Newmont has no permit for its tailing disposal

PT Newmont Minahasa Raya has acknowledged that its submarine tailings disposal at the Buyat Bay near its mining site in Rotatok, Mianahasa, North Sulawesi has not covered by a proper license from the government, Media Indonesia reported on Saturday.

The company's manager for community relations Try Haryono said that the submarine tailings disposal was built before the government issued a new regulation in which such a kind of waste disposal should be built with the government's permit.

"We are ready, if State Minister for Environmental Affairs Sonny Keraf will review it or relocate the tailings disposal site," he said. But he stressed that despite the absence of the permit, the tailings disposal system at the Buyat Bay was built after a long study especially on the possible impact of the system on the seawater in the bay.

He said that Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had recently visited the site himself and found no pollution at all at the bay.

Environmental organizations have charged that the submarine tailings disposal had caused skin disease and killed fish at the bay.

According to Haryono, the recent study shows that the pollution resulting from the tailings disposal is still within the tolerable level set by the government. (*)