Indonesia: Mining company cleared of polluting bay

A US mining company executive was cleared by an Indonesian court of dumping dangerous levels of toxins into a bay.

US executive Richard Ness (aged 57), of Newmont Mining Corp, faced a maximum 10 years in jail and a £30,000 fine.

Presiding judge Ridwan Damanik told the Manado District Court that evidence presented during the 20-month criminal trial proved waste rock dumped into the water by Newmont’s now-defunct mine on Sulawesi island did not exceed government standards.

“There also is not enough evidence that people suffered from health problems,” the judge said, drawing cheers from Newmont’s supporters in the sweltering court.

Defence lawyers and family members threw their arms around the smiling Ness, the president director of Newmont’s local subsidiary.

Prosecutors immediately said they would appeal as hundreds of demonstrators ringing the building chanted, “Reject the verdict!”

The trial was being closely watched by foreign investors already wary about legal uncertainties in Indonesia, which boasts some of the world’s largest gold, tin, copper and nickel deposits but is also considered among the most corrupt nations.

Red tape and rising prices add to their concerns.

“A guilty verdict would of course affect the investment climate,” Witoro Soelarno of Indonesia’s energy and mineral resources department said before the verdict was announced. He noted that foreign companies have all but abandoned the mining sector since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

“We would have to work ever harder to lure them back,” he said, pointing also to concerns about a draft mining bill that would require companies to work with regional authorities instead of the central government.

Environmentalists had hoped the cash-strapped government would find a multinational corporation guilty of pollution charges, noting that the country’s unique and rich ecosystem were steadily degrading.

Close to 1,000 protesters gathered outside the tightly guarded court today, some holding banners that said “Sentence Newmont!” and “Improve Indonesia’s environmental laws!” Others rallied in the coastal city on motorcycles, snarling traffic.

“We want Newmont and its director to take responsibility for what they’ve done,” protest organiser Didi Koleangan said ahead of the verdict, referring to allegations villagers living near Buyat Bay, 1,300 miles northeast of Jakarta, complained of skin disease, lumps, breathing difficulties and dizziness.

Although evidence presented to the Manado District Court was limited to a few villagers complaining of itchiness, some activists say follow-up research should be conducted for up to 30 years to make sure they are not suffering from body arsenic accumulation.

Newmont began operations in Sulawesi in 1996, but the Denver, Colorado-based company stopped mining in 2004 after extracting all the gold and ore it could.

Last year, Newmont reached a £15m (€22m) out-of-court settlement with the government to defuse a separate civil suit over alleged toxic pollution in the bay.