Walhi to sue Newmont Nusa Tenggara

The Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Wahli) said it would carry out its plan to sue gold United States-owned mining company PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara for illegally discharging poisonous tailing into the sea.

"Disposing of tailing into the sea is by no means justified and must be stopped immediately. We will try to persuade the government to issue a decision to that effect," Walhi executive director Emmy Hafildz said on Monday.

Disposal of tailing into the sea was an arbitrary act which ignored the adverse effects on marine biosystems, she said.

If the US company really wanted to conserve the environment, it could develop an environmentally friendly system of discharging its tailing on land, she said.

"However, Newmont has not done so because it has been avoiding a loss," she said. (*)