Rio Tinto will not make new investment

Rio Tinto will not make new investment in Indonesia until the government provides clear legal basis for mining sector, according to Rio Tinto Indonesia president Noke Kiroyan.

In addition, Kiroyan said, Rio Tinto had no new mineral reserves in Indonesia.

Speaking after attending a seminar on investment opportunity in Jakarta on Thursday, Kiroyan said that his company would continue to monitor the development in the mining sector as the government had been drafting a bill on mining to replace Law No. 11/1967.

The government's presentation of a number of bills that affect investment such as the oil and gas bill, the electricity bill and also the mining bill sent a good signals to investors about future investment climate in Indonesia.

However, Kiroyan said that his company was still unsure when it would start making new investment in Indonesia.

Koriyan, nevertheless, noted that Rio Tinto would not generalize security situation in Indonesia as unsafe because of the partial closure of Exxon Mobil's operation in the restive Aceh province. He noted that such a security problem in Aceh could not be used as an indication that Indonesia was unsafe for investment.

He noted that Rio Tinto had invested a total of around US$2 billion in Indonesia through a number of mining companies, including coal mining firm Kaltim Prima Coal and gold mining firm Kelian Equatorial Mining. In addition, Rio Tinto also has capital participation of $1 billion in copper and gold mining giant PT Freeport Indonesia in Grassberg exploration. (*)