Govt establishes mining map information system

The government has established a mining map information system to help local governments manage existing mining areas and avoid an overlapping in the issuance of new mining permits, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.

Director General of coal and mineral at the energy and mineral resources ministry, Thamrin Sihite, said in Jakarta on Monday that the mining map provided information on mining areas which have not been licensed for mining operations.

In addition, the mining map also provides information on areas which are not allowed for mining operations such as forest conservation areas. ?If the local governments issue a mining permit on prohibited areas or conservation areas, the mapping system would automatically rejects it,? he said.

Thamrin said that the mapping system was based on the results of the government?s audits conducted on existing mining permits to eliminate conflicts resulting from mining overlapping. Up to now, of the 5,124 mining permits, only 10,689 permits which have been declared clear and clean.

Thamrin said that all the new mining permits which would be issued by the local governments should be based on data in the mining map so that an overlapping in the issuance of mining permits could be avoided.

In the past, the local governments often issued a mining permit on an area which had been offered to other companies, causing a prolonged mining conflict. (*)