article of interest

I found this article courtesy of The Brunie times

I gotta say Australian government at the expense of tax payers has given so much money to Indonesia over the years for what.. It just proves they are racist bunch of IMO.. I don't care is this get moderated! Fact is a lot of investors will be taking a big loss right now..


Gold miner plans court fight over eviction
JAKARTA

Wednesday, July 25, 2012
AUSTRALIA-BASED gold miner Intrepid Mines is preparing for a legal battle after being forced to quit its Indonesian asset, it said yesterday, the latest step in a series of events suggesting the archipelago is growing more hostile to foreign investors.

Intrepid's move came at the same time Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc, a vastly bigger operation, said it has offered a 9.36 per cent stake in its Indonesia operations to the government, a move intended to deflect pressure from new mining rules.

The government, which owns almost 10 per cent of Freeport Indonesia, wants higher income from mining, as well as to enact new rules requiring foreign miners to divest 51 per cent of assets after 10 years of production.

Intrepid said its employees were asked to leave an East Java asset worth at least US$5 billion by its local partner last week, sending its shares plummeting.

"We weren't expecting it at all, and had no idea at all that it was about to happen," Brad Gordon, chief executive officer at Intrepid Mines, told Reuters yesterday.

"Security came in and closed everything down," he added. "We are getting advice from our lawyers to decide what our actions will be."

The Intrepid Mines case echoes that of London-listed Churchill Mining Plc, which has gone to an international court of arbitration in its fight over a share of a US$3 billion Indonesian coal mine.

"My guess is that Intrepid is in for a similar fight. It's not going to be pretty, and if Churchill's experience is anything to go by, it's going to end in tears," said a source familiar with Indonesian mining, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Indonesia is one of the world's top metals miners and the fast-growing sector accounts for about 12 per cent of gross domestic product in the G20 economy.

The government has announced a raft of new mining regulations this year, including export taxes, a ban on unprocessed metals exports and limits on foreign ownership, in an effort to boost state revenues from the sector.

Reuters

Source; http://www.bt.com.bn/business-world/2012/07/25/gold-miner-plans-court-fight-over-eviction?page=1