Local miners oppose ?clean and clear? policy
Tuesday, May 21 2013 - 02:20 AM WIB
The association?s chairman Tonny Ololi said in Jakarta on Monday that the local authorities including governors, regents and mayors have the rights to issue mining permits and manage mining operations in their respective territories under the autonomy law.
?But at present, many mining companies cannot carry out their mining operations due to the clean and clear policy imposed by the energy and mineral resources ministry,? Tonny said.
According to him, with the existing autonomy law, the ministry is no longer allowed to interfere the mining operations in a province because the rights to manage and control such operations are now held by the local governments.
?The central government should only conduct supervision as the issuance of permits is now at the hands of local governments,? he said.
As part of the government?s policy to restrict exports of raw minerals, a mining firm should obtain a clear and clean status from the energy and mineral resources ministry in order to be able to obtain export permits. The clear and clean status will be given to miners which operate under the required permits, and those whose concession areas do not overlap with other mines.
The export restriction is imposed by the government in order to avoid overexploitation of mineral resources ahead of the implementation of export ban on unprocessed mineral ores beginning 2014.(*)