Agincourt Resources Denies Being The Cause Of North Sumatra Flash Floods

JAKARTA - PT Agincourt Resources (PTAR) strongly denied allegations that Martabe's gold mining activities were one of the causes of flooding in North Sumatra

In a written statement, the management stated that the company operates in the Aek Pahu watershed (DAS) which is different from the flood point in the Garoga watershed. Meanwhile, flash floods were caused by the inability to flow the Garoga River to accommodate the flow of flood masses.

"This was triggered by the massive blockage of logistical wood material at the Garoga I Bridge and the Anggoli bridge," the management wrote, quoted on Wednesday, December 3.

The blockage effect was declared to have reached a critical point on November 25 at around 10:00 local time, causing a sudden change in the river channel so that two Gargoa tributaries joined into a new stream that hit Garoga village.

"Our findings show that directly linking Martabe's Gold Mine operations to the flash flood incident in Garoga Village is a premature and inappropriate conclusion," said management.

Furthermore, management said, although the two rivers met, the meeting point was far downstream in Garoga Village and continued to flow to the west coast of Sukatra, so that PTAR's activities in the Aek Pahu watershed did not have direct contact with the Garoga disaster.

Management also revealed that 15 villages located in the mining circle, most of which were in the Aek Pahu sub-watershed, did not experience any significant impact from the disaster.

"Even now it functions as refugee centers," continued the management.

Furthermore, the management of PTAR also conducted investigations through air observations and obtained visual evidence of massive landslides on the cliffs of the Garoga river channel, including in protected forest areas.

This longsoran-longsoran is a direct source of most of the mud material and logs found in the Garoga River. However, these findings are still an early indication, further studies are needed to fully search for other sources of cause," wrote PTAR.

Management also ensures that gold mining activities are carried out in accordance with applicable regulations, including carrying out mining activities in other use areas (APL), namely outside the Batang Toru forest area.

"During its operation, PTAR continues to support environmental protection efforts including water, air, soil conservation and further biodiversity conservation in collaboration with national and global institutions," said PTAR.