Mining firms ready to invest a total of US$9 billion

As many as 13 local and foreign mining companies have conducted feasibility studies to invest a total of about US$9 billion in the country's mining sector, the executive director of the Indonesian mining association (IMA) Priyo Pribadi has said.

Priyo, however, said that the mining companies were still waiting for the approval of the new mining law which is now being deliberated by the House of Representatives (DPR) to go ahead with the investment plan.

"They hope that the new law will not discourage them from opening new mining projects," he told a mining seminar in Jakarta on Monday. According to Priyo, the mining companies had expressed their concern over some provisions in the proposed law.

The concern is related to a provision which will change the contract of works to mining permits, and will authorize the local administration to handle the licensing process, he said. (*)