G-Resources begins to lay off workers

G-Resources Group Ltd. Said that it had laid off as many as 300 workers at PT Agincourt Resources, amid the suspension of its Martabe gold mine, in North Sumatra, The Jakarta Post reported.

G-Resources? President Director, Peter Geoffrey Albert, told a press briefing in Medan that the company had no choice but to start dismissing its workers gradually for the company?s sake.

?After we officially ceased our operations on Monday, we had practically no income to pay our employees or fund our operations," said Geoffrey.

G-Resources, which began gold exploitation in August after almost 15 years of exploring the mining site, originally hoped that the Martabe gold mine, which is located in South Tapanuli, North Sumatra, could begin full operations in early 2013.

However, the prolonged dispute over the installation of a 2.7-kilometer liquid waste pipe to carry waste to Batang Toru River in South Tapanuli triggered protests from local residents, who thought the plan would affect their livelihood.

In September, thousands of residents living around the mine staged a protest over the installation plan.(*)