Newmont and Minahasa regency fails to reach agreement

Gold mining company PT Newmont Minahasa Raya and the Minahasa regency in North Sulawesi failed to reach an out-of-court solution to their tax dispute in a meeting in Jakarta on Thursday, Manado Post reported.

The representatives of Newmont and Minahasa regent Dolfie Tanor, who was accompanied by the regency's lawyer OC Kaligis, met for only five minutes at the Le Meredian hotel in Jakarta without any conclusion, the paper said.

It said Newmont's representatives were disappointed by the fact that the regent and Kaligis kept pressuring the company to pay the dispute C-class taxes on its overburden.

Both parties have not yet set a date for future meeting, the paper said.

Meanwhile, Suara Karya quoted company president Richard Ness as saying that the company would not suspend its operation until the court made a final decision ordering the company to close down its operation.

"In order to uphold the supremacy of Indonesian law, we shall comply with the worst decision," Ness said on Wednesday.

Minahasa regent has filed a suit in the Tondano District Court for its refusal to pay taxes on building materials in its overburden and the court had issued a provisional ruling to suspend Newmont's operation while the court process was in progress.

The temporary ruling however sparked criticism from the central government and industries. (*)