All points in the mining law and government regulations have been agreed by Freeport."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - PT Freeport Indonesia has agreed to the points for the renegotiation of its mining contract in order to abide by Law Number 4 of 2009 on Mineral and Coal Mining, stated a senior minister.

"We have heard from our renegotiation team that Freeport has agreed to contract renegotiation in connection with the implementation of the law on coal and mineral mining," Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Chairul Tanjung remarked after a coordination meeting here on Monday.

The meeting to discuss continuation of the renegotiation process of mining contracts was attended by Industry Minister M.S. Hidayat, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik, Trade Minister M. Lutfi, Finance Minister Chatib Basri, and Head of the Investment Coordinating Board Mahendra Siregar.

Chairul emphasized that he will report PT Freeports agreement to the president in a cabinet meeting later, and it will be immediately incorporated into a memorandum of understanding.

"All points in the mining law and government regulations have been agreed by Freeport. We hailed what the team had done and hoped it can be completed with the signing of the agreement and approved in the cabinet meeting," he added.

The six points in the contract renegotiation cover width of working areas, contract extension, royalty, domestic smelting and processing, share divestment, and use of local workers and goods as well as domestic mining services.

At the meeting, Chairul also explained about the results of other mining contract renegotiations totaling 107 contracts.

He stated that the renegotiation of 40 of the total contracts has been agreed, which cover seven mineral mining contracts and 33 coal mining work agreements (PKP2B).

Chairul further added that the remaining 67 working contracts are still being negotiated, as not all the points offered by the government have been fully agreed by the mining companies.

"In connection with this, we have already discussed every issue and given guidance to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to settle those that have not yet been agreed upon, so that renegotiation of all working contracts and PKP2B will be completed by September 2014," he affirmed.

Of the total 111 working contracts, two have expired and two under the PKP2B are a cause of concern due to overlapping licenses and internal problems between their shareholders.

In view of that, the government will only have to renegotiate 107 contracts, Chairul remarked.

(Reporting by Satyagraha/Uu.H-YH/INE/KR-BSR/A014)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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