Arc Exploration Limited (ARX), an Australian gold mining exploration company with presence in Indonesia, has halted activities at a project in Bima, after a violent protest at the nearby port of Sape last week that left two people dead. ARX’s shares plummeted 20 per cent today after this announcement.
ARX, whose Bima exploration license covers some 250 square kilometres of the island, announced that demonstrators had stated they wanted its exploration rights revoked.
“While ARX remains in full compliance with all legal, regulatory and license requirements, the company has halted exploration activities at its Bima Project until the situation is resolved,” said the statement.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Indonesian environmentalist group Walhi said about 700 police attacked just 350 protesters ”without any prior warning shots” at Sape port. In a detailed account of the incident, Walhi said that the civilians ran and scattered without fighting, but that they were still being shot at.
Arc’s Secretary Andrew Cooke said that while the company regrets the loss of life and injury that was suffered during Christmas Eve’s events, “ARX’s activities and staff have no connection with the port of Sape, and any suggestion that ARX was involved with Saturday’s events at Sape is incorrect.”
