Lahat regency issues 53 new coal mine permits

The local government of Lahat, one of the regencies in South Sumatra province, has issued 53 new permits for the exploitation of coal mines in the regency, Kompas reported on Friday.

Lahat regent Saifudin Aswari said in Palembang on Thursday that the local government had decided to issue more coal mining permits in order to benefit from the regency?s high amount of coal reserves.

?We have the biggest coal reserves in the South Sumatra province, but our production is still relatively small,? he said.

According him, the regency's coal production in the regency in the last two years stood at only about 1.5 million tons a year with only four producers while coal reserves there are estimated to reach 3 billion tons.

Investors who have obtained the permits should, however, meet a number of requirements to ensure that their mining activities will not damage the environment. They should, for example, get environmental clearance from the ministry of environmental affairs, pay rehabilitation funds to the local government in advance and develop their own roads to reach the coal mine areas. (*)