We have followed the ‘Buyat Bay’ saga at this blog beginning with my post entitled ‘Did Newmont Do it?’ in November 2005.
And I was in Indonesia in April to visit Buyat Bay and hear the verdict in the criminal trial.
Richard Ness and Newmont were cleared of all charges.
The ABC TV program ‘Foreign Correspondent’ is running a story on the Buyat Bay saga on Tuesday night. The promo says:
“The tiny inlet of Buyat Bay, has been a battleground with one of the world’s biggest mining companies, Newmont, facing monumental lawsuits from environmental groups, activists, and most importantly the Indonesian government itself.
Newmont has been accused of poisoning an entire community through the discharge of its mining waste into the bay. Water samples taken by Indonesian police indicated massive levels of mercury and arsenic were to be found in Buyat Bay but other tests including those conducted by Australia’s CSIRO found the bay to be clean.
At the centre of these accusations stands Richard Ness, the executive director of Newmont’s Indonesian operations. For the past two years he has been dragged through the courts, and if convicted of the criminal charges brought against him he faces three years in jail.
But Buyat Bay is not what it appears to be, and recent events have exposed serious implications for foreign investors who venture into Indonesia.
Jakarta-based correspondent Geoff Thompson travelled to North Sulawesi to try and discover whether Buyat Bay is an environmental disaster?”
You can read more about Richard Ness at this blog here: https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/001697.html
I am writing a book on the saga.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.