Crack down launched against illegal mining

Crack down launched against illegal mining

BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan: The provincial administration
of South Kalimantan is set to crack down against mushrooming
illegal coal mining activities in the province by tightening
controls on local seaports, an official said.

Head of the administration's coal control office Armain Janit
said the governor had instructed port authorities to check any
ship which loads coal, starting from May 1.

"It will first be applied at Batulicin port, with other ports
to follow later. Mostly the mining operations take their coal
from South Kalimantan via Batulicin port," he said, referring to
the port in Kotabaru regency, around six hours drive from
Banjarmasin.

He disclosed that around 200,000 tons of coal per month were
illegally mined in several areas such as Banjar, Tanah Laut,
Tapin, Kotabaru and Hulu Sungai. No revenue contributions were
made to the local administration.

In several areas, the illegal mining activities also caused
serious environmental damage as the miners simply excavated the
ground and left it untreated as they moved on to other sites.
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