Four million tons of coal illegally mined annually: Official

Illegal coal mining has caused the state suffer big royalty losses because an estimated four million tons of coal have been mined annually without legal permit, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Director general of geology and mineral resources Wimpy S. Tjetjep said coal mining producing provinces have also failed to earn enough tax revenues from the mining sector, East Kalimantan-based Banjarmasin Post reported.

?I got information that some four million tons of coal had been illegally mined,? Wimpy told a seminar. (*)