Rio Tinto, Unmul cooperate

JAKARTA (JP): Anglo-Australian mining company Rio Tinto's foundation signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with East Kalimantan's Mulawarman University (Unmul) to cooperate in a community development program in East Kalimantan.

"The cooperation agreement is important to enhance the public's welfare and to develop human resources in East Kalimantan," Noke Kiroyan, head of the Rio Tinto foundation and president of Rio Tinto Indonesia, said in a statement.

Rio Tinto subsidiary PT Kelian Equatorial Mining operates a gold mine in the province.

Kiroyan did not disclose the amount of funding it would provide to the university under the five-year cooperation agreement.

He said the cooperation was intended to train local farmers at the agriculture training center in Bigung Baru, Kutai. (jsk)