W

hat will you do if someday the primary source of your income vanishes? It is a daunting prospect for many, particularly those with little financial room for a break in their income.

It is hard to deny the fact that today, the presence of PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara (NNT), the operator of the Batu Hijau copper and gold mine in West Sumbawa, West Nusa Tenggara, is the engine of economic growth for the region and its people.

The company employs about 7,000 workers (4,000 directly and 3,000 through contractors) of which 34 percent are West Sumbawa regency residents and another 30 percent are from other regencies in West Nusa Tenggara province.

From when the company started its commercial operations in 2000 to 2010, NNT contributed Rp 20.72 trillion (US$2.31 billion) to the state in tax, non-tax and royalty payments.

During that period, the mining company also paid out around Rp 6.3 trillion in salaries. For community development programs that had direct impacts in communities near the mining site, NNT disbursed Rp 505.31 billion.

The presence of thousands of workers has also brought positive energy in generating economic activities in villages bordering the mine site. As exemplified in Maluk village, locals have built boarding houses for workers, set up restaurants, telecommunications businesses and created attractive tourist destinations aimed to fulfill the needs of NNT workers.

Now the question arises of what people will do after NNT closes its mining operation in 2027 as mentioned in the company’s work plan? Are they ready to fully disconnect their lives with the mining activities? Who will ensure that the villages will not become dead zones similar to other towns in other countries that experienced this years earlier?

NNT says the answer is no. The company says it will not let West Sumbawa regency, home of 99,056 residents, to become another dead mining town. Through its community development programs, the company has been trying to empower locals, not only by providing them with necessary infrastructure, but also by developing human resources and business opportunities so that when NNT is no longer around, people can continue with their lives as usual with the same standard of living.

The company has established two institutions — the Olat Parigi Foundation and the West Sumbawa Economic Development Foundation — to make the regency’s economy less dependant on NNT’s mining operations and its financial contribution to the regional administration.

Since most people in West Sumbawa are farmers, the company uses agriculture as a starting point to excavate the community’s hidden potentials.

Syamsul Bakhri, business development senior supervisor for NNT’s community development unit, said it was easier to develop what people already had. In this case, people in the regency have traditionally had expertise in farming.

“We have several programs for the agriculture sector. We have built seven dams to channel water to 1,290 hectares of fields. This is meant to increase the production of agricultural products and modernize the farming methods,” he told The Jakarta Post during a media tour of NNT’s site in West Sumbawa.

The company also provides no-interest loans for farmers to buy necessary equipment including milling machines, tractors and seeds. Every year, the company’s community development unit chooses 20 farmers to teach about modern farming methods including the system of rice intensification (SRI), which can boost rice production from between 1 and 2 tons per hectare to between 6 and 8 tons.

“Prior to the implementation of these programs, the regency lacked rice, but now we have a surplus. Next year, we hope that we will no longer sell unhulled rice, but milled rice for added-value. We also plan to develop red rice, which sells for almost twice what white rice sells for,” Syamsul said.

In addition to rice, NNT assists farmers in developing palm sugar. The company planted palm trees in a jungle near Tongo village six years ago. It expected palm sugar production from those trees to begin four years from now. Currently, residents only make sugar from wild palm trees in the jungle, which garners a very limited output.

“In Mataram [the capital city of West Nusa Tenggara], we have seen a huge demand for palm sugar. However, the city still lacks a supply. If we can follow the city’s standards, we can supply the sugar from Tongo village four years from now,” Syamsul said.

NNT assists with more than just agricultural products. A small-scale mineral water company called CV Polamata has been established by the Olat Parigi Foundation in Bole village. Currently, the company has a total production capacity of 200 crates of glass packages and 250 gallons per day.

“This company was established in 2002. We started commercial operations in 2004. Now our product meets the Indonesian National Standards [SNI]. This company aims to create job opportunities when Newmont is no longer here,” said M. Saleh Abdullah, the company’s production division head.

Currently, CV Polamata employs 23 persons. Saleh said Polamata planned to expand its business next year by buying more advanced machinery that could produce 700 crates of glass bottles per hour. With that expansion, he expected that the company would employ up to 50 people.

“We realize that we can’t pay our workers the province’s minimum wage [Rp 950,000 per month]. But, if the expansion goes as planned, next year all the workers here will be paid above minimum wage,” he said.

Polamata mineral water is marketed only in West Sumbawa. According to research conducted in 2009, the Polamata spring has a total water debit of 6 liters per second. In 1997, the water debit was only 3 liters per second because there were not very many trees there. People planted various trees and, a decade later, the water debit soared, proof that reforestation is good for people.

The other example of joint efforts between NNT and local residents to make post-mining life prosperous is the development of a tourism destination at Maluk beach. The beach is known for its white sand and blue water, one of the most beautiful holiday destinations in the country.

NNT has spent Rp 2 billion to build tourism infrastructure such as sight-seeing spots, food and beverage kiosks and playgrounds for children.

No one can guarantee that the efforts will be successful, but at least NNT and West Sumbawa residents are more prepared for life after the mine, and their chance of thriving is greater than if they did nothing.