Newmont again criticized over its marine dumping site

Gold mine operator Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) has again received a strong protest from local environmental activists and non-governmental organizations over the operation of its marine dumping site in the Alas Strait near its gold mine in Sumbawa, East Lombok.

In a consultation forum held by the FFD green organization and the local legislative council, the environmental experts and activists criticized the gold mine operator over its lack of response in dealing with the outcries of the local people about the impact of the dumping site.

"Newmont should give a compensation to the local people affected by the pollution resulting from the company's dumping site. Royalties are not enough, the locals should receive compensation," the chairman of the council of environmental experts at the FFD.

Lalu Khalid, an environmental expert at the local office of the public works, said that Newmont had failed to detect the early signs of pollution in the dumping site.

The forum also criticized the company for not publishing the environmental impact analyses of its dumping site operation, and continued to keep the local people in the dark.

According to a survey conducted by the University of Mataram in cooperation with the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), the mercury level of the water sea near the dumping site had exceeded the tolerable level set by the office of the state minister of environmental affairs. (*)