Batangtoru, 9 July 2023 – PT Agincourt Resources, the operator of Martabe Gold Mine, is strongly committed to disaster management efforts, which include prevention and mitigation as well as disaster risk reduction. PTAR has held a Disaster Response Village Program (Destana), Capacity Building of the South Tapanuli Regency Fire Fighting Unit (Damkar), and drills or simulations of Emergency Action Plans.
General Manager of Operations of PT Agincourt Resources, Rahmat Lubis, said one of the Company’s priorities in carrying out mining activities is to maximize the positive impact of the Company’s presence on stakeholders, including the community around the mining area. PT Agincourt Resources collaborates with the local government to activate disaster management training and engage the community to strengthen disaster preparedness.
“We realize that natural disasters are inevitable, so what we can do is prevent and mitigate as well as reduce the risks of disasters. Disaster management is a humanitarian call and the responsibility of all of us, including us as a business entity,” said Rahmat.
According to him, a number of disaster management programs have been carried out consistently by the Company year after year to support the creation of sustainable development.
In the field of disaster risk reduction, PTAR, in collaboration with Ready Indonesia, held a training on post management, installing and dismantling tents, and Standard Operational Procedures for emergency response, and facilitated Destana volunteer groups in four villages in three districts. In 2022, PTAR sent four Destana people and two South TapanuliFirefighters to take part in the Indonesia Fire and Rescue Challenge (IFRC) in Banyuwangi, East Java, for 2 weeks.
In addition, PTAR conducted capacity building for the South Tapanuli Fire Fighting Unit (Damkar), in collaboration with PTAR Emergency Response Team (ERT).
Most recently, according to the government regulations, PTAR recently has conducted a simulation of the Martabe Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) Emergency Action Plan (RTD). The RTD simulation, which was held on 6 July 2023 in four shelters in Batangtoru district, was successful and attended by 200 representatives of the residents of six directly affected villages, namely AekPining, Batuhula, Sumuran, Telo, Napa, Wek 3 and Wek 4.
The success of the RTD simulation with the theme “We Are Ready, We Are Alert!” was also inseparable from the support of the South Tapanuli Regency Government, South Tapanuli Police, Kodim 0212/TS, Basarnas, PMI, BMKG, MuspikaBatangtoru, and Destana volunteers.
The Chief Executive of the South TapanuliBPBD, Umar Halomoan Daulay, said the RTD simulation could be a medium for education and build a culture of preparedness so that disaster risks can be reduced. In this RTD simulation, BPBD South Tapanuli is the leading sector in implementing the RTD simulation.
“The RTD simulation went well thanks to the support from the community, TNI & Polri, and PTAR. From a series of disseminations to simulations, it is hoped that the community will be able to understand their duties and responsibilities if a disaster occurs. We also appreciate PTAR for its commitment to operating according to the government regulations.Not only in terms of building safe TSF dams, but also supporting the implementation of RTD simulations,” said Umar.
PTAR as a dam builder already has an RTD and disseminates the RTDs to the community, in accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Number 27 of 2015 concerning Dams.
During the RTD simulation, participants practised rescuing and evacuating residents, setting up barrack tents, and coordinating and communicating effectively between officials and the community. The RTD simulation was greatly assisted by the presence of Destanawhich has been formed and intensively trained by PTAR several years ago.
In the field of handling and recovering disaster victims, PTAR actively sends PTAR Emergency Response Teams/ERTs to several disaster areas in Indonesia. It was recorded that PTAR had deployedERT seven times to take part in dealing with disasters.
For example, in December 2022, PTAR sent ERT to the earthquake disaster location in Cianjur, West Java. There, PTAR volunteers helped search for missing victims, held health checks, provided medicine to the elderly and evacuees, and handed donations in the form of staples, medicines, and evacuee tents.
Previously, in 2021, PTAR volunteers were brought to the Mount Semeru eruption disaster location to collaborate with the ESDM Disaster Preparedness ERG Team to carry out sweeps for victims, as well as to provide basic health services to the affected community. Mount Sinabung eruption in November 2013; an earthquake in Piddie Jaya, Aceh, in 2016; and the earthquake in Mount Sari, West Lombok, in 2018 could not be separated from the participation of ERT PTAR.
