Newmont angers NTB governor
Friday, February 25 2000 - 01:31 AM WIB
Newmont Nusa Tenggara's decision to relocate its "home base" to Bali following the religious-based riots in Mataram, the provincial capital of Nusa Tenggara Barat (NTB) province recently has angered Governor Harun Al Rasyid.
"I feel humiliated if you come here for money but live and have an office in other places," he said in a meeting with the executives of the gol d mining company in his office.
The governor said that the situation had returned to normal and there was no more reason for the residents to leave the province to find a safer place. "Newmont's decision to open a home base in Bali will certainly damage the image of the province and this would discourage others from coming to NTB," he said.
Robert Humberson, an executive of the company, which operates a large gold mining in the province, denied that his company had moved its office to Bali. "I am confused about the governor's reaction. We have never opened a home base in Bali and will not open one," he said.
The company's executives met the governor to explain a plan to recruit more local people to work in the mining site. Newmont plans to recruit 380 personnels this year to support its growing activities in Batu Hijau and Sumbawa Besar mining sites. (*)