Mining Contract Amendments To Be Inked By October

Jakarta, Sept 12 (Antara) - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources is targeting to ink several mining contract amendments before the end of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono`s term in October 20, 2014. Directorate General of Mineral and Coal R. Sukhyar noted here on Friday, September 2014, that the ministry has set a target to sign Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on the renegotiation of all mining contracts. "Of the total mining contracts, probably there are five amendment contracts that will be signed," Sukhyar revealed. The five contracts belong to the companies that hold working contracts (KKs) and those who have coal mining exploitation work agreements (PKP2Bs). The contract amendments will be signed by Acting Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Chairul Tanjung who will be representing the government. Meanwhile, the MoUs will be signed by the directorate general of mineral and coal. The six points outlined in the MoUs on renegotiation are state revenues, divestiture obligations, smelter construction obligation, adjustment of land area, the use of domestic goods and services, and continuity of operations. As of September 1, 2014, data obtained from the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources revealed that there are still 64 companies that hold 24 KKs and 40 PKP2Bs are yet to be signed. Meanwhile, the other 43 companies holding 10 KKs and 33 PKP2Bs have agreed to the points of renegotiation. Several mining companies that have signed MoUs are PT Freeport Indonesia, PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara, and PT Vale Indonesia Tbk, among several others. The renegotiation contract covers 107 companies, comprising 34 companies that hold KKs and 73 companies that hold PKP2Bs. The government has set up a team for evaluating all the KKs and PKP2Bs.