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undreds of residents of Noeltoko in East Nusa Tenggara’s (NTT) Timor Tengah Utara district spend more than 12 hours a day manually prospecting using improper tools in the hope that they will strike gold to support their families, following a long drought in the region.

“Noeltoko is situated in a valley between two rocky hills and is considered a fertile area,” said NTT’s Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) director Heribertus, adding that the area had historical aspects. The illegal gold mining activities had the potential to cause environmental damage, he said.

“The government should declare the area a heritage site because it is the former location of the early administration of Timor Tengah Utara district,” Heribertus explained.

He said that local residents recently held a traditional rite that was aimed at changing the function of the land to a gold mining site.

“People have started flooding the area, digging up the slopes of the hill and prospecting for gold. I’ve been there and seen how the illegal mining has damaged the environment,” he went on.

A member of the regional representative council of Timor Tengah Utara, Robby Nailiu, confirmed that Noeltoko had gold potential, but the council had yet to receive official information on the size of its gold reserves.

“Gold mining is illegal without a mining permit,” said Robby, adding that a gold mining site was situated upstream from the area, which should be protected to prevent floods and landslides.