Indonesia court to start Koba Tin trial next week

PANGKALPINANG, March 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia will begin next week the trial of the head of the country's second-biggest tin smelter over allegations that PT Koba Tin was involved in illegal mining in a protected forest, a court official said on Saturday.

The company could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kamardin Md Top, the president director of Koba Tin, has been detained since the middle of last month after an investigation by the forestry ministry into the company's mining activities in the Bangka-Belitung islands, Indonesia's main source of tin.

"The trial of Kamardin Md Top will start on March 10," Tjahyono, the head of Sungai Liat court, about 80 km (50 miles) from Pangkalpinang, the provincial capital, told reporters.

"He is alleged to be responsible for the damage of tens of hectares of protected forest in Lubuk Besar village, Central Bangka regency, as a result of tin mining," he added.

But Malaysia Smelting Corp Bhd (MSCB.KL), which hold a 75 percent stake in Koba Tin, said in a statement on Feb. 18 that the company's tin dredge had ceased operations in that area in October 2002 due to exhaustion of reserves.

"It had since been kept under care and maintenance basis with the approval of the Directorate General of Energy and Mineral Resources," the company said.

The company said Indonesia's forestry ministry only issued a declaration regarding designation of forest areas covering about 657,510 hectares in the province on Oct. 1 2004, which included part of the Koba Tin mining areas.

Under the country's revised forestry law, the executive could face a maximum jail sentence of seven years if found guilty of conducting illegal mining in the area, the court official said.

The crack down on tin mining on the islands comes amid growing pressure to protect Indonesia's environment and forests.

This is the third case of alleged illegal mining involving Koba Tin.

In August 2007, three directors, including president director Anuar Sidek, were cleared of charges of illegal mining on the Bangka-Belitung island.

The case is the latest in a series of investigations by the authorities in the Bangka-Belitung island, source of nearly a quarter of the world's tin.

The investigations disrupted supply in early 2007 and 2008, increasing worries over supply from Indonesia, the world's biggest tin exporter.

Indonesia's state-owned PT Timah Tbk (TINS.JK), the world's largest integrated tin miner, owns 25 percent of Koba Tin. (Reporting by Dwi Sadmoko; Writing by Fitri Wulandari; Editing by Ed Davies and Clarence Fernandez)