Jambi Police general crimes investigator Adj. Comr. Amin Nasution said the police had closed a number of mining locations in the area due to civil and criminal disputes reported by PUS against KAI.

“PT PUS alleges that PT KAI unilaterally terminated its contract, among other criminal allegations,” Amin said on Friday.

The police were currently in the process of investigating the case, he added.

According to PUS executive manager Yusuf Badri, the company signed in 2018 a 10-year contract with PT Universal Support and PT Bumi Bara Makmur Mandiri and its affiliate, KAI, which served as the holder of mining licenses.

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Yusuf said his company had acquired 50 hectares of land for mining in February, in accordance with the work plan and budget document approved by the Jambi Energy and Mineral Resources Agency. The agreement was that KAI would carry out mining activities with Universal Support as the contractor on the land.

“PT Universal Support has built the infrastructure and has now entered the production stage. However, after two years, PT Bumi Bara Makmur Mandiri and PT KAI have ended the contract without any clear reason. Many workers have lost their jobs because of this situation," he said.

PUS also reported KAI for its alleged failure to meet the legal obligations for work in two other locations.

KAI head of mining engineering Tonni Budihartono said the 50 hectares of land under PUS was not mentioned in the work plan.

"The mining area that we are working on is based on the revised version [of the work plan]," said Tonni. (aly)