Sand quarrying continues

Sand quarrying continues

BOGOR (JP): Sand quarriers in the village of Pasir Buncir,
Caringin district, Bogor regency, are continuing with their
illegal operations despite an official ban by the Bogor mining
office.

The head of the office, Rahmat Gandana, said on Tuesday that
his office had closed the sand quarry in the village as the site
was protected to conserve water reabsorption.

Claiming to have no knowledge of the unlicensed removal of
sand, he admitted that the potential for sand quarrying in the
area was great.

According to Rahmat, the regency had 41 Category C (sand and
gravel) quarries, but 31 of them had been closed leaving only ten
operational.

Sources in the Bogor administration said illegal quarrying was
a complex issue because it involved social, economic and
environmental aspects.

They added, however, that a multifaceted control program
involving all the relevant parties had been launched and had
resulted in the closure of 1,710 quarries sites in Gunung
Pongkor, with around 6,000 miners being affected.

Currently only 100 people are engaged in a small-scale mining
operation in Gunung Pongkor, where state-owned mining firm PT
Aneka Tambang is mining gold. (21)