Banyuwangi residents view gold mines with dread

ID Nugroho , The Jakarta Post , Banyuwangi, East Java | Fri, 09/19/2008 11:47 AM | The Archipelago

Bejo, his wife and four children watched the sun tilt westward as they wrapped up their business at a fish auction on Puger Beach, Banyuwangi, in East Java before setting out to sea again. The 60-year-old man looked off from time to time toward Mount Tumpang Pitu and the Merah Islands, located some 5 kilometers to the east. "Perhaps this will be the last time I see the mountain before it vanishes from all the gold mining," Bejo said.

Bejo and some 4,500 other residents of Pancer hamlet are the locals most concerned about PT Indo Multi Niaga (IMN) and its gold mining activities on Tumpang Pitu and Merah Islands in Banyuwangi, as they could have adverse impacts on the local fishing, their livelihood. "People say the sea will get polluted, making the fish go away. Then what would become of us?" asked Bejo, whose first wife was killed in a tsunami that struck Pancer beach in 1994.

Based on a report by the East Java chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), gold prospecting in Banyuwangi has commenced based on a plan three companies devised back in 1995 -- Hakman Group (HG), PT Hakman Platina Metalindo (HPM) and Banyuwangi Mineral (BM) -- to establish a Jember-Banyuwangi gold belt. Business owner Yusuf Merukh has several stakes in the project. He owns BM, IMN, PT Indo Multi Cipta (IMC) and a 20 percent share in the gold mining enterprise PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NMR).

The threesome shifted their mining plans from Mount Baban Silosanen in Jember to Banyuwangi when they ran into mounting resistance from environmental activists at the first site. Startlingly, the Banyuwangi regency accepted the request despite the fact they never issued written approval, and on Feb. 13, 2007, gold exploration on Mount Tumpang Pitu and Merah Island got underway.

Is gold mining there a threat to the environment or safe? PT Jember Mineral (JM) and PT Banyuwangi Mineral said they planned to apply the submarine tailings disposal (STD) system to manage mining waste. IMN also has described plans to build such a facility in its environmental impact analysis. That plan details installing an offshore tailings block near Merah Island.

The option of an underground mining method by utilizing a landfill waste management system also cannot assure waste would not flow to the sea, given the location of mine in a block adjacent to the sea. Dumping the mining waste on land would pose hazards to residential and farming areas keeping in mind the landfill was slated to be set up on a 250-hectare plot on the mainland.

Mining observer and member of the Nature Lover Communication Forum Stevanus Bordonski said gold mining in Banyuwangi would likely lead to disaster because of the ensuing effects of mining. "Feasibility studies are important to determine the ecological and social conditions of an area before, during and at the cessation of mining, and this has often been neglected," Stevanus told the Post.

Exploitation by means of open pit mining exploitation would remove soil layers without mineral contents, called over border, resulting in millions of metric tons of excess soil. Soil with mineral contents would then be processed by using modern machinery. Stevanus said in the process of isolating the gold ore, various toxic substances, such as arsenic, hydrocyanic acid and mercury are used, but, most importantly, side effects of mining and processing can produce other toxic gases and elements. "Pollution and environmental destruction are imminent and fatal," Stevanus said.

The Meru Betiri National Park has also raised its concerns over the gold mining activities on Mount Tumpang Pitu and Merah Island. Park official Sumarsono said any mining in Banyuwangi should fall under the jurisdiction of the local Perhutani state forestry company because of their location. He said the adverse impact of mining could effect ecosystems in the park area. "Mining is under Perhutani's authority but we would feel the harmful impact," Sumarsono told the Post.

The Banyuwangi gold mines are only 15 km from three vital beaches within the park -- Rajekwesi, Teluk Hijau and Sukamade -- which have been kept pristine so far. Sukamade is especially important as a turtle breeding site. Walhi estimated ecological damage in the area would be dramatic. The NGO also projected the abundant ground water below Pesanggrahan and Sumber Agung villages, both included in the mining area, could be affected, potentially triggering a water and food crisis there. These villages are one of the rice production surplus centers in East Java, exporting some 10 percent of total production.