Mandailing Natal Regent Dahlan Nasution alleged that local gold miners had been processing gold ores using galundung, a machine operated with the use of certain chemicals such as mercury. According to the local administration’s records, 700 to 1,000 galundung are operated in the regency, he said.

“In the past two years, five newborns have had fatal birth defects. The number of infants born with deformities must be connected to the illegal gold mining activities across Mandailing Natal,” Dahlan wrote to North Sumatra Governor Edy Rahmayadi on Wednesday in an official letter, a copy of which was received by The Jakarta Post.

Among the newborns to succumb to fatal birth defects was Fatimah, born on Nov. 21, 2013, with exposed intestines. Fatimah passed away one week later following medical treatment in Medan. There was also Siti Aisah, born on Sept. 13, 2018, with congenital defects in her eyes. Siti died seven hours after birth. On Mar. 10 this year, Siti Fatimah was born with an incomplete brain and larynx and passed away four hours later.

Dahlan said the mothers of the infants had worked processing gold ores using galundung at several illegal mining sites during their pregnancies. None were equipped with proper safety gear such as gloves, he said.

“These mothers worked with galundung while they were pregnant. They were tasked with extracting gold using a mixture of chemicals,” he said.

The government has struggled to curb the effects of mercury — a chemical that attacks the brain, bowels, kidneys and other organs — with its presence in Indonesia’s air, land and waters rising to dangerous levels.

According to a 2017 report released by the Bali Fokus Foundation, which advocates for a toxic-free environment, an estimated 2,000 tons of mercury valued at around US$76 million was exported to Indonesia between 1998 and 2014. The majority was used by the country’s manufacturing and healthcare industries, as well as small-scale gold miners.

Environment and Forestry Ministry records show that about 1 million small-scale gold miners operate throughout the country. They use mercury to extract gold from gold ore in a process that releases high levels of mercury waste.

Dahlan added that the large number of illegal gold mining sites in the region had for years negatively impacted the surrounding environment, with locals illegally cutting down trees and clearing land originally intended for farming across the regency to make room for mining activities.

Hundreds of hectares of farmland throughout the regency has been damaged because of illegal mining activities, which has also caused floods, he said.

“We demand that illegal mining activities across the regency be stopped,” Dahlan wrote in the letter.

In response, Edy said he had formed a special team to stop illegal gold mining operations in the region.

Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) director in North Sumatra Dana Prima Tarigan said he was skeptical that illegal mining activities in Mandailing Natal would cease anytime soon, as the local administration had failed to follow through on previous promises to shut down such operations.

“The administration promised 10 years ago it would close down these illegal mines, but the fact is, illegal mining is still alive and well in Mandailing Natal,” he told the Post. (rfa)

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