Berau Coal?s contractor asked to suspend activities after landslide

The government has asked Berau Coal?s mining contractor PT. Bukit Makmur to stop activities at Binungan mine in East Kalimantan where three workers had been killed in a recent landslide.

?We have asked the contractor to stop mining activities at Binungan. The site is still unsafe for such activities,? Suyartono, technical director for mineral and coal affairs at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources told Petromindo.Com on Thursday.

Suyartono said whether Bukit Makmur would be allowed to resume operation at Binungan would depend on the results of a study on the site, which was being undertaken by a team of independent experts including those from foreign consulting firms.

Three workers of Bukit Makmur were killed on Sept. 15 in a landslide at Berau Coal?s Binungan mine in East Kalimantan.

The Binungan mine normally turns out 250,000-350,000 tons of coal per month. Meanwhile, Berau Coal produced 6.7 million tons of coal in 2001. (godang)