Newmont remains closed as protests continue
Thursday, June 29 2000 - 02:15 AM WIB
PT Newmont Minahasa Raya's gold mining operation in the district of Ratatotok in Minahasa regency, North Sulawesi remained closed on Wednesday as the local people continued to block the road leading the mining location, Tempo Interaktif reported on Thursday.
The local police office has deployed a unit of its elite members near the mining site to persuade the protesting residents to stop their protests but the protesting villagers did not heed the appeal, the company's spokesman Tri Harjono said.
The company's general manager Paul Lahti said that the company was ready to negotiate with the protesting residents and had asked for the help of the government and the non-government organization to become a mediator in the negotiations.
He said that the representatives of the protesters, who claimed themselves as the former owners, and the company's management were still being engaged in negotiations to end the protests. "But no results have been achieved," he said.
According to the company, the road blockade, which started on Monday, has forced the company to stop operation, causing a potential loss of at least 20 kilogram of gold per day.
The villagers demanded the company to give a fair compensation for the land included in the mining company's gold mining area. They said that the company paid them Rp 2,500 per square meter as the compensation before the company started its exploration activities 14 years ago.
The villagers said that they were forced to accept the payment a long time ago out of fears that the government would punish them if they refused.
The massive Ratatotok mine concession operated by Newmont Minahasa in the province is one of the Newmont mine operations in Indonesia. The company also operates a large mining site in Batuhijau, West Nusatenggara (NTB) province, which began its commercial production early this year. (*)