S. Kalimantan calls for a moratorium on people?s coal activities

South Kalimantan Governor Syahriel Darham has asked the Ministry of Mines and Energy to impose a moratorium on people?s mining activities particularly in coal mining in a bid to eliminate rampant illegal mining operation in the province, Kompas daily reported on Thursday.

?The temporary halt in the small-scale coal mining activities is needed to give the local government enough time to rearrange illegal coal mining activities in the province,? the governor said. But he added that request had not received a response from the minister.

The governor said that the moratorium should be imposed at least for three months to allow the local government to rearrange small-scale mining operations

The illegal coal mining activities continued to grow partly due to the support from businessmen, Syahriel said, adding that the businessmen not only provided the capital to help the people carry out their mining activities but also acted as the coal buyers.

?The most effective way to eliminate illegal coal mining is to ban the people from being involved in mining activities which usually require a big capital and high technology. In other countries, all mining activities are carried out by investors with strong financial supports, ? he said. (*)