E. Kalimantan councilors urge KPC to suspend Melawan mining project
Monday, March 17 2003 - 02:15 AM WIB
?If the company operates without taking into account the environment, there will be negative impacts,? the paper quoted as saying council member Mastur Jalal.
The paper said that coal mining activities in Melawan had commenced in 2002.
Mastur, together with two other councilors, said over the weekend that KPC could start mine for coal in Melawan only in 2021 in accordance with its environmental impact analysis (Amdal).
Like East Kutai regent Awang Faroek, the councilors said that the Melawan project could continue only if KPC?s Amdal was revised.
Earlier reports said that Awang had ordered KPC to suspend its activities in the Melawan pit on the ground that the company?s Amdal did not include the project.
Meanwhile, KPC spokesperson Nunik Maulana said recently that coal mining activities in Melawan were still running normally despite order from Awang to stop them.
?By regulation, production stoppage must come from the central government. Beside, we have not received written order from the regency administration to stop mining activities," Nunik said.
According to Nunik, Melawan pit had started commercial mining early this month and the plan is to produce 5 million of coal this year, ramping up to around 6 million in 2004.
KPC, Indonesia?s most profitable coalminer, operates a huge coalmine in Sangatta, East Kutai.
World mining and energy giants Rio tinto and BP Plc equally own the company. (*)