Govt's mediation with Newmont fails

State Minister of Environment Rachmat Witoelar said the mediations for an out-of-court settlement of the dispute between the government and PT Newmont Minahasa Raya has ended in failure, the Koran Tempo newspaper reported in its Thursday edition.

"The mediation process is not working. So the possibility of finding a solution through that process is over" Rachmat said in Jakarta at the Attorney General office on Wednesday.

According to Rachmat, Newmont never attended any of the meetings arranged for mediation.

Ministry of environment's lawyer Bambang Widjojanto also mention the same thing.

"During this process (mediation), Newmont never attended. It means there is no good intention," Bambang told the Koran Tempo last week.

Rachmat was not certain about his next step to solve the dispute with Newmont, which allegedly contaminated the Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi. (*)