Government plans financial penalty for miners failing to realize smelter projects
Thursday, November 30 2017 - 01:55 AM WIB
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources plans to impose financial penalty to mineral mining companies failing to realize their smelter projects as scheduled, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Thursday.
The paper quoted Director General of Mineral and Coal at the ministry, Bambang Gatot Ariyono as saying that the financial penalty will be around 10 percent of the realized mineral export value.
He said that mineral mining companies which have obtained permit to export mineral concentrates, low grade nickel ores and washed bauxite, or anode slime must make significant progress in the construction of the promised smelters. He said that the construction progress of the smelter project must reach at least 90 percent of the target set under their respective six-month plan.
The government in January introduced new regulations allowing mineral mining firms to resume export of mineral concentrates, low grade nickel ores and washed bauxite, and anode slime for a five-year period on certain conditions including putting in place serious commitment to develop domestic smelters. The government will evaluate the promised smelter projects every six months, and those failing to meet the six-month target will risk their export permit revoked. The government is not planning additional sanction in the form of financial penalty. Miners failing to pay the penalty may risk their mining permits revoked.
Bambang said that a new ministerial regulation on the financial penalty for miners failing to meet significant progress in their smelter projects is expected to be issued soon. He added that the ministry will soon launch an audit into the smelter projects.
The paper said that the ministry has issued export recommendation permit to seven mining firms for the export mineral concentrates and anode slime, to 10 mining firms for export of low grade nickel ores, and to seven mining firms for the export of washed bauxite.
Bisnis Indonesia said that many of the firms have yet to show significant progress in the construction of the promised smelters, including seven of them have yet to start construction process at all while they have begun exporting the commodities. (*)