Sudjana replaces director general handling Busang

Sudjana replaces director general handling Busang

JAKARTA (JP): The director general of general mining, Kuntoro
Mangkusubroto, was sacked yesterday but the minister of mines and
energy, I.B. Sudjana, said the dismissal was not linked to his
handling of the controversial Busang gold field.

Sudjana also replaced the director general of electricity and
energy development, Zuhal. But public attention has focused
mostly on Kuntoro's removal.

Kuntoro, who was appointed as director general of general
mining in 1993, was the top official authorized to grant final
contracts of work for mining companies to start production.

He was the key person in handling the Busang gold field in
East Kalimantan before and after reserves were found by Canadian
exploration firm Bre-X.

"His replacement is not connected to his handling of Busang
gold field. It is only part of his official tour of duty,"
Sudjana said.

Kuntoro was replaced by the former director general of geology
and mineral resources, Adjat Sudradjat, while Zuhal was replaced
by the former director of energy development, Endro Utomo
Notodisuryo.

Kuntoro and Zuhal's dismissals were based on an April 2
presidential decree.

The decree also appointed the former director for the guidance
of mining companies, Rozik B. Soetjipto, as new director general
of geology and mineral resources in place of Adjat.

But Adjat would retain his position until Rozik returned from
his haj pilgrimage, Sudjana said.

He said President Soeharto approved the shake up after
considering the proposal from himself and the advice of the
national assessment body for official positions headed by Vice
President Try Sutrisno.

"So the decision is not based purely on my proposal. So, I
hope you don't politicize it," he said.

Sudjana said he had no idea about the positions reserved for
Kuntoro and Zuhal, but indicated they might resume teaching at
the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Sudjana praised Kuntoro and Zuhal's achievements.

Zuhal, who was appointed director general of electricity and
energy development in 1995, managed to negotiate the cut in the
selling price of power from private generators to the state-owned
electricity company PLN to below 6 U.S. cents a kilowatt hour
(kWh) from above 8 cents a kWh during his predecessor's tenure.

Sudjana hinted that Kuntoro's office had failed to make the
rules clear for exploration activities and hoped his successor
could redeem the failure.

"Adjat Sudradjat has the strong vision necessary to bring
order to the regulations as well as to the rule of the game for
exploration activities in general mining," he said.

"The current regulations and rules of the game mostly concern
exploitation and production activities."

Although Sudjana refused to elaborate but analysts said he was
referring to the Busang controversy.

Bre-X said last month the Busang field might contain 70.9
million ounces of gold, making it the century's biggest gold
find. But Bre-X later said it might have overstated the amount.

An independent team is analyzing samples from Busang and the
results are expected next month.

Sudjana said the government had complete data on Busang's gold
deposits but refused to reveal it.

He said speculation that Busang's gold reserves were
insignificant was untrustworthy. (jsk)