Antara, Jakarta – Indonesia's Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) Yuliot Tanjung has responded to growing public scrutiny over the role of extractive industries in worsening climate-driven disasters in Indonesia, after flash floods and landslides swept across northern Sumatra last week.
The catastrophe, which hit one of Southeast Asia's most biodiverse regions, has reignited long-standing debates about deforestation, watershed degradation, and the environmental oversight of mining operations across the island.
"People are saying the mining areas are far from the disaster sites," Yuliot said at the ESDM Ministry Office in Jakarta on Monday, December 1, 2025, as reported by Antara.
He added that Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Bahlil Lahadalia will visit the three hardest-hit provinces on Tuesday to assess conditions from the air and on the ground.
The inspection will focus on energy access in flood-affected areas and on verifying whether mining concessions played any role in intensifying the disaster.
"He will inspect everything directly. Tomorrow, the Minister will see it from above," Yuliot said.
Earlier, Melky Nahar, Coordinator of the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), said Sumatra has effectively become a "sacrifice zone" for mineral and coal extraction, with environmental degradation now amplifying the impact of extreme weather events.
According to Jatam's data, the island hosts at least 1,907 active mining permit areas covering 2.46 million hectares.
At the forest level, Melky said the Forest Area Use Agreement (PPKH) system has become a major pathway for converting protected forests into extraction zones.
Sumatra currently has at least 271 PPKH permits spanning 53,769 hectares, including 66 mining permits covering 38,206 hectares, alongside permits for geothermal, oil and gas, energy infrastructure, telecommunications, and other uses.
Melky also highlighted PT Agincourt Resources (PTAR), operator of the Martabe gold mine inside the Batang Toru ecosystem, as one of the companies holding a PPKH permit.
He said around 570 hectares of forest within PTAR's concession have already been cleared, creating what he described as direct disturbances to the region's critical river systems.
In a written response, PTAR stated that the flash flood in Garoga Village occurred in the Garoga/Aek Ngadol River Basin, which the company said is separate from the Aek Pahu River Basin where PTAR operates.
"Our monitoring has found no wood debris or materials from the Aek Pahu Basin that could be linked to the affected areas," said PTAR Senior Manager for Corporate Communications Katarina Siburian Hardono.
"PTAR fully supports the government's comprehensive investigation into all factors behind this disaster, and we are ready to cooperate transparently."