Team of geologists visits Mataloko mudflow site

A team of geologists from Bandung and a geologist from the Nusa Tenggara Mining Agency have left for Mataloko in Golewa district, Ngada regency, to investigate mudflows at the Mataloko geothermal power plant.

Mining agency head Johanis Bria Seran said Wednesday the provincial administration would use the team's investigation results as the basis for future action.

"If the mudflow is spreading, we'll evacuate residents living nearby," he said. "The team will observe the mudflow site as well as try to figure out what's causing the bursts."

Seran said his office did not have special devices to conduct its own investigations, forcing the agency to wait for the team from Bandung.

"The team will examine how deep the mudflow bursts originate," he said.

"If they come from the lower part, then they're from the Earth's core; but if they're from the upper part, then they're caused by a clog in the drilling pipes."

Drilling at the site began in 2005 to supply electricity to parts of Flores Island. The power plant, however, is not yet operational.

There are three mudflow spots, the first spewing on Saturday, followed by two others on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Each hole measures about 50 centimeters in diameter, with bursts reaching 1.5 meters high. The mud is 120 degrees Celsius in temperature, spawning a 50-meter-wide mud lake.

Residents are concerned their village will be inundated by the mud, as in the Lapindo mudflow in Porong, Sidoarjo regency, East Java.

Various efforts have been made to stop the Lapindo mudflow that began in May 2006, all to no avail.