ONE part of the bitter brawl between big U.S. goldminer, Newmont, and the Indonesian Government seems to be heading for a settlement.
Reports from Jakarta over the weekend claimed that Indonesia was trying to rule off a civil action it had taken against Newmont over an alleged spill of chemicals on SulawesiIsland.
Any settlement of the civil action is unlikely to effect an ongoing criminal trial against Newmont executives.
The case, which has attracted worldwide attention, has severely tarnished Indonesia\'s reputation as an investment destination for the mining and oil industries.
Indonesia\'s Environment Minister, Rachmat Witoelar, told local media that the government was unlikely to pursue a $US133 million action against Newmont after losing a first round court case and being advised to go to international arbitration.
Witoelar said such a course could take years for the case to settle.
"By negotiating an out-of-court settlement, we hope to be able to quickly compensate people living near the (Newmont) mine," he said.sumber:
