The Community Economy Of Malili Is Getting Disturbed Due To The Discontinued Mining Activities Of PT CLM

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The community's economy around the mining site of PT Citra Lampia Mandiri (CLM), whose life has been dependent on PT CLM mining activities, has begun to be disrupted because the wheels of the community's economy have also stopped due to the cessation of the company's mining activities.

Achmad Sobri, Head of Mining Engineering from the legitimate management of PT CLM under the leadership of President Director (Managing Director) Helmut Hermawan, said that the disruption of the community's economy around PT CLM's nickel mining in Malili District, East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi Province was a logical consequence of the cessation of PT CLM mining activities.

This happened following an illegal and unlawful takeover by Zainal Abidinsyah Siregar and friends who now claim to be the new management of PT CLM.

According to Sobri, before mining activities were stopped due to the illegal takeover of PT CLM which occurred on November 7, 2022, PT CLM each month spent Rp40 billion to pay various needs for goods and services ranging from logistics (food and beverage) needs, component procurement (sparart), heavy equipment rental and other mining equipment, energy costs (solar), employee rental, employee transportation vehicle rental, barge rental to pocket money for street vendors and internship students.

"The various needs of these goods and services are almost entirely provided by the company and local communities around the mining site in Malili," said Sobri in his statement, Monday, December 12.

The Rp40 billion fund, said Sobri, is also very large for the size of one sub-district such as Malili. Such a round of funds in the people of Malili is able to move the wheels of people's economic lives there so as to significantly increase people's income and welfare.

Most of the operating costs are distributed to three main contractors, all of whom are local companies, namely PT Gunung Verbeck Karebbe, PT Pacific Energi Agung and PT Magatti Internasional. Under the three main contractor companies, there are sub-contractor companies working on certain jobs under the coordination of the main contractor and all costs are charged to PT CLM.

Sobri said the three contractor companies employed local workers, which 99 percent came from 3-5 villages in Malili District. The total number of workers in the three contractor companies reaches 900 people, so assuming each worker has one wife and two children, the total population of Malili, which directly depends on the mining business of PT CLM, reaching 3,600 people.

This number does not include the people of Malili who also enjoy economic cakes as a result of PT CLM's mining business but do not directly come into contact with mining business activities such as lodging businesses, restaurants/restaurants, tourism and others.

"Now, with the cessation of PT CLM's nickel mining activities after the illegal seizure and takeover by his group Zainal Abidinsyah Siregar, the economic turnover that the people of Malili have felt is no longer there. Of course, they have also become victims of the illegal takeover of PT CLM," said Sobri.

In detail, Sobri said that the company's monthly operating expenses before the termination of PT CLM's nickel mining activities in Malili were mostly (80 percent) for the rental of equipment and procurement of spare parts, which was around 50 percent or IDR 20 billion to pay for the rental of heavy equipment and other mining equipment and 30 percent (around IDR 12 billion) to buy spare parts.

The rest is for the purchase of diesel fuel (around 1 million liters per month worth Rp6.8 billion), the procurement of logistics for food/drinking worth Rp350 million per month in collaboration with the local BUMDES, leasing employees (in particular for non-local employees), leasing vehicles for CLM employees and contractors (Rp750 million per month), and for pocket money for street vendors and internship students (Rp20 million per month).

Such a large fee does not include the costs incurred by the company to fund the activities of the General Community Empowerment Plan (RUPM), which used to be known as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which reached Rp 5 billion per year. Such large funds are used, among others, to finance Friday Blessing activities, to review houses around mine sites, to build houses of worship and others.

Apart from these funds, the company (PT CLM) still contributes revenue to the state in the form of Non-Tax State Revenue (PNBP) in the form of royalties, which in 2022 until the end of October 2022 has reached IDR 176 billion.

"All of these funds, both those issued as company operational costs, RUPM funds and PNBP, are now automatically non-existent after the termination of PT CLM's nickel mining activities," Sobri emphasized.

Meanwhile, H. Arfah from contractor PT Gunung Verbeck Karebbe said that his company is now struggling to cover the credit costs for the procurement of heavy equipment for PT CLM's nickel mining activities following the unpaid invoice until October 2022 by the management of PT CLM in the era of Zainal Abidinsyah Siregar's occupation.

According to H. Arfah, until now the management of PT CLM in the era of Zainal Abidinsyah Siregar's occupation and its contractors have not reached an agreement regarding bill payments until October 2022 to contractors. The latest news is that PT CLM offers the option to pay the bill at the time of the sale of nickel ore to buyers from among nickel smelters scheduled around January 2023.

PT CLM is a domestic company that was founded in 2007 and is engaged in the nickel laterite dmp mining sector and is a mining company with the largest nickel ore production business license (IUP) in South Sulawesi at around 250 thousand MT per month.