Sand quarrying is 'similar to mining gold'

Sand quarrying is 'similar to mining gold'

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

"The sand down in Brantas River is just like gold. Net earnings
from sand sales amount from Rp 30 to 50 million a month,"
Harisnaga, a sand seller in Mojokerto, told The Jakarta Post.

The quality of the sand, however, depends on the season. In
the wet season, the quality is better than in the dry and gets a
better price. "The sand is very coarse in the dry season so the
price drops," Harisnaga said.

And the grainy gold that is obtained from the areas along the
Brantas River, particularly in Jombang and Mojokerto, is better
in quality than the sand found in Badas and Pare-Kediri areas and
is more suitable for house construction. The sand obtained from
Badas is usually used in the building of bridges and other large
structures.

Sand quarrying on Brantas River is more profitable not only
because the sand is finer but also because the cost of
transporting it to Surabaya is lower. The distance between
Mojokerto and Surabaya is only about 50 km, while it is twice as
far from Kediri.

Sand mining sites near the Brantas River are found in Kediri,
Jombang, Mojokerto, Sidoarjo and Kali Porong. Mining is also
conducted along the Brantas River in Badas (the border area
between Pare and Kediri), Udan Awu (Kediri), Kali Semut (Blitar),
Wajak (Malang) and Paciran (Lumajang).

Although Sidoarjo is only 15 km away from Surabaya, the sand
obtained from this place is mixed with mud, while sand obtained
from Mojokerto and Jombang is finer and cleaner because it is
separated from the mud beforehand.

Harisnaga said the demand for sand had increased by 5 percent
to 10 percent since the second half of last year owing to an
increase in residential house construction in Surabaya and
Sidoarjo.

Following this increase in demand, sand production in
Mojokerto has also risen and heavy machinery is again being used
to remove the sand despite the local administration's ban on the
use of machines.

Companies using machinery in their sand quarrying activities
were always on the alert from possible raids by the local
administration. Usually, Harisnaga said, each company had an
insider in government to warn them.

Each time local authorities conducted a raid, the machines
were left idle or were moved to other places. "Despite the high
risk, the diggers continue to be used for their efficiency," he
said.

If you use pumps to extract sand you can extract about nine or
10 tons of sand in an hour. Manually, the output is only about 3
tons an hour.

Using machinery is also less costly than employing people,
with each sand diver costing between Rp 20,000 and Rp 50,000 per
day and teams generally comprising about 10 people.

Harisnaga has been quarrying sand for 15 years in Mojokerto.
Before intensified raids by the local authorities, Harisnaga
owned a sand-extraction machine. This machine, made by his
younger brother, Joko Agung, was the first to be used for sand
quarrying in Mojokerto.

Harisnaga now no longer uses the machine but still owns 15
trucks, which carry sand to Surabaya. He said police had
confiscated many sand-extraction machines and said simply buying
sand from the extractors and re-selling it in Surabaya meant he
reaped big profits.

Although the use of machines in sand quarrying is illegal,
more and more machines are now being used along the Brantas
River.

Local environmental data shows this year 47 companies used
machinery in their sand quarrying activities. Thirty of them
operate in Jombang and Mojokerto, three in Sidoardjo and the
remaining 14 in Porong. Manual sand quarrying involves 30
companies in Mojokerto and Jombang, two in Sidoardjo and another
two in Porong.

In 1984, sand quarrying in Brantas River, from Kediri down to
Mojokerto, totaled 500,000 m3 per year. This volume more than
tripled to 1.65 million m3/year by 2002.

However, on the ground you can find more than 30 companies
using machines in their sand quarrying activities in Mojokerto
and Jombang alone. The machines are usually used early in the
morning, between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., to avoid raids from the
authorities and the stones thrown by angry locals. At 6 a.m. the
sand is ready to be dispatched to Surabaya in trucks.

In 2001, sand quarrying caused the beds of Brantas River and
Porong River to drop by three to four meters. A survey carried
out by Perum Jasa Tirta I shows that from 2003 to 2004 the bed
dropped by another five to six meters.

The quarrying has caused irrigation problems for farmers and
damaged river structures such as dikes, riverbank slopes and
bridge pillars.

The use of machines in sand quarrying also exerts an economic
impact. Unlicensed sand quarrying activities in Mojokerto, for
example, have put other licensed sand quarrying companies out of
business because their sand cannot compete in terms of quality
with the sand from Mojokerto and Jombang.

Until now, six of 29 licensed sand quarrying companies have
stopped business.

"Each of these six companies paid about Rp 1 billion to obtain
the necessary permits and buy sand quarrying equipment," Hudin Al
Sonny, secretary general of the Association of Mining Companies
(Aspertam) East Java chapter, told the Post.

Unlike in the Brantas River, in other places where sand is
still abundant, machines can be used in sand quarrying if one has
a permit. The cost of a permit for the use of a machine depends
on the area of operation. For an area of about 5 hectares, a
permit costs Rp 1 million. Permits are valid for different
periods. For an area of about 5 hectares, a permit must be
renewed each year.

Sonny said sand quarrying in East Java yielded about 35,000
tons a day. Some 15,000 tons came from unlicensed sand quarrying
worth an estimated Rp 80 million a day, he said.

Another impact of unlicensed sand quarrying, Sonny said, was
that it discouraged fresh investment in the sector. Many
companies had canceled plans to invest in sand quarrying in Badas
Pare because the illegal competition meant it was no longer
lucrative.

"I have a license for sand quarrying in Badas Pare but I have
not started any operations yet," said Sonny, who owns a sand-
quarrying company.

The association urged the government to take serious action
against the unlicensed use of machines in sand quarrying before
more companies closed down. "More sand quarrying sites mean more
employment opportunities for locals," Sonny said.