BHP Billiton says not developing Gag Island nickel

The world's largest diversified miner, BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc, said it has no plans to develop its nickel deposit on the environmentally sensitive Gag Island in Indonesia, Reuters reported Thursday.

"There is no planning or development work being undertaken at Gag," BHP Billiton Chairman Don Argus told the company's general meeting on Thursday. "As far as we are concerned this is off the radar screen."

The company faced a raft of questions at its annual meeting from environmental campaigners concerned that BHP Billiton was seeking to overcome Indonesian restrictions on open pit mining in protected forests to develop a nickel project on the island.

BHP Billiton has a 75 percent stake in PT Gag Nikel, established in 1996 before the forestry restrictions were introduced. The remaining 25 percent is held by PT Antam, owned by the Indonesian government.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has identified the Raja Ampat archipelago that includes Gag Island as having world heritage listing potential due to its coral reefs.(*)