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View all search resultsImages: Gold mining in Batak region
Excavators busily fill mining dump trucks in Purnama Pit
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Excavators busily fill mining dump trucks in Purnama Pit.
The Batak region of North Sumatra is not only famous for its traditions and culture, and its physical wonders go beyond Lake Toba, the world's largest volcanic lake and a big name in Indonesian tourism.
Today the Batak community's land has a world-class gold mine. It's the Martabe Gold Mine, located in Batang Toru district, South Tapanuli. Martabe, from the Batak language, is an acronym for 'Marsipature hutana be', meaning 'Let's build our native land'.
Martabe is currently operated by G-Resources. The mine covers an area of 30 square kilometers, which sits in the 1,639-km2 Generation VI work zone, which extends from the regencies of South Tapanuli, North Tapanuli, Central Tapanuli and Mandailing Natal to the city of Padang Sidempuan. Its mining activity is now taking place at the Purnama Pit in Batangtoru district, South Tapanuli.
The Martabe Gold Mine is within a mineral rich area with high-yield prospects, with a potential mine life of 50 years. Martabe has operational capacity for mining and processing 4.5 million tons of ore annually, producing around 7 tons of gold and 57 tons of silver annually.
The presence of the Martabe mine is expected to bring with it support for the development and advancement of the North Sumatra population, especially the people in South Tapanuli and the villages surrounding the mine.
Molten gold and silver flows into molds in the gold room at Martabe Gold Mine.
Workers pour molten gold and silver into molds at the Martabe Gold Mine in South Tapanuli regency, North Sumatra.
Workers verify a map as they survey Martabe Gold Mine's Purnama Pit.
A worker inspects a rock sample taken from Martabe Gold Mine's Purnama Pit.
A worker displays a mixed silver-and-gold block weighing approximately 14 kilograms in Martabe Gold Mine's gold room
' Text and photos by Dhoni Setiawan
