Illegal Gold Mines Encircle Ciletuh
Illegal gold mining activity is widespread in the Ciletuh–Palabuhanratu Geopark in West Java. Gold is extracted with hazardous materials, and their waste is randomly discarded.
SUKABUMI, KOMPAS – The Ciletuh–Palabuhanratu Geopark in Sukabumi regency, West Java, is surrounded by illegal gold mines. A Kompas investigation has found that mined rock containing gold is processed using mercury and cyanide in residents’ homes.
The gold ore processed by residents is derived from unlicensed mines through underground mining. The narrow pits are generally located on the land of state forestry corporation Perhutani, estate companies or individuals surrounding the Ciletuh–Palabuhanratu Geopark.
One of the unlicensed gold mines in the area of Perhutani lies in the village of Waluran Mandiri in Waluran district, Sukabumi. It is accessed through a pit with a diameter of 1–1.5 meters and a depth of up to 100 meters. There are around ten pits situated close to each other.
Kompas was exploring one of the pits to the depth of 35 meters in early September. To enter the musty and muddy hole, one has to crouch and crawl, even lying prone now and again due to the narrow space. The body can stand erect only when entering a vertical passageway.
Ciletuh Geopark’s mineral resources
The pit hasn’t yet produced any gold, because water still inundates its bottom part. Over the past two weeks, miners have been working to drain the water. “As long as the hole hasn’t been drained, we can’t start production,” said Uloh, 55, the coordinator of miners in this pit.
Unlicensed mines in the zone of Ciletuh–Palabuhanratu Geopark are scattered across the districts of Ciemas, Simpenan and Waluran. Thousands of gold miners and processors, mostly local residents, rely on unlicensed gold mining (PETI) for a living.
Dede Kusdinar, an executive of the Indonesian People’s Mining Association (APRI) of Sukabumi regency, said there were about 70 gold mining pits in the three districts, but local residents mention hundreds of people’s mines still operating in these districts.
Mercury and cyanide
Chunks of rock from illegal people’s mines are processed by using mercury and cyanide to bind the gold contained in the ore. This gold-processing method can be easily found in the yards of houses in several villages in the districts of Ciemas, Simpenan and Waluran.
There are two common home-based gold-processing techniques, one using mercury by means of a rolling machine and the other immersing gold ore in liquid cyanide.
Ani, 41, one of the gold processors with the rolling machine in Mekar Mukti village, Waluran, admitted using several drops of mercury to process rock that contains gold. Ani buys mercury furtively at Rp160,000 per ounce from middlemen to whom she sells her gold.
The gold Ani sells is priced at Rp 600,000 to Rp 900,000 per gram, depending on its grade. “If we use kuik (mercury), usually 2 ounces are needed for a week,” said Ani when visited in early September.
The mud waste from Ani’s gold processing is dumped onto the ground in her yard, around 5 meters from a clean water well. In the rainy season, the mud also drifts into the gutter leading to a Ciletuh River tributary.
Dedi, 48, a resident of Waluran Mandiri village in Waluran district, even processes gold by rolling and immersing, so he uses mercury and cyanide at the same time. He does the work beside his rice field, which lies alongside the Ciletuh River. The mud waste goes down to the bottom of the rice field and flows into the river.
According to Government Regulation No.101/2014 on Hazardous and Toxic Waste Management, mercury and cyanide are categorized as hazardous and toxic waste (B3).
Laboratory tests
Based on Ciletuh River water quality laboratory tests conducted by Kompas in early September to check for heavy metals, the mercury concentration upstream, midstream and downstream of the river was 0.0006 milligram per liter. Government Regulation No.82/2001 on Water Quality Management and Water Pollution Control sets the mercury concentration limit for river water at 0.002 mg/L. That means that the mercury concentration in the Ciletuh was still below the maximum allowed.
The mercury grade in sediment upstream, midstream and downstream of the river was also still below the threshold at less than 0.0005 mg/L. The mercury concentration in the well water of a resident’s house in Mekar Mukti village, Waluran, indicated less than 0.0005 mg/L.
