He said an environmental audit had been conducted on PT Gag Nikel, which received a green rating under the Company Performance Assessment Program (PROPER).
"According to the directive from President Prabowo Subianto, company supervision must be multi-level. As we have been implementing this, we will regularly increase the frequency of visits to Gag," he remarked on Thursday.
Nurofiq explained that, in line with the president’s request to step up monitoring of mining activities on the small island, his office prepared an environmental audit as part of the company’s environmental approval.
"We have added more layers of monitoring, with additional components and variables of supervision. There will also be more frequent visits," he conveyed.
The government previously received public complaints about mining activities in Raja Ampat, a center of biodiversity with an ecosystem highly vulnerable to pollution risks.
As a response, the government revoked four mining business permits (IUP) in the district, as some operations were located within protected areas.
The four revoked IUPs belong to PT Anugerah Surya Pratama, PT Nurham, PT Melia Raymond Perkasa, and PT Kawai Sejahtera.
Meanwhile, PT Gag Nikel, a subsidiary of PT Antam Tbk, temporarily suspended operations for environmental review and audit before resuming activities on Wednesday, September 3.
Earlier, PT Antam Tbk President Director Achmad Ardianto stressed that the company would not conduct any operations that violate good mining practices.
"In fact, I hope we can continue implementing good mining practices to make stronger contributions to the state," he noted.
He also confirmed that the Antam subsidiary has a work plan and budget (RKAB) for nickel production of three million wet metric tons, with production targets on track.
Related news: Gag Island mine: No environmental issues found in initial review
Related news: Nickel mining in Raja Ampat sparks heated debate
Translator: Prisca Triferna, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Primayanti
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