Police confiscate mercury at Peboya gold mine
Tuesday, December 26 2017 - 02:16 AM WIB
The Police have confiscated 5 kg of mercury at the Peboya gold mine in Central Sulawesi Province from illegal miners operating in the concession of PT Citra Palu Minerals (CPM), a subsidiary of IDX-listed PT Bumi Resources Minerals Tbk (BRMS), Antara reported.
The state news agency said that the Central Sulawesi Police conducted on Saturday a raid at the illegal mines following reports from the public that the illegal miners have been using the hazardous chemical in their gold production activities.
The report quoting Central Sulawesi Police Chief Rudy Sufahriadi as saying that the police had also shut down the illegal mines at the Peboya concession located near the city of Palu.
He added that the police will also ?coordinate? with various stakeholders in the province and central government to look into the operation of the Peboya mine run by CPM. Reports said in January that the Peboya mine overlaps with forest areas and miners owned by other firms.
BRMS said in November of this year that CPM is targeted to start gold production at the Peboya mine in 2020 after the company obtained a construction and production permit from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources.
In mid-December, BRMS said that the government the government has finally approved the feasibility study for the planned development of the Peboya gold mine. (*)