Five major mining firms submit plans to shut down mining operations

At least five major mining companies have submitted their plans to close down their mining operations either due to the expiry of their contracts of works or because their mining areas are no longer economically viable for commercial activities, according to a senior official at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.

The five companies include PT Kelian Equatorial Mining, which operates a gold mine in Kelian, East Kalimantan, PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a gold mining operator in Mesel, North Sulawesi, PT HHP Kendilo Coal, a coal mine operator in East Kalimantan, PT Indomuro Kencana, a gold and copper mining operator in Mt Mouro, Central Kalimantan and PT Newcrest Nusa Halmahera, a gold and copper mining operator in Gosowong, Maluku.

Director General of General Mining Surna Djayadiningrat said in Jakarta on Tuesday that PT Kelian Equatorial Mining would shut down its mining operation in 2004 and that the company had submitted a number of steps which would be carried before closing down its mine operation.

He told Petromindo.Com that the government would soon prepare a guideline on several approaches that should be taken by a mining company before it closed its operation. "The guideline is important to ensure that the mining areas left by a mining company would not become a 'ghost town"," he said.

Surna acknowledged that the government was little bit late in preparing such guidance and it at present relies much on an internal procedure of the mining company. (alex)