JAKARTA — A litany of loopholes allows mining companies in Indonesia to shirk their obligation to restore and rehabilitate their former concessions, a new report says.
Spatial analysis of eight big mining companies by the environmental NGO Auriga Nusantara finds they failed to rehabilitate a combined 873 square kilometers (337 square miles) of mining pits — an area larger than New York City — as of last year. Under Indonesian law, companies are required to restore their mining areas to their original state once they have finished operating in the area.