Arutmin told to pay royalty arrears worth US$25 million this month

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has urged PT Arutmin Indonesia, one of the country's major coal producers, to pay royalty arrears worth up to US$25 million to the government this month.

"We have summoned the Arutmin management and asked them to pay US$25 million of the company's royalty arrears by the end of July. The remaining royalty arrears should be settled by the end of this year," Director General of Geology and Mineral Resources Simon Felix Sembiring said in Jakarta on Monday.

PT Arutmin, which operates massive coal mine areas in South Kalimantan, has refused to pay its coal royalties to the government for several years because the government has failed to curb illegal coal mining activities in its concession area. The royalty arrears have since reached a total of US$50 million.

Simon said that PT Arutmin had appealed to the government to retain US$18 million of the royalty arrears as a compensation for the rampant illegal miners in its concession area.

"But we refused the proposal. It is the government's rights to get the royalty, and the company should therefore pay them," he added. (godang)