 milligrams per liter.

"We are worried that the TSS in Freeport's tailings, which
could reach the sea, has surpassed our limit," he said.

If it does exceed government-set levels, Freeport would be
required to take action to remedy the problem.

"Otherwise, the tailings could kill marine flora and fauna,"
Yanuardi said.

Karliansyah, the deputy assistant in charge of environmental
impact assessments, said experts who had evaluated Freeport's
Special Environment Assessment (ERA) concluded that the study
needed improvement.

He said that the assessment must explain in detail the health
impact of Freeport's tailings by recording the health of a number
of locals over the course of their lives.

In its latest ERA, Freeport only took random health samples
from the local population, reducing the validity of the
assessment. The company also has to carry out more detailed tests
on the impact of its tailings on marine flora and fauna, he said.