SAMARINDA, E. KALIMANTAN: The local chapter of the Office of Environmental Management will report two mining companies operating in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, despite their licenses having been revoked or suspended, one of its officials said on Monday, Jakarta Globe reported.
Sukisman, the head of the Samarinda mining office, identified the two companies as CV Prima Coal Mining and Graha Benua Etam, with the first having its license revoked and the second suspended.
He said his office would report the two companies to police for further actions because the two no longer had the necessary permits to operate.
“We will certainly report them because these companies have had their license revoked, but they are still engaged in mining activities. This is illegal,” Suksiman said.
The two companies, he said, had been operating on a 155-hectare of mining land in Samarinda since 2008. But because an investigation by the Samarinda regional environmental agency found them to be violating mining procedures and damaging the environment, their permits were revoked after three warnings.
Sukisman said both miners not only damaged the environment but also created danger for the people living in the surrounding area by leaving holes from their mining activities opened.
“We will prepare the report on their activities. Then we will report these to the authorities so that such a case is not repeated,” he said.
The Samarinda mining office, he said, had even seen piles of coal totaling some tens of thousand tons awaiting loading onto a ship. He said his office would not issue any certificate of origin for the coal, which is required for any sale.
“If they do not have a certificate of origin, they will be deemed illegal and police can arrest and detain them. This is a crime,” Sukisman said.
The Samarinda administration has issued some 50 permits for mining activities in area, and activists have blamed the extensive mining operations there for the increasing amounts of flooding.