Namlea Military Command 1506 personnel patrols a former illegal gold mine on Mount Botak, Buru regency, Maluku, on Tuesday (13/9/2016). Even though it has been closed since 2015, a number of residents are able to get into the 500-hectare area the many unguarded paths.
PALU, KOMPAS – The provincial government of Central Sulawesi will in the near future shut down and curb the operation of illegal mines in Poboya village, Mantikulore district, Palu.
"Technically, the illegal mines will be handled by the forestry agency of the Central Sulawesi provincial administration through its special task force,” Central Sulawesi Governor Longki Djanggola said when asked about illegal mines in Poboya in Thursday. But he did not specify the time.
Illegal gold mines in Poboya have mostly been in operation since 2009 and cover 50 hectares in the province’s Tahura area. The local government has announced several times plans to close the illegal mines but there has been no realization until now.
The illegal miners process gold ores in an area about 15 kilometers east of Palu. They use mercury to separate gold ore from other materials. According to recent research conducted by the Bali Fokus Foundation, mercury has been found in human hair with a level of 0.82 parts per million (ppm) up to 13.3 ppm, far exceeding the health standard of 0.58 ppm.
The forest encroachment on the upstream of the Pondo River has also contributed to flooding caused by the overflow of the river that divides the eastern part Palu. Last year, at least two floods occurred in Talise village.
Longki said the provincial government had repeatedly asked the city administration of Palu and the local police to curb the illegal mining activities.
Asked about the closure of the illegal mines, the spokesman of the Central Sulawesi Police, Suprapto, said the police were waiting for technical coordination with various parties.
People’s mines
Meanwhile, the Central Kalimantan provincial government will establish mining zones for the people in each district in the province.
Central Kalimantan Governor Sugianto Sabran said Thursday that he had sought approval from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on the establishment of mining zones.
Sugianto said the activities of illegal miners had seriously damaged the environment. However, there is a dilemma because the illegal miners are mostly poor people. "If there is approval from the ministry, I will ask all heads of the regency to set up a mining zone for the people,” he added.
Sugianto had also asked the law enforcers to thoroughly investigate cases of illegal mining that use heavy equipment. According to the acting head of the mining and energy agency in the province, Ermal Subhan, illegal mining operations were financed by big investors.
The Kapuas district police also seized three excavators and detained four heavy equipment operators and technicians, last Friday. They were arrested when conducting mining activities in Sei Murui, Kapuas, Central Kalimantan.
Also asked about illegal mining in Maluku, the chairman of the head of the regional legislative council (DPRD), Edwin A Huwae, said in Ambon that “Certain parties have taken the advantage of legal mining. The security forces, both police and military, should not be afraid. All involved in illegal mining activities should be taken to court."
Edwin suspected certain parties of financially helping the illegal miners who generally come from outside the area. Illegal gold mining activities on Mount Botak, which began in October, 2011, were stopped in November 2015. However, at the end of 2016, the miners returned and now the number has reached about 2,000 people. Last week, the location was closed again.
Gogorea neighborhood was closed in 2015, but illegal mining activities still exist on Mt. Nona, polluting about 326 hectares of rice fields in Grandeng village, Lolongguba district.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said she had sent a letter to the provincial government, district government and local authority to pay attention to the use of mercury in people’s mines.
The use of mercury is also prohibited in mining areas located in forest areas. If a company uses mercury in processing, their application to use forest areas for mining sites will be rejected.
Regarding the damage to forests due to mining activities, she said, the approach and consistency of local governments in controlling illegal mines would be the key to solving the problems. As for unauthorized mining activities in forest areas, Siti said the ministry was considering the establishment of social forestry as the solution.
