IMA upset with Minister of Environment?s statement on Buyat
Monday, November 29 2004 - 07:44 AM WIB
JAKARTA, NOVEMBER 26, 2004 ? IMA is very disappointed with the statement of the Minister of Environment on Newmont Minahasa Raya. The Environmental Ministry?s Technical Team looking into the environment at Buyat Bay has been dominated by individuals with a prejudice to mining, the Indonesian Mining Association said today.
?The technical team?s interpretation of the scientific data gathered at Buyat Bay was distorted and reflected disinformation of the facts. The scientific data clearly indicates that there is no pollution at Buyat Bay, yet the individuals with prejudice to mining have managed to turn it around and say that there is pollution,? said Beni.
It is a scientific fact that the geology around Buyat Bay has mercury and arsenicum content in the form of trace minerals: cinnabar, orpiment and realgar.
?The public is confused,? said Beni. ?First the Minister Nabiel Makarim said there was no pollution, then the deputy minister on strong pressure from some members of the team issues contradictory statements and says the report is incomplete, then issues a report that completely refutes what was stated earlier. And all this from the same set of data supplied by the same officials. What is going on?? Newmont Minahasa Raya has complied with all the regulations stipulated by the relevant authorities and has for years reported their monitoring results to the authorities including the office of the Minister of Environment. No legal suit on violation was ever filed by the authorities.
It will be difficult for anybody to work and continue investment if with the same set of data they can yield completely opposite conclusions and the definitions of pollution changes at the whim of certain officials.
IMA also pointed out that the Technical team report to Commission VII yesterday, did not reflect the full truth and of the strong objections of many Technical Team and Steering Committee members to its current interpretation of the scientific data.
?We know for a fact that the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Pemda Sulawesi Utara and Universitas Ratulangi have written official letters of dissent on the way the technical team has been handled. Why was this not disclosed to the Commission VII as well??
IMA called on the Government to investigate whether the Technical Team has been impartial or whether, as the letters of dissent suggest, it has been usurped by people with anti-mining agendas. (end of statement)