Wednesday, 24th May 2006 (1337 views)

The government of Indonesia may be looking to extend its contract with Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold over the Grasberg mine in Papua province, the Jakarta Post reports.

The Grasberg mine is the largest gold mine in the world and has been the subject of scrutiny in recent months because of alleged environmental pollution.

The mine, which in 2004 was estimated to have reserves of some 46 million ounces of gold, generates around 700,000 tons of tailings per day and critics claim it is damaging river life.

However, following an official review of operations at Grasberg and the company's social efforts to help nearby communities, the Indonesian government might look to renegotiate the contract "in the next two months".

Freeport-McMoRan is committed to environmental principles that state it must comply with all applicable environmental laws and regulations and make environmental management a high corporate priority.

The firm seeks to continually improve its environmental performance "at every operational site".

 

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