Minahasa regency continues litigation against Newmont

An official of the Minahasa regency administration in North Sulawesi said the regency would pursue litigation against gold mining company PT Newmont Minahasa Raya following the failure of the verification team to gather accurate information on the C-class mining products extracted by the company, Manado Post reported.

The verification team was formed on the proposal of Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as part of the efforts to solve the months-long dispute between the regency administration and Newmont out of court.

The team aimed at finding correct information on the C-class mining products extracted by the company.

However, head of the legal section at the regency Jerry Pattilima, who is part of the team, said Newmont's staff could not provide the team with complete information on the amount of C-class mining products extracted by the company.

The staff could only provide information on the amount of materials extracted this year, he said.

"What is needed is the information on the amount of the C-class mining products extracted since 1995. Unfortunately, according to the company, the staff who is knowledgeable about it has quitted," Pattilima said.

Thus, the accuracy of the information provided by Newmont's staff to the verification team was questionable, Pattilima said.

Pattilima also expressed regrets that the team included two officials from the Ministry of Mines and Energy who appeared "new" and seemingly did not well understand the problem.

Pattilima said the regency would report to Minister of Mines and Energy that it had failed to reach an agreement with Newmont on the results of the verification team's study. (*)