East Nusa Tenggara, The Republic of Manganese (2)

East Nusa Tenggara, The Republic of Manganese (2)

Local manganese miners which have ‘clean and clear’ license from Ministry of Energy in East Nusa Tenggara reached 29 licenses. The number should be bigger as if the unlisted ones included. We have talked about PT Soe Makmur Resources’ license previously, so the following article would present the other 28 licenses.

The largest miner in the area is PT Indomineral Resources, having six licenses covering 6,200ha in Manggarai Regency. According to the list, from all licenses, three of them are already in production.

Some reports said this company is owned by Hong Kong investor. Others said this company is related with Chinese based Shanghai Yuanneng Energy. Several names within the company are Chang Julius and Kelvin Churchill. No clear reports on both figures unfortunately.

In November 2009, the landowner of Indomineral’s mine site reject the company’s presence as they assessed its activity will harm the environment and called up the Manggarai Regent Christian Rorok. However, the regent stated the company has fulfilled all requirements to establish mining activity there. As a solution, the company and local residents of Manggarai signed an agreement to establish several facilities for the people.

Other well-known company is PT Sumber Jaya Asia, having one manganese concession covering 647.9ha in Manggarai Regency and is already producing. It’s existence in the area has been in dispute as the company’s area lies on a protected forest of Nggalak Rego.

On the case, two of Sumber Jaya’s executives, Herman Jaya and Libertus Magung was detained, before later released on June 2011. Desktop research points out Herman Jaya as the director of Ocean Watch Indonesia.

Next is PT Tamarindo Karya Resources, the owner of 1,481ha exploration concession in Manggarai, and the subsidiary of Bligh Mining Ltd. Inside the company, the name of Amri Fajri founded.

PT Rakhsa Internasional Mining has a small concession of 30ha but already producing in Manggarai, owned by India investor named Vishal Jatiani. Rakhsa seems stood as the subsidiary of Rovima International Ltd which acts as a trader. Besides in mining, Mr. Jatiani also owns carpet-maker company named PT Classic Carpetama Indonesia.

PT Sumber Alam Antarnusa owns two concessions in Manggarai, covering 3,800ha in Manggarai. One of the licenses is already in production. No clear reports on the company but looks like it has other commodities beside manganese such as coal, nickel, and kaolin.

Another interesting company in Manggarai is PT Nusa Energy Raya, which owns one license covering 173ha. This company is a joint venture between troubled energy company PT Benakat Petroleum Tbk and PT Trisurya Lintas Energi with shareholding composition of 80/20. NER’s mine license will mature in 2013. Though PT Nusa’s status is already in production since 2009, Benakat says its production has not yet commenced commercially.

Several names inside the company are Yoseph Sipa (East Java Director of PT Asuransi Jiwa Central Asia Raya), Dennes Hasiholan Lumban Toruan, and other Benakat executives.

Enough in Manggarai, now we fly to Ende Regency in Ende Island, where most of its people were Moslems. There is only one listed manganese company in the area named PT Kasih Makmur Abadi which has one exploration license covering 6,200ha area. Unfortunately, further studies are needed to explore this company more.

Next is in Belu Regency with up to 14 companies registered as manganese miner in the area and most of them are producing.

Research starts from PT Multi Husada Wahana having one mining production license covering 560ha. This company is part of Yayasan Maranatha Groups owned by local businessman Semuel Sellan. The foundation says it is partnering with PT Permata Senayan Properti to establish several public infrastructures in the region. PT Permata claimed itself as a syndication group of foreign investors and investment banks for Indonesia project.

Another one is PT Bun Yan Hasanah which has the largest concession of 1,740ha and already in production. This company is owned by Adil Datuk Hartanto.

Next is PT Karunia Karwa Widya which has one production license of 411ha. The company is part of Karunia Group. Besides Karunya Karwa, the group also has two other subsidiaries namely PT Karunia Kelay Energy and PT Pulorida Quarindo. Both of them engaged in coal mining.

To sum up the rest, let’s take a look below:

1.       PT Sumber Griya Permai: one production license covering 622ha. Several names are Puji Setiawan Dipraja and Alfred Mandolang.

2.       PT  Sumber Alam Antarnusa: one production license covering 18ha. Reportedly owned by businessman Ahmed Sacha

3.       PT Harum Sarana Mining: one production license covering 1,000ha.

4.       CV Embun Pagi: one production license covering 94ha. Some said this company is owned by official in regional government.

5.       PT Batu Mulia Sulawesi: one production license covering 367ha. Owner of the company is reportedly named Syahrir Ali.

6.       PT Welindo Inti Pratama: one exploration license covering 118ha.

7.       PT Tanjung Mas: one exploration license of 1,032ha.

8.       CV Multi Sentra Perdana: one exploration license of 693ha.

9.       CV Lasaka Palapa Timor: one exploration license of 871ha.

10.   PT Global Artha Solusindo: one exploration license of 199ha.

11.   PT Gema Eximindo Sejahtera: one exploration license of 1,331ha.

“The most difficult issue in mining at NTT is the society itself. Most of them do not like mining activities. Just look at Newmont,” one analyst said.

Well, the region is truly full of commodities, especially in Manganese. Why does the government don’t establish a lithium battery factory there? Companies like Energizer, ABC Battery, or even Eveready might be truly interested in investing in this area.

But one thing for sure: don’t make this region as the next East Kalimantan!

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