Brisbane – International mining investment in Indonesia is on the line after an escalation in pollution allegations against Newmont Mining Corporation.

Six Newmont executives – including Australian Phil Turner – have been ordered to appear on Tuesday before a prosecutor in Jakarta, after Indonesia's Supreme Court gave the go ahead to continue the criminal case against the gold miner.

The company has been accused of polluting water in Buyat Bay, on Sulawesi Island, with mercury and arsenic waste from a nearby gold mine.

The six executives were jailed last year and have since been released, but are not allowed to leave the country. They have not been charged and Newmont has denied the allegations.

While Indonesia has been viewed as a potential mineral powerhouse, concerns over corruption have resulted in the country attracting less than 1% of the global exploration budget in the last three years.

Noke Kiroyan, president of the Indonesia Australia Business Council, said the the case against Newmont was being closely followed.

"Certainly the fact that executives of a mining company are detained by the police and even jailed for some time is very disconcerting to say the least," he told Nine Network's Business on Sunday.

"That's not something that would promote investment because if it can happen to Newmont it can happen to anyone," Kiroyan added. "All mining companies are closely watching the Newmont situation and how it unfolds."

Kiroyan said the key issue for Indonesia was the seven-year absence of a mining law. Indonesia has said new mining legislation will be introduced this year.

The Sulawesi mine was closed last August after eight years due to depleted reserves, and the company had been carrying out reclamation work.

Six weeks before the mine was shut, a group of local villagers claimed Newmont had poisoned them. They have been backed by the government.

Newmont has pointed to environmental studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) contradicting the government's allegation that water in the area had registered high-pollutant levels.

But Indonesia's Environment Minister Rachmat Witloelar said residents at Buyat Bay had become sick and he believed Newmont has broken the law.

"That is why we're serving a court case against Newmont," he said.

Charges of breaching environmental rules carry jail terms of up to 15 years in Indonesia.

Federal Attorney General Philip Ruddock said concerns have been raised with Indonesia on a government-to-government basis.

"If you're going to have investment from abroad in important projects that are going to help with the development of Indonesia, you need to have it occurring in an environment which is conducive to investment," Ruddock told Channel Nine.

He said people wanted certainty and laws that would operate with clarity.

Head of Newmont in Indonesia Bob Gallagher said the company was shocked over the case.

"We feel this whole procedure is being run by the government from Jakarta," he said. "We were really, truly shocked that basically six guys who've done nothing but their jobs ended up in jail."