Newmont does no harm to environment

Newmont Minahasa Raya causes no environmental damages in its industrial waste disposal area at the Teluk Buyat, according to the result of the investigation made by a verification team comprising of Newmont and local government representatives.

"The company could therefore continue its operation pending the result of the technical assessment made by the province's environmental impact management agency (Bapedalda)," Pieter Paul, a representative of the mining company told North Sulawesi governor AJ Sondakh in a recent meeting, Manado Pos reported on Wednesday.

Paul, who was accompanied by the head of Bapedalda S.A. Kindangen during the meeting, said that the team found that mercury and other hazardous substances in the company's industrial waste disposal site was still far below the maximum level set by the government.

The company, which dumped its industrial waste in the Teluk Buyat seawater, has been blamed of causing sea pollution.

Paul said, according to the joint team's assessment, the level of the mercury substance in the seawater remained far above the maximum level. In addition, the sendiment of the company's industrial waste under the seawater also still contained no hazardous substance. (*)