The fate of Freeport lies in the hand of Rizal Ramli

State Minister of Environmental Affairs Sonny Keraf said on Friday that the proposal to review the government's contract of works with gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia had been presented to Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Rizal Ramli, and now the decision lies with the coordinating minister.

"Now the ball is in Coordinating Minister Rizal Ramli's hands and the team assigned to discuss that matter," Sonny told reporters in his office.

Before becoming a minister, U.S. trained economist Rizal had been known for its campaign against Freeport.

Sonny said that if possible, the government and Freeport should sit together and discuss again the COW, in which the government should get more fund from Freeport's income to cover also the environmental cost.

He noted that the government's portion of 10 percent of income from Freeport - out of all taxes -- is not enough. Freeport should pay more as the compensation for the mining's impacts on the environment.

Sonny also noted that his office still demanded Freeport to find best alternatives in disposing its huge tailing without really harming the environment.

"The alternative includes the disposal of Freeport's overburden in Lake Wanagon," he said, adding that Freeport had to pay certain amount of money to dispose its tailing in Wanagon to compensate environmental degradation around the "lake".

Currently Freeport dispose around 95 percent of its overburden to Wanagon, and the remaining 5 percent to Carstensz valley. (*)