TheNewswire - Vancouver, BC - Baru Gold Corp (TSXV:BARU) | (OTC:BARUF) (“Baru” and its subsidiary PT. Tambang Mas Sangihe (“TMS”) or the “Company”) is happy to announce to stakeholders and investors that the industrial-scale, illegal mining operations on Sangihe Island have stopped.
As of February 10, 2023, all known illegal mines on Sangihe Island are no longer operating. The illegal miners, virtually all non-residents, left Sangihe Island en masse. Their remaining pieces of heavy equipment are being moved off the worksites. As mentioned in our press release of January 11, 2023, the Company believes these events are directly related to the Police Chief of North Sulawesi (Kapolda) Setyo’s mission to end illegal mining across the entire region. Unfortunately, illegal miners have not undertaken any environmental remediation and left their worksites contaminated.
The Company is the only entity legally permitted to operate a gold mine on Sangihe Island.
We wish to stress to shareholders the importance of ending illegal mining on Sangihe Island. Virtually every difficulty and delay faced can be tied directly or indirectly to illegal miners that have a vested financial interest in preventing the Company from operating. Illegal miners have also spent significant sums of money to fund media campaigns, lawsuits, and protests that have resulted in physical attacks on and blockage of the Company’s equipment and staff. The departure of illegal miners is a win for the Company, local Sangihe residents, the environment, and Indonesia.
Mr. Terry Filbert, CEO of Baru Gold, commented, “For too long, Sangihe Island has been held hostage by a few individuals using the Island’s resources to enrich themselves and corrupt the social fabric and environment. The illegal miners brought nothing but corruption, violence, and environmental destruction. The gold on Sangihe should be used to provide lasting positive social and economic changes on the Island – not for nefarious purposes. The residents have now seen and felt the damage done by the illegal miners on Sangihe. In contrast, the Company pays many taxes, including payroll, property, land concession, income, and, once in production, royalties. All these taxes go to support the development of the Island and the Indonesian economy. Seventeen villages on Sangihe are still without connection to the electrical grid. Our tax contributions will flow to such villages to help electrify them – not only to a few self-interested individuals. I look forward to seeing the positive financial and social changes on Sangihe Island, while protecting the environment.”
The Company also wishes to welcome Jan Leonard de Fretes as the new Wakapolda (Vice-Regional Head) of the North Sulawesi Police. The Wakapolda is newly appointed, and like Kapolda Setyo, he has also prioritized the removal of illegal miners and dismantling the supply chain, upon which they depend, across the entirety of North Sulawesi.
