The Ministry Of Energy And Mineral Resources Calls The Martabe Gold Mine Owned By UNTR Temporarily Stop Production

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) revealed that the Martabe gold mine owned by PT Agincourt Resources (PTAR) has temporarily suspended its mining activities in North Sumatra.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Dwi Anggia revealed that this termination was due to companies that focused on helping people affected by flash floods in North Sumatra.

"So far, they have stopped activities, they are focused on helping the affected communities. So they are full teams to help distribute aid, especially food, clothes for the families there. Because for the post-refuges, it's still limited there," said Anggia to the media crew, quoted on Saturday, December 6.

However, Anggia did not elaborate further on how long this operational suspension will be carried out.

He also said that the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia had also directly inspected Martabe's gold mining location. Based on these observations, it was known that the location of the landslide was far from the mining site, while flash floods occurred in the Garoga River.

Anggia admitted that PTAR did open land for the mining site because of the ongoing exploitation process.

"In Martabe, land clearing is still ongoing when exploiting. But the flooding that occurred was not in this river," said Anggia.