Walhi again demands Newmont to close undersea tailings placement

Indonesia' environmental group Walhi has again called on the United States-based Newmont Corporation to close submarine tailings placements in its two mining subsidiaries in Indonesia, saying the operation of the undersea tailings grounds could not be justified.

Walhi's executive director Emmy Hafild said in Jakarta on Monday that the environmental group would continue to fight for the closure of the submarine tailings dumping grounds.

"The system to dump tailings into the sea could not be justified. They therefore should be closed," he was quoted as saying by Kompas daily on Monday.

According to Emmy, Newmont used the submarine dumping grounds only due to cost efficiency reasons without considering their negative impact to the environment.

Newmont through its two mining subsidiaries PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in North Sulawesi and PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara in West Nusatenggara (NTB) all dump their tailings into the sea through the so called the submarine tailings placement systems.

The operations of the undersea tailings grounds have caused for concerns not only to non-governmental groups but also to local residents. They feared that the underground dumping grounds would not only destroy the sea environment but also would affect the lives of the people living near the dumping sites.

Newmont has denied all the charges. The company recently held an international seminar in Mataram to discuss the impact of the submarine tailings placement to the environment. Speakers at the seminar comprising of local and international environmental experts said at the seminar that not all submarine tailings placements caused a problem to the environment.

Emmy said that her organization did not attend the seminar because the event was organized only to justify the operation of Newmont's two submarine tailings placements in the country. (*)