Indonesia’s Agincourt says it can resume operations after government lifts sanctions

Indonesian gold miner Agincourt Resources said on Thursday that it has been given the go-ahead from the environmental ministry to resume operations at its Martabe gold mine, which was sanctioned after accusations of environmental breaches.

Agincourt was among the 28 firms whose permits were revoked by the government following claims they were responsible for environmental damage that worsened last year’s floods in Sumatra, which killed at least 1,200 people.

Agincourt is part of conglomerate Astra International. Astra’s majority shareholder is Jardine Matheson.

“The company welcomed the environmental ministry’s decision related to the approval to continue operations at the Martabe gold mine,” said Katarina Siburian, Agincourt’s spokesperson.

The company is making necessary preparations and will comply with all requirements, and is committed to environmental protection and safety standards, Katarina said, adding that operations have not yet resumed.

Mining operations at Martabe had been suspended since December last year.

Officials from Indonesia’s environment and energy ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Deputy energy minister Yuliot Tanjung was quoted on Wednesday by news website Bloomberg Technoz as saying that the permit had been restored, adding that the ministry was still evaluating the company’s mining quota.

Another company sanctioned by the government, PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE), has also been given permission by the government to resume operations, energy ministry official Eniya Listiani told Reuters on Thursday.

The company is controlled by China’s state-run SDIC Power Holdings Co. Ltd.

Commercial operations at the hydropower plant operated by NSHE are expected to start in October, Eniya said.

The hydropower project, worth over $1.6 billion, has long been on the radar of environmental activists, with many calling for it to be stopped because of the ecological destruction it has wrought on the biodiverse island.

(By Bernadette Christina and Stanley Widianto; Editing by David Stanway)