Commmitment

◊To incorporate environmental considerations in the design, construction, operation and closure of all facilities, consistent with the principles of sustainable development and conservation of biodiversity.


◊To develop defined objectives and targets and implement programs directed at the management of significant environmental aspects including those associated with tailings placement and mine water management.

◊To comply with or exceed applicable Indonesian environmental, legal, regulatory and other requirements; partner and lender covenants; and Newmont Mining Corporation standards for responsible environmental management.


◊To create an environment where we hold each other - employees, contractors and others, accountable for maintaining high environmental standards and contribute to the continual improvement of company environmental performance and the prevention of pollution.

Programs

Mining, mineral processing and project support activities must be properly managed to ensure that potential negative impacts to the environment are minimized to the greatest extent possible. It is equally important to ensure that the everyday decisions made during development activities take into account the longer-term reality of mine closure.

Planning for the future to ensure that post-closure land use is incorporated into development plans and operating activities is good business and a basic requirement for sustainable development.

Newmont rigorously implements site-specific management and monitoring programs to minimize any potential environmental risks or hazards that may be caused by operations at Batu Hijau. Some key management priorities identified during the project environmental impact assessment included the disposal of tailings, maintaining water quality and ensuring that changes to the landscape incorporate a vision for suitable post-closure land use.
°ANDAL (Environmental Impact Analysis)
As a contractor to the Government of Indonesia, Newmont was required to analyze in detail the environmentally preferred alternative for development activities at Batu Hijau as part of the feasibility study. The environmental analysis, or ANDAL, considered all potential impacts to land, water, air, biological resources and communities near the project area.
The final ANDAL document contains the preferred alternative selected and approved by the Government of Indonesia and governs all impacts on all aspects of Newmont's operation. The environmental monitoring plan (RPL) and environmental management plan (RKL) contained in the approved ANDAL are specifically designed to minimize potential impacts at Batu Hijau. Newmont's intent is to set standards of excellence with regard to environmental matters. Newmont recognizes that a strong environmental management program is critical for sustainable development at Batu Hijau and places the highest priority on management practices that support the principles of environmental.
°Water Quality
Newmont has an integrated water management system in place to ensure that impacts to water quality of the local water systems are minimum. As mining operations proceed, native vegetation is replanted as soon as practicable on cleared areas to keep exposed soil to a minimum and prevent erosion that could affect water quality. Sediment control structures, such as ponds and diversion ditches, have been constructed to capture sediments and allow only clean, non impacted, water to leave the project area.
The extensive Mine Water Management System constructed at Batu Hijau diverts natural, jungle run-off around the mine to rivers down gradient from the mine. The water in the local streams is as clean as that normally found in undisturbed areas.

Batu Hijau's Mine Water Management System ensures that mine impacted water, including ARD seepage and pit surface water, will not leave the project area.

Newmont conducts a regular and thorough water quality monitoring program according to the monitoring plan developed during the environmental impact analysis for the project. Results are reported quarterly to the Government of Indonesia.

°Reclamation Management

The operation cleared land to make way for the excavation of the mine and for supporting infrastructure such as the Mill, Port, Townsite and Roads. PTNNT practices concurrent reclamation and reclaims disturbed areas as soon as they are available, stabilizing areas as soon as possible to minimize erosion and sediment generation.
To date, PTNNT has reclaimed over 670 Ha of disturbed land, including over 100 Ha of Waste Rock Dump. PTNNT reclaims areas using native species that will promote succession to a forest similar in structure to that which existed before mining.

°Tailings Management

Tailings from PTNNT's copper-gold recovery plant are essentially non-hazardous, non-toxic and generally similar in characteristics to the sand at the bottom of the sea around the island of Sumbawa. Tailings are nothing more than the left over portion of finely ground rock after the valuable minerals have been removed.
PTNNT uses Deep-Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) to deposit tailings deep below the biologically productive areas of the sea. Tailings management begins right after the completion of mineral recovery processes at flotation cells where the slurry enters a deaeration tank. The purpose of this tank is to eliminate entrained air from the tailings so that when released to the sea there is no upward movement caused by rising air.

After the de-aeration tank, the tailings slurry flows through a 6 km onshore pipeline and then a 3.4 km offshore pipeline to the head of the Senunu Canyon where it is discharged at a depth of over 120m. The tailings are denser than seawater and flow down the bottom of the steep canyon to settle at depths of 3,000 - 4,000 meters below the surface of the Indian Ocean to the South of Sumbawa.

PTNNT's Deep-Sea Tailings Placement system is monitored extensively and regularly to ensure that the system is functioning as per the engineered design to minimize potential environmental impacts. Coral reefs, marine sediment, fish, estuarine ecology and water quality monitoring results are all critically evaluated by professional scientists and engineers on an on-going basis.

°Other Initiatives

PTNNT realizes that as a member of the community and a good neighbor, the company must work in partnership with local people, NGOs and the government to successfully manage environmental issues. Therefore, Newmont has undertaken various environmental programs in partnership with the community and government.
These programs aim to establish direct communications with project area neighbors, providing information on responsible natural resource management and on promoting public understanding of Newmont's environmental management and monitoring programs. Present projects include community beach clean-up, turtle conservation, coral reef rehabilitation and conservation.
°Mine Closure
As with all mines, the rock containing valuable metals will run out and Batu Hijau will close. Although with current estimates, Batu Hijau is expected to be in production for about 20 years, the actual life of the project may change considerably due to various future factors. As the mine progresses, more geological, mining and metallurgical data become available to give a more accurate calculation of the amount of economically viable ore in the ground and the time it would take to mine and process the ore. Fluctuating copper prices are another determining factor in the life of the mine as they directly affect the economic viability of the operations at the Batu Hijau project.

At the end of the day, the crucial challenge is to develop a diverse economy that will be sustainable after the mine closes.

Once the mine stops operating, final reclamation and re-vegetation will be completed to provide a landscape that is suitable for post-closure land use. Reclamation of waste rock areas has taken place throughout the mine's operation to return as much area as possible to its natural state, as early as possible. The pit walls themselves will not be reclaimed as the pit will gradually fill with water. Ultimate plans for post mine closure land use will be made with the approval and participation of the government and local communities. Management of water from the waste rock dumps will continue as long as required.

Award

Department of Energy & Mineral Resources (DEMR)
∝2004-2005
ADITAMA award acknowledging sound Waste Rock Management
∝2005-2006
ADITAMA award acknowledging sound Sediment and Erosion Control
∝2004-2006
UTAMA award acknowledging sound Reclamation
ΞState Ministry of Environment – PROPER ProgramΞ
⊗2003-Green Rating⊗
⊗2004-Blue Rating⊗
⊗2005-Green Rating⊗
⊗2006-Meet “Green Rating” requirements⊗
⊗2007-Green Rating⊗