Indonesia suspended 190 coal and mineral mining permits after they failed to meet their obligations for the rehabilitation of mine-damaged land or comply with production quotas, state media Antara reported on Tuesday, citing the deputy mining minister.
“This is (based on) a comprehensive evaluation conducted by the Directorate General of Minerals and Coal,” deputy mining minister Yuliot Tanjung was quoted as saying.
He said the permit suspensions were linked to evaluations of the miners’ post-mining land reclamation obligations and for extracting more than their quotas allowed, among other problems.
Yuliot and other ministry officials did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
It was not immediately clear how much the suspension would affect the output of coal and minerals from the resource-rich nation. As of late 2024, there were over 4,600 mining permits in Indonesia.
President Prabowo Subianto has vowed to crack down on the illegal exploitation of natural resources, including in the mining sector.
(By Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by David Stanway)
