TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Islands in focus: Gem stone miners worsen Batanghari River
Damage caused by mushrooming illegal gold mining in the upstream area of the Batanghari river in South Solok regency, West Sumatra, has worsened with the increasing activities of gem stone miners
Change Size
D
amage caused by mushrooming illegal gold mining in the upstream area of the Batanghari river in South Solok regency, West Sumatra, has worsened with the increasing activities of gem stone miners.
A man from Padang said after spending two weeks in the mining area he and two friends found a green jade stone called the 'Lumuik Sungai Daerah' that was worth Rp 30 million (US$2,300).
'We entered Surian, the closest village, and walked 8 kilometers through the forest to the mining area,' said the man who used to be a construction worker.
West Sumatra Energy and Mineral Resources Agency Marzuki Mahdi said he had heard that some traditional gold miners in the Batanghari River had become gem miners.
'Many have changed from gold miners to gem miners as they do not need much capital and need no processing. They just search for them in the bottom of the river,' Mahdi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Earlier, about 3,000 miners, mostly illegal, were mining gold with more than 300 excavators along the river. The activities are feared to cause environmental damage and endanger residents and the agricultural sector because of the use of chemicals. It is believed that only a presidential decree could stop the illegal mining because of the many parties involved in the activities.
