T

he West Nusa Tenggara administration is scrambling for solutions to stem the rapid spread of illegal gold mining in the province, and has proposed the creation of a designated mining zone where freelance miners could operate legally.

While illegal mining in Sekotong, West Lombok, continues to go unchallenged, the practice has also begun to mushroom in Hijrah, Lape district, Sumbawa and Lemontet, Brang Rea district in West Sumbawa regency.

Activists say illegal gold mining is a major threat to the environment as well as being highly dangerous for the people involved in it.

NTB Mining and Energy Office head Eko Bambang Sutedjo told The Jakarta Post in the provincial capital of Mataram recently that illegal gold mining in Hijrah, Sumbawa, had intensified since June this year.

“Gold mining is still rampant in Sekotong, and some of the miners are currently turning to Hijrah. Illegal gold mining has expanded arbitrarily,” he said.

Hijrah is a hilly area in Labaong Hill, Lape district, around 20 kilometers from the regency capital of Sumbawa Besar.

There are an estimated 3,000 illegal gold miners working in the area, including people from other provinces, such as West Java, and provinces in Kalimantan and Sulawesi.

“They process the rocks containing gold with mercury, and this is very detrimental to the environment, besides posing a health risk to them,” he said.

At least 30 miners have been killed in mining accidents since the illegal gold mining began in Hijrah, according to the NTB Energy and Mining Office. They mostly died in cave-ins, it said.

“That’s the data that we received. We believe the actual death toll is higher because the people there always try to cover up the facts,” Eko said.

A joint team has been formed to combat illegal gold mining, Eko said. However, he continued, the team’s authority was restricted to informing the miners about the dangers associated with the practice, and the damaging effect of mercury on the environment.

To crack down on illegal mining, the West Lombok and West Sumbawa regency administrations have submitted a proposal to form a designated traditional mining zone (WPR) to the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, through the NTB Energy and Mining Office.

The West Lombok administration proposed a 2,500-hectare area in Sekotong and the West Sumbawa administration a 50-hectare area in Lemontet, Brang Rea district to form the zone, which would be open to freelance gold miners.

“The move is aimed at monitoring traditional gold mining so as to reduce work-related accidents and minimize environmental damage,” Eko said.

The Sumbawa regency administration has not proposed designating an area in Hijrah as a traditional mining zone because the location is currently under the control of a mining concession holder.

“Actually, the Hijrah traditional gold mining area is owned by a company, but it has not explored the area because it has been seized by residents,” Eko said.