Indonesia, the top producer of nickel in the world, has revoked the mining permits of four companies that had been cleared to conduct operations within Raja Ampat in the east of Papua. The revocation was communicated by the energy minister.
Prior to the revocation, there was an outcry by members of the public regarding the potential environmental effects of the proposed mining activities.
Raja Ampat was designated by UNESCO as a global geopark. It features marine biodiversity. Protests erupted on social media and members of the public uploaded graphics featuring the blue waters of the region. The accompanying hashtag attracted a huge following and online activity, forcing the government to intervene.
Speaking to the press early on Tuesday, the energy minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, revealed that President Subianto had made the decision to cancel the quartet of permits to protect the environment against damage occasioned by mining activities.
Four firms had received permits to conduct nickel extraction activities in the areas surrounding Raja Ampat. However, the government hadn’t yet issued annual mining quotas to the entities since they had not yet completed the needed administrative preconditions. Consequently, production had not yet commenced, said the minister.
The minister also revealed that the permit acquired by a subsidiary of Aneka Tambang wasn’t revoked since its operations are outside the geopark. Aneka Tambang is government-owned. Its subsidiary, Gag Nikel, has an annual quota of extracting 3 million tons of nickel. When protests initially broke out last week, the mining operations of the firm were temporarily suspended by the energy ministry.
The minister promised that the authorities would closely monitor the operations of Gag Nikel, especially its regulatory compliance. Antam (Aneka Tmbang), the entity that owns Gag Nikel, revealed that its subsidiary had conducted forest restoration activities in addition to coral reef preservation.
Last week, Greenpeace, a nonprofit, sent activists to Jakarta at a venue hosting a mineral conference. The activists protested outside the venue, complaining about the ecologically harmful activities in the surroundings of Raja Ampat.
Mining activities in the area resulted in the loss of 500 hectares of native vegetation and forest cover, as well as coral reef and marine ecosystem damage. This information was contained in a statement that the nonprofit released.
Conflicts between mining firms and conservationists are likely to increase as the country ramps up its mining activities.
For companies like Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (NYSE American: PLG) (TSX: PTM) that have opted to conduct their exploration and mine development activities in South Africa, no such conflicts are likely to arise since the areas where they operate are far from protected zones.
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