South Kalimantan threatens to revoke Arutmin's license

The provincial administration of South Kalimantan province has threatened to revoke the operational permit of PT Arutmin Indonesia, one of the country's major coal producers, if the company does not pay its royalty obligation within the next two months, the local Banjarmasin Post reported on Thursday.

Sukardhi, the head of the province's mining office, said that the deadline for the company to pay the royalty was actually late last month, but it had now been extended until September of this year.

According to the paper, Arutmin has not paid royalty amounting to US$18 million for 2002 and 2003 due to cash flow problem.

"They have only paid about US$5 million," Sukardhi said. (*)