Illegal mining hard to preven: Antam
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor
A director of publicly listed gold and nickel miner PT Aneka Tambang (Antam), which runs the Pongkor Mountain gold mine in Nanggung district, Bogor, revealed that at least 257 illegal gold miners had died in accidents at the site in the last seven years.
"It is hard to stop the illegal gold miners because their bosses are local figures," director of the business unit at the mine Iwan Irawan told a public presentation on Antam's community development program on Tuesday.
He added that most of the deceased were not locals but recruited by leaders of Nanggung residents.
"I acknowledge that these people have great charisma ... their words are treated like commands by the people. I think they are the ones whom we should approach to take part in the community development program in order to eliminate illegal gold mining."
Earlier this month, 13 illegal gold miners were asphyxiated inside a shaft they had dug themselves to connect with the Antam mine. The police are still investigating the cause of the smoke, following reports that some people intentionally burned tires to shoo away the illegal gold miners.
Since the start of exploitation at the gold mine in 1994, at least 141 illegal gold miners were killed in landslides in 1998, 58 others in 1999, 16 in 2000, 14 in 2001, 11 in 2002, and four last year.
Iwan said the company realized that their presence in the area had changed locals' livelihoods from farming to gold digging, in the hope of making a quick fortune.
"They have led consumer-driven lifestyles ever since," he said, adding that the company had given financial aid to develop education and build mosques, as well capital for locals at 10 villages in Nanggung district to open their own businesses.
Although initial field surveys estimated that the gold and silver deposits in Pongkor Mountain were enough for 40 years of supply, Iwan said Antam would leave in 2015 because the deposits would have run out.
In the early years of operation between 1994 and 2000, the company took out up to 2 tons of gold per year. Since 2000, the company has taken out up to 5 tons per year, exhausting the mine's deposits of 50 tons of gold and 400 tons of silver.
The company also revealed the losses it suffered from halting operations for 10 days while evacuating the 13 trapped victims from March 3 to March 13.
"Per day, we should get 10 kilograms of gold, worth Rp 850 million (US$100,000)," Iwan Irawan said.