Arutmin discusses villagers demand to mine part of company's site

Shareholders of coal mining company PT Arutmin Indonesia will meet to discuss the demand of the Sungai Cuka villagers in the Tanah Laut regency in South Kalimantan to mine part of the company's mining site, according to the Kapos daily.

The paper said that the villagers demanded a 10-hectare site, located near the company's current mining activity.

But the paper quoted local government official M. Sofyan as saying that Arutmin might not agree to the demand because the coal in the area contained high calorie, and the location was closed to the company's mining activity.

Sofyan said that Arutmin would likely to provide other area.

But he said that shareholders of Arutmin, which is a joint venture with Australia's giant miner BHP, will still discuss the villagers demand.(*)