Reuters AlertNet Lite - Indonesia court delays verdict on Newmont

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Indonesia court delays verdict on Newmont

30 Mar 2007 11:59:45 GMT
Source: Reuters

JAKARTA, March 30 (Reuters) - An Indonesian court decision in a high-profile pollution trial involving the Indonesian unit of Newmont Mining Corp and its American chief has been postponed by two weeks, the judge trying the case said on Friday.

PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, which once operated in North Sulawesi province, and its president director Richard Ness face charges over allegations the miner dumped toxic substance into a bay near its now defunct gold mine, making villagers sick.

The Manado court where the case has been tried since August 2005, initially planned to deliver the verdict on April 4.

Chief Judge Ridwan Damanik said the judges needed more time to draw up the verdict.

"It takes time to compile opinion from five judges into a verdict. But I think the verdict can be read out on April 18," Damanik told Reuters by phone from Manado.

"The case is sensitive because we are trying foreign parties. We don't want to rush things as it could become a problem," he said.

Ness and his firm in their legal arguments in January said they had obtained valid licences to carry out mining activities, including a licence for the disposal of tailings on the Buyat Bay seabed and an environmental impact analysis by the environment ministry.

Prosecutors in their counterplea said that based on witnesses the firm did not have permits to dump tailings on the seabed. ($1 = 9,130 rupiah)

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Last updated:Fri Mar 30 12:01:41 2007