Mine incident exposes feud between Antam, illegal miners

Mine incident exposes feud between Antam, illegal miners

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

"From the beginning I didn't want my husband to become a
gurandil, because I know how risky it is digging for gold in
Pongkor Mountain. But kang Eman insisted, he said he wanted to
get some money for a ceremonial meal to celebrate my seventh
month of pregnancy.

"It breaks my heart recalling how he often didn't eat anything
for days up there because we had nothing."

Twenty-year-old Elah was talking about her late husband, who
died in a fatal accident along with several other gurandil, or
illegal gold miners, inside state mining company PT Aneka Tambang
(Antam)'s gold mine in Bogor regency. The incident took place on
March 3.

So far, a search and rescue team has recovered the bodies of
nine illegal gold miners and one Antam employee, all asphyxiated
by thick smoke inside the mine. The rescue team says that it
appears that another four bodies are still inside the mine.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Bogor Police investigating the
accident questioned 27 witnesses, three of them illegal gold
miners, and the rest Antam employees.

"We have yet to name any suspects in the case as we are still
trying to find the exact source of the smoke," police operational
head Comr. Heri Santoso said.

Eman was one of the few original residents of Pangradin 1
village in Jasinga district, 80 kilometers from the town of
Bogor, who earned their living from illegal gold mining.
Pangradin 1, along with neighboring Pangradin Girang village, is
known as a gurandil village.

Nowadays, most of the villagers who turn their hands to gold
mining are migrants from Banten, Sukabumi, Tasikmalaya and
Jampang Surade. Many even come from outside Java island, while
most of the original inhabitants of the village prefer to earn a
living as farmers or ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers.

The migrants obtain residential status in the area by marrying
local women.

Eman was previously employed at a gold processing shop in
Ciguha village, Bantar Karet, Nanggung district, where he was
paid Rp 15,000 (US$1.76) per day.

He earned Rp 200,000 on his first time out as a gurandil, but
that was the only time he earned that much money.

"My husband put his life in God's hand. But I cannot accept it
if he died because smoke was deliberately pumped into the mine
shaft," said Elah, who now lives with her parents and one-year-
old son, Haerul.

Wawan, who comes from Jampang Surade and was a close friend of
Eman, said they always checked out sites that had been mined by
Antam workers to see whether there was any gold left.

"We dig 'rat holes' to get into Antam's upper Level IV tunnel,
which can take up to four hours. We only have hammers to dig with
inside Pongkor Mountain. But patrolling company workers often
beat us, and sometimes even seal the holes while we are inside."

Another gurandil said that each group of illegal miners had to
pay up to Rp 2 million to security guards to be allowed to enter
the mine.

"They beat us if we don't pay, and even if we do pay they
still beat us .... But they always play dumb when accidents like
this happen. To them, we are nothing but a swarm of rats," he
said.