Special team will soon audit Freeport's waste management

The office of the state minister of environment will send a special team in the middle of February to audit the waste management system of gold and cooper mining giant Freeport-McMoRan Indonesia, Koran Tempo reported Wednesday.

"The team will consist of four experts in the fields of mining and geology, environment and biology," said Rasio Ridho Sani, the deputy of the state minister of environment. He added that the team would carry out audit works on the company's overall waste management system.

The audit would start from a location near the sea where the company dumped its mineral waste or tailing, then to the Ajkwa-Aghwagon-Otomona rivers, as well as the company's lime processing plant.

Freeport which dumped its tailing into the sea near its concession in Papua through the Ajkwa-Aghwagon-Otomona rivers, has been accused of causing serious pollution.

Chalid Muhammad, the director of Walhi, a prominent environmental advocacy agency in Indonesia, said recently that Freeport's tailing dumping ground near its mining area had seriously damaged the environment. He called the government close down the company's operation. (*)