Supreme Court Intervention Heralded As Victory for the People and Economy Of Kabupaten Minahasa, Northern Sulawesi and Indonesia
Friday, April 14 2000 - 01:00 AM WIB
Manado, April 13, 2000: PT Newmont Minahasa Raya today welcomed the Supreme Court?s instructions to the Tondano District Court to postpone enforcement of the provisional judgment that would have shut down one of the few remaining foreign investment projects in the province.
This is a victory for the 2,800 Minahasa residents who depend on our operation for their livelihood and who would have been put out of work by the Bupati?s determination to close the mine. Clearly the Supreme Court has recognized the irregular nature of the closure order, said Richard Ness, President-Director of PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (PT NMR).
It shows a sincere effort to apply the rule of law in this case, Ness added.
We are pleased with the concern and support shown by the various level of government who are trying to work through the complex maze in developing more regional autonomy structure of democracy. It?s an evolutionary and difficult process of change. But clearly, people are trying to further the process, added Ness.
The tax dispute, from which the provisional closure order stemmed, continues under litigation in the Tondano District Court with the next hearing scheduled for Saturday, April 15th, 2000. The Bupati of Kabupaten Minahasa, Dolfie Tanor, filed suit last September against the company seeking to impose Galian C taxes on the overburden that PT NMR moves to gain access to gold-bearing ores. Galian C taxes are paid on rock, gravel and other mining by-products that are sold or utilized for commercial gain.
The Bupati sought, under a recently generated local tax law, to assess taxes on PT NMR?s overburden, classifying it as a Galian C material. Overburden is the covering soil and rock that covers economic ore bodies and must be removed in order to get access to the ore. Under PT NMR?s 4th Generation Contract of Work with the Indonesian Government, overburden can clearly be moved without taxation.
PT NMR is 80 percent owned by Denver-based Newmont Mining Corporation, USA. ***