Newmont wants Govt to ease requirements for its tailing ground

Gold and copper mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara will ask the government to ease the requirement for the extension of the permit for its submarine tailing placement (STP) in its Batu Hijau gold and copper mine, Investor Daily reported on Wednesday.

The company's spokesman Kasan Mulyono said in Jakarta on Tuesday that certain points in the requirement imposed by the government for the extension of the permit for the submarine tailing dumping ground would burden the company.

"It is not a matter of agree or disagree. But we need to consult the substance of the requirement for the extension of the STP to the government, in this case with the ministry of energy and mineral resources" he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The office of the state minister of environment has agreed to extend the permit for the extension of the STP permit, albeit with tighter requirement. For example, the lifetime of the STP is shortened to two years from three years previously.

In addition, Newmont is also required to reduce the volume of the tailings to be dumped into the STP by eight million tons a year to 50.4 million tons from 68.4 million tons, previously.

"Some parts of the requirement are not really suitable to us," Kasan said.

Meanwhile Newmont Nusa Tengara reported a decline in its royalties to the government during the period of the first quarter of this year to US$2.9 million from $4.03 million in the same period last year, due to the decline in both copper and gold production.

Last year, the company produced 700,000 ounces of gold and 700 million pounds of copper. The company did not explain the production for this year's first quarter.(*)