Illegal miners cause huge loss to coal miner PT Arutmin

Coal producer PT Arutmin Indonesia has lost 11 million tons of coal in 2004 due to illegal mining, the Bisnis Indonesia newspaper reported in its Monday edition.

Arutmin’s spokesman Zaenuddin J.R. Lubis said the activities of illegal miners could not be curbed fully although the government signed an agreement to curb the illegal logging in January.

“llegal miners’ output was around 11 million tons of coal in 2004. It was taken from the Arutmin’s mining area. This was the biggest ever since 2001 where an average of 10 million tons of coal was lost (to illegal miners),” Zaenuddin told the Bisnis last week in Banjarmasin.

Illegal miners, according to Arutmin’s management, had been operating in Satui, Senakin and Batulicin mines, all in South Kalimantan.(*)