Foreword

• Author: Peter Albert
• Profession: CEO of G-Resources
• Pages: 11-12

Foreword

In January 2009 the Indonesian government introduced a new mining law

for the development of mines in Indonesia. This new law replaces the 1967

law that was designed to attract large international mining companies to

develop large world-scale mines in one of the world’s most geologically

prospective environments while smaller and medium-scale mines were the

exclusive perview of Indonesian companies. The 2009 mining law does not

deal comprehensively with all aspects of the requirements for exploring,

developing, and building new mines; this was deliberately left to Ministerial

Regulations to be handed down at later dates. In addition, the new mining law

provided a number of inconsistencies and contradictorystatements that caused

confusion among existing and potential new mining entrants; these anomalies

have, to some extent, been dealt with by the ensuing mining regulations. The

undertaking of exploration, development, and miningis further complicated by

the deregulation of government that has taken place over the past fifteen years

with approvalsfor different aspects of a developmentbeing required at multiple

levels of government, that is, central, provincial, and regency.

Sullivan’s work attempts to unravel the multicomplex rules, regulations,

and reporting requirements proposed by the new mining law, and while it is

still a very dynamic situation, Sullivan’s work is extremely comprehensive in

its understanding and analysis. The work is factual, with little opinion or

commentary, which is appropriate for such a work. It is essential reading, not

only for potential new entrants to Indonesian mining but also to those

already operating in Indonesia seeking to understand the new landscape and

the complexity of all the rules and regulations that can be somewhat con-

fusing. Sullivan’s work, while written from a legal perspective, is easy to read,

thorough in its analysis, and provides clarity and understanding to the reader.

Indonesia is geologically one of the most prospective environments on

the planet. The Indonesian government recognizes this and recognizes the

tremendous potential that sensible and sustainable mining can bring to the

economy, the local communities, and the long-term strategic goals of the

country. The new mining law, while not perfect, is a significant step forward

in the long-term development of this strategic industry. Sullivan’s work will

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