REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian government might impose a default on PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara unless it resumed production, an official from the ministry of energy and mineral resources said on Thursday.

The director general of minerals and coal, R Sukhyar, said that his office had already prepared a decision for a default declaration.

"Because production has been stopped, we will consider the company as being at default," he remarked.

Sukhyar said the government considered the stoppage of production by Newmont not as a force majeure, and therefore the company could be declared at a default. He said the government was still waiting for a good will from Newmont to revoke its lawsuit at the international arbitration court.

"Before the lawsuit is not revoked, no negotiation will be done with Newmont." he said.

Newmont meanwhile had pointed out that it was still waiting for a shareholders' meeting in the US on Thursday local time to deal with the lawsuit issue.

Sukhyar said after the government had declared a default Newmont must resume production. Unless they resume operation within a certain period, its concession area would be returned to the state as a reserved area, and later would be offered to state-owned companies such as PT Aneka Tambang Tbk. as a state representative, he added.

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