Newmont's submarine tailing placement questioned

A Nur Hasan, a member of the House of Representatives (DPR) has called on the government to ban PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR) from dumping its tailing, mineral waste, into the local sea, Antara news agency reported on Saturday.

"If State Minister of Environment Affairs (Sonny Keraf) said that Newmont's tailing disposal operation was illegal, he should then impose a penalty against the company," he was quoted by the news agency as saying.

In a recent hearing with the House, the company said that its submarine tailing placement system has been tested and it will not damage the environment. But the House members and green activitists doubted the company's claim.

The local environmental organizations have charged that the river through which the mining company dumped its tailing had been badly polluted. They said that many local people, the frequent users of the river have suffered skin disease.

The local government in Minahasa regency has sued the company for not paying the local tax on the C-class mineral materials such as gravel, sand, stone and soil it removed from its mining site. But it later dropped the case after the two parties agreed to settle the case out of the court. (*)