Flash in the pan: Residents seek out all that glitters

Jon Afrizal ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  JAMBI   |  Wed, 06/24/2009 11:27 AM  |  The Archipelago

To some people, the advent of the dry season is a time to rake in gold - literally.

This year's dry season has seen dozens of residents of Bangko city in Merangin regency, Jambi, crowd the Masumai River from morning until dusk to pan for gold in the old-fashioned way.

Such activities have now been underway for two weeks.

The traditional miners say they make enough for their daily meals, although not much of the shiny stuff is found.

"I sell all the gold I get to a gold broker at Bangko Market," says Munaryo, one of the miners at the Masumai River.

Gold brokers also wait by the riverbanks for miners who can't be bothered to make the trek to the market, offering prices of between Rp 30,000 (US$3) and Rp 50,000 for medium-grade gold, and between Rp 100,000 and Rp 300,000 for higher-quality gold.

The brokers then turn the gold into jewelry, before selling it to jewelry stores.

Doni, a Bangko resident, says the annual gold rush occurs every year with the coming of the dry season, with most of the prospectors coming from around the area.

"One thing's for sure: Traditional gold mining will not harm the ecosystem, so it's not forbidden," he says.

Markoni, head of the Merangin regency energy and mineral resources agency, agrees.

"What we prohibit is mining using a dompeng machine," he says.

"Other than that, you're very welcome to look for gold the traditional way."

Such a machine is not allowed because of its use of mercury - an environmentally destructive material when it accumulates - in its operations.

Also in Merangin regency, Merangin Police held a raid Monday on an unlicensed gold mining operation in the Tabir river, and destroyed 37 dompeng machines found at the scene.

The plan for the crackdown, which involved more than 70 officers and residents, was suspected by police to have been leaked beforehand.

"We have a strong suspicion our operation was leaked," said Merangin Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hudit Wahyudi.

"There's a strong indication that village officials are also involved in the illegal mining.

"None of the suspected illegal miners using dompeng machines were found at the site when officers arrived there."

Therefore, he said, "we finally decided to set alight several dompeng machines that we found at the crime scene".

Hudit added the police had noted several people suspected of involvement in the proceeds from the illegal activities.

"We'll arrest the fences in due time," he said, adding that raids on illegal mining operations would continue.

He said such activities would decline drastically with the destruction of so many dompeng machines, but warned the miners could move to other regencies.

"The Merangin regency administration needs to coordinate with the related institutions to root out this problem," Hudit said.

"It will never be resolved if they depend only on the local police to enforce the law."

Also on Monday, the secretary of the neighboring Sarolangun regency, M. Basyari, held an aerial inspection of illegal gold mining sites, accompanied by Sarolangun Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Irawan David Syah.

During the inspection, Basyari was taken to sites in the regency's Cermin Nan Gedang and Limun districts.

He pledged to discipline village heads and officials found to have taken part in the illegal gold mining.

"We were tracing a river from Limun district to Bulan hill, and found illegal mining activities in two spots," Irawan said.

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