Newmont may set up community programs in out-of-court deal

Government said Tuesday it was in talks with U.S. mining giant Newmont over setting up community programs as part of their out-of-court pollution settlement with the government.

L"The talks focused more on community development programs, but whatever forms those programs will take the shape of, they will be later discussed," Hutomo, a deputy minister for environmental compliance at the Office of the State Minister of the Environment, told AFP.

"The negotiations are not about whether they are guilty or not, but what they can contribute to improve the situation," he said.

He declined to say how much the government sought from Newmont to spend on community development, but said that it was not intended as some form of compensatory payment.

State Minister of the Environment Rachmat Witoelar had filed a Rp 1.24 trillion US$(124 million) suit eight months after residents near Newmont's now-closed gold mine in North Sulawesi province complained that the company's waste had caused health problems in residents.

But a Jakarta court in November rejected the lawsuit and ruled the case should be settled by arbitration.

Witoelar said last month that the government would not appeal the case as it is nearing an out-of-court settlement.

"I've obtained information that an agreement is close at hand," Hutomo said.

Environmentalists have said the court "ignored incriminating evidence" of pollution allegedly carried out by Newmont.

Prosecutors accused Newmont of illegally and intentionally causing pollution and are alleging in a separate case that its president Richard Ness did nothing to stop it. Ness could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted.

Newmont has consistently denied the charges.

A World Health Organization-backed report found no evidence of pollution but Indonesian government tests showed high levels of toxins in the area. (*)