Relocation of Buyat residents to start in June

The relocation of about 70 families living near Newmont Minahasa Raya's waste dumping ground in the Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi will begin in June, this year and will be carried out within three months, Kompas reported on Friday.

J.J. Mongkaren, a senior official at the environmental office in North Sulawesi, said in Manado on Thursday that the Buyat residents, mostly fishermen, would be relocated to Bolang Mongondow and South Minahasa regencies.

Newmont's undersea waste disposal in Buyat Bay near the company's gold mine in Minahasa had been alleged of causing a serious pollution. According to the government's report, the U.S.-based mining company had failed to effectively monitor the detoxification process of the tailings before they were dumped into the bay, resulting in high levels of metal substance particularly in arsenic in the water around the tailing disposal area.

Many residents in the Buyat bay had suffered skin diseases due to the alleged pollution. (*)