Newmont banned from dumping into sea

Rangga D. Fadillah and Panca Nugraha -

The local government of West Sumbawa regency in West Nusa Tenggara province will no longer allow PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT) to dump its mine tailings into the sea after its permit to do so expires this month.

The local administration’s spokesman, Najamuddin Amy, said that the company’s activities had caused unrest among people and environmental activists in the regency.

He added that the people complained that the dumping of the company’s tailings into Senunu Bay waters not only damaged the environment but also could negatively impact the local people’s health.

He said the regency had a sent a letter to Environment Minister Gusti Muhammad Hatta asking him not to extend the permit.

“Through the letter, the government of West Sumbawa conveys its rejection of Newmont’s tailings in Senunu Bay waters,” he said as quoted by detikfinance.com on Tuesday.

NNT is a subsidiary of the United States-based Newmont Corporation, which operates a massive copper-gold mine in Batuhijau in the regency. It has dumped its tailings into the bay since 2000 under a license from the Office of the State Minister for the Environment. The permit is renewable every four years. NNT’s current permit expires on May 8.

As many as 50 activists from several green organizations staged a rally in Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara, Wednesday demanding that the government not extend the permit to dump into the bay.

“We urge the government to not renew NNT’s permit to dump its mine tailings into the Senunu bay because it has damaged the environment,” said Supriadi, the coordinator of the activists.

Activists said the company’s tailings that were dumped into the bay had caused damage to the marine flora and fauna in the surrounding waters, especially among fish. Local fishermen’s catches have continued to decline since the company was allowed to dump its tailings in the area, the activists claimed.

Newmont spokesperson Kasan Mulyono told The Jakarta Post that his company had accepted a letter from the local authority about its plan to stop using the Senunu bay as a dumping site.

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