Government bans services to non-CnC miners

The government banned on Thursday all surveyors from providing any services to 2,509 coal and mineral miners that lack-clean and clear (CnC) status, The Jakarta Post reported on Friday.

The Trade Ministry?s Director General of Foreign Trade Oke Nurwan said that previously the government had only required its partner surveyors to check the export volume delivered by miners.

?This is an additional instruction to our partner surveyors not to serve them,? Oke told reporters after meeting with the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry?s Director General of Minerals and Coal Bambang Gatot Ariyono and surveyors.

The measure marks the government?s stepped-up fight against recalcitrant holders of mineral and coal mining permits (IUP) after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced on Dec. 6 that 2,509 miners out of 9,353 UP holders did not have CnC status.

One of the reasons behind the lack of CnC status is because they had not paid fees and royalties totaling Rp 3.8 trillion (US$280 million) prior to 2015.

One third of the troubled IUP holders are coal miners, a number of which already export their output, while the rest are still in exploration. The remainder includes nickel and gold miners. Of all these miners, 343 operate in South Kalimantan, while another 289 and 244 holders mine in West Java and East Kalimantan, respectively. (*)