BRMS says illegal mining behind forest sealing at CPM concession, licence unaffected

By Romel S. Gurky

Gold mining firm PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk (IDX: BRMS) said authorities sealed a forest area within the contract of work of its subsidiary PT Citra Palu Minerals (CPM) after identifying illegal mining activity, adding the action will not affect the company’s licence or ongoing operations.

The company said a government forest enforcement task force conducted field verification between Feb. 10 and Feb. 17 at the CPM concession in Palu, Central Sulawesi and found unauthorised forest clearing carried out by illegal miners. The task force subsequently sealed the affected area.

BRM said the sealed location lies within CPM’s contract of work area but has not been developed or mined by the subsidiary. The company stated the enforcement action does not pose any risk of revocation of CPM’s contract of work, which is valid until 2050, as the land clearing was carried out by illegal miners and not by CPM.

Read also: Forest task force says Citra Palu gold mine overlaps protected forest areas

Authorities have said parts of CPM’s concession overlap with protected and limited production forest zones and that enforcement was carried out across several locations where land clearing and illegal mining were detected. The task force estimated about 26,830 hectares of the concession fall within protected forest areas and roughly 36,020 hectares within limited production forests.

BRM reiterated that the sealing did not affect its operating River Reef mine in Poboya, where production continues, and that the company is expanding gold processing capacity from 500 tonnes per day to 2,000 tonnes per day with completion targeted for October 2026. CPM also plans to start underground mining in the second half of 2027.

To address unauthorised mining, BRM and CPM said they are cooperating with law enforcement agencies and submitting regular reports to the energy ministry while strengthening monitoring to prevent illegal activity within concession areas.

CPM operates an 85,180 hectare concession under a contract of work granted in 2017 and valid through 2050, with BRM holding a 96.97% stake. The company added there are no conflicts with local communities and that the incident has no material impact on operations, financial condition or business continuity.

Editing by Alexander Ginting