Newmont, protesting villagers to end dispute

PT Newmont Minahasa Raya and villagers, the former owners of the land in the company's mining site in Miesel, Rototok, North Sulawesi have agreed to negotiate their conflicts, secretary general of mines and energy Djoko Dharmono said in Jakarta on Friday as reported by Manado Post.

"Thanks God, the protesting residents and the company have agreed to negotiate their dispute on June 26," he told journalists after a meeting with some members of the House of Representatives in his office.

He said that his office had asked the mining operator to consider the villagers' demand in a bid to end the protests.

Newmont was forced to stop mining activities on its Miesel gold mine last week after local villagers, who claimed themselves as former owners of the mining site, entered the mining area without authorization. The villagers demanded the company additional payment for the compensation of the land taken over by the American gold mining operator several years ago.

Miesel gold mine is part of the massive Rototok mine concession operated by Newmont Minahasa in the province. The company also operates a large mining site in Batuhijau, West Nusatenggara (NTB) province, which began its commercial production early this year.

Newmont Minahasa, which was taken to court by the local government few months ago for not paying local tax has been bombarded with protests in the last several months. The legal suit was dropped after the company agreed to pay the tax but more protests emerged after that particularly related to the environmental damages allegedly resulted from its submarine waste disposal system in the Buyat Bay.

In the meeting, the House members also questioned the ministry's officials about the controversial dump area and the benefit received by the local governments from the company's operations. (*)