Police asks Newmont to stop operation

The National Police called on Friday PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a subsidiary of American mining giant Newmont Corp., to stop activities in North Sulawesi following the preliminary laboratory tests indicating that the Buyat Bay had been contaminated with “heavy metal”.

Police criminal department head Suyitno Landung said the preliminary results of the analysis conducted at the police’s forensic laboratory center showed that heavy metal contents at the Buyat Bay exceeded the tolerable limits, Antara news agency reported.

“The National Police headquarters will soon order the North Sulawesi police chief to temporarily stop the mining activities by Newmont and (illegal miners in) Ratatotok to prevent (the pollution) from expanding and hurting the local people’s health,” Suyitno said.

The police has been conducting laboratory tests on water, marine biota and sediment samples taken from several spots at Buyat.

He said the police would soon set a timetable to question Newmont, while the final results of the laboratory study were expected to be completed next week. (Bodega)