No special treatment for Freeport: Minister

State Minister of Environment Rachmat Witoelar said that his office would not give any special treatment in the audit of copper and gold mining giant Freeport Indonesia, Kompas reported on Thursday.

"Freeport will receive a similar treatment like those given to other companies. The same auditing standard will be applied in the audit of the mining giant," the minister said during a hearing with the Commission VII of the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

A number of legislators were questioning the minister about the fairness of his office's audit on Freeport's environmental impacts, which have been widely reported of causing a serous damage in the environment, especially in areas located near the company's waste disposal area.

The ministry said earlier that his office would soon a special team to audit the environmental impact of Freeport as part of its Proper program, a regular environmental audit carried out on mining and industrial companies.

The audit at Freeport would start from a location near the sea where the company dumped its mineral waste or tailing, then to the Ajkwa-Aghwagon-Otomona rivers, as well as the company's lime processing plant.

Freeport which dumped its tailing into the sea near its concession in Papua through the Ajkwa-Aghwagon-Otomona rivers, has been accused of causing serious pollution. (*)