East Kutai declines to revoke non-C&C IUP permits

The East Kutai regency administration in East Kalimantan declines to follow the instruction of the central government to revoke IUP mining permits which fail to obtain the clear and clean (C&C) certificate by the end of 2014 deadline from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR).

?I will not revoke the mining permits which I have issued. Revoking the permits on grounds that the IUPs are non-clear and clean does not have legal basis,? East Kutai Regent Isran Noor said as quoted by Kontan on Monday. He added that obtaining the C&C certificate is quite costly and must undergo lengthy bureaucratic procedure.

There are a total of 154 IUPs issued by the East Kutai regency administration, of which 139 are still in exploration stage, while 15 are already in production stage. Most of the IUPs are permits for coal mining, with the reminder for gold.

According to the central government only 34 IUPs in East Kutai have been declared as clear and clean.

Isran complained that the C&C requirement has undermining mining operations in the region as it has hampered miners in exploration stage to move forward to production stage, while those already in production have not been able to sell their output.

Kontan said that there are only two mining companies in East Kutai which could run normally including PT Damanka Prima Coal and PT Tambang Damai. Most of the rest are still struggling to get the C&C certification.

Meanwhile, Director General of Minerals and Coal at the MEMR said that around 4,000 IUPs, out of the total 10,700, have yet to obtain the C&C status.

He reiterated that if they could not meet the end of the-year deadline in getting the C&C certification, the local governments which issued the permits must revoke them. ?If the local governments decline (to revoke the permit), the (MEMR) will withdraw the permits,? Sukhyar said as quoted by Kompas on Monday. (*)