Release: Newmont Mining Corp.: Newmont responds to New York Times
Wednesday, September 8 2004 - 11:57 PM WIB
"The Minahasa operations have never posed a threat to human health, nor have they polluted the water in Buyat Bay," said David Baker, Vice President, Environmental Affairs and Sustainable Development. "The facts, the science, and the independent laboratory results all confirm Minahasa's strict environmental practices protected the people and waters of Buyat Bay."
The Minahasa operation commenced production in 1996 and recently ceased operating when it finished milling all remaining ore. During the planning and permitting for this mine PTNMR retained the world's foremost authorities in submarine tailings placement (STP) to determine the feasibility of and assist in the design of the STP system. These authorities were involved in the design and monitoring of the STP system at another company's mine on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Minahasa was among the first, if not the first, mine in Indonesia to undergo a comprehensive environmental permitting process prior to breaking ground for construction. After in-depth review and investigation of STP technology by the Indonesian Government, Minahasa's final environmental permit was granted in 1996, at the time when Dr. Emil Salim headed the Ministry of the Environment.
Throughout the life of this operation, Minahasa has extensively monitored the environment adjacent to the mine, including Buyat Bay, using scientific techniques accepted worldwide. These monitoring results have been reported on a quarterly basis to the Government of Indonesia, which has reviewed, monitored, and inspected the operations numerous times. The monitoring and sampling data clearly show that the STP system has performed as it was designed and as was anticipated during the environmental permitting process. Recent additional testing by Australia's prestigious Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) reconfirmed that the quality of the waters in Buyat Bay is within applicable standards designed to protect human health and the environment. The New York Times failed to report that PTNMR took duplicate samples with the Indonesian police and that testing of these samples by an independent laboratory produced results consistent with those of CSIRO and well within applicable standards.
When false accusations of Minamata disease were raised several weeks ago, Newmont welcomed the Indonesian authorities' decision to bring in experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Japanese Minamata Institute for independent testing and assessment. The Minamata Institute quickly determined that there was no Minamata disease at Buyat Bay. The WHO is completing this testing, and we are hopeful that the results will be released soon.
The New York Times reporters chose to ignore the presence of the WHO as well as all scientific data that PTNMR provided proving there has been no health impact on the people or waters of Buyat Bay. These reporters also chose to mischaracterize the position of the Indonesian Minister of the Environment, who has consistently maintained, based on government testing, that Buyat Bay is not polluted. (end of release)