Newmont evacuates staffs amid friction with ex-land owners

Gold mining firm PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) started on Thursday evacuating women, children and nonessential staff members from its mining site in Ratatotok in North Sulawesi due to threat from ex-land owners.

The company said in a statement that ex-land owners and others had blockaded the road to the mining operation since Monday and threatened its staffs.

"Some very irresponsible people have been guarding the roadblock and have been physically threatening our personnel, they have been drinking alcohol every night and generally have sought to strike fear into the people who live and work on this site," said NMR general manager Paul Lahti.

The company said that because of the growing concern over the security of its staff, it took the decision to evacuate staff and dependants.

NMR said that from 1989 to 1994, the company paid healthy compensation packages to some 400 landowners in the area around the mine, paying five times the market and using an additional compensation package for productive gardens.

Several ex-land owners have now asked for more money.

The company also expressed disappointment in the noted NGO Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) for failing to play a mediating role in the dispute.

"We're looking to the government of Indonesia to peacefully resolve this issue while upholding the rule of the law," Lahti said.

The company also said that mining and milling operations remain closed.

Several mining companies in the country had been hit by dispute with local villagers over land compensation or with their own employees over demand for a greater salary.

The latest incident is being suffered by East Kalimantan coal giant firms PT Kaltim Prima Coal and PT Kitadin which had to stop operation due to employees protest. (*)