However, results of Ciletuh River water quality tests by a researcher of Muhammadiyah University Sukabumi in 2015 showed an upstream mercury concentration of 0.013 mg/L, midstream of 0.027 mg/L and downstream of 0,022 mg/L. In other words, the mercury concentration of the river water exceeded the allowed limit.
Salih Muharam, a chemical scientist at Muhammadiyah University Sukabumi who had participated in the Ciletuh River mercury grade study of 2015, said the difference between mercury concentration rates in 2015 and 2020 was caused by several factors, such as different periods of river water testing (the 2015 test was done in the dry season, while the 2020 test was done entered the rainy season), the procedures for water sample collection and handling, and the gold processing operations around the river.
Besides, noted Salih, the declaration of the Ciletuh–Palabuhanratu area as a global geopark was also found to support environmental improvement in the zone, including a decrease in gold processing. However, this points to the requirement for supporting data, such as the number of illegal miners from year to year, the state of biodiversity and a survey of residents’ health.
“Without such supporting data, conclusions will be biased, but it is very wrong to assume that, with mercury concentrations below the set limit, illegal gold mining causes no pollution,” added Salih.
Mining impact
The gold processing waste randomly discarded and flowing into the Ciletuh River is believed to have an impact on residents’ rice harvests. Ciletuh River water is utilized to meet residents’ daily needs, including rice field irrigation.
Sumjana, chairman of the information station of Mandrajaya village, Ciemas district, said that, with the illegal gold mining operations over the last 15 years, followed by the massive gold processing in residents’ homes, the Ciletuh River water had become turbid and often muddy.
Consequently, the rice yields from fields in Mandrajaya irrigated with Ciletuh River water have dropped. Mandrajaya lies downstream, about 2 kilometers from the sea. “While previously two plots (800 square meters) could yield 100 kilograms, now only 60 kg (of dry rice grain/GKG) are yielded,” Sumjana told Kompas at his home in Mandrajaya village.
According to Sumjana, farmers usually use Ciletuh River water to irrigate their rice fields during the dry season, but as the river water is muddy and frequently dry up with the gold mining in the upper reaches, the fields normally planted with paddy are converted into secondary crop areas.
Farmers using Cimarinjung River water have the same complaints. “The water used to be muddy, but it has become clear in the last two years. Yet the harvests are down,” said Kusoy, the farmer group chairman in Ciemas village, Ciemas district.
Kusoy explained that the rice yields from the second planting season with water from the river only totaled around 6 tons of GKG per hectare, declining from 7.5 tons per hectare five years ago. By contrast, the harvest from the first planting season using rain water still reached 7.5 tons of GKG per hectare.
While gold processing is suspected to be affecting agriculture, the opening of unlicensed gold mining pits is believed to impact the availability of clean water in Ciletuh. That is because the opening of new pits for illegal mining is preceded by the large-scale sucking of ground water.
Endang Sutisna, chairman of Paguyuban Alam Pakidulan Sukabumi (Papsi), a Ciletuh residents’ conservation organization, admitted that residents had faced difficulty getting clean water over the last five years. Drying reservoirs and water springs in the dry season have forced locals to buy clean water.
This happens after the massive gold mining operations. “No dryness had ever happened here before; now […] dryness prevails. It’s because mining activity is located upstream, as are many water springs. They are sucking water only to be poured out again,” said Endang, also a resident of Ciemas district.
A geological engineering professor of Padjadjaran University and member of the Ciletuh–Palabuhan Geopark expert team, Mega Fatimah Rosana, indicated that the most worrying aspect of the illegal gold mines was the processing method with the potential to damage the environment and pose human health hazards.
“What causes concern is the processing that is simply dangerous. They use mercury and then apply cyanide immersion. They discard the waste casually without any treatment,” said Mega.
In Mega’s view, illegal mining and gold processing with the potential for environmental damage could affect the status of the Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark that has been named a Global Geopark by the UNESCO, unless the authorities make an attempt to protect the zone.
The head of the West Java office of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry (ESDM), Bambang Rianto, said mining activity was not banned in geopark zones, including Ciletuh. The mining licensing authority rested with the provincial ESDM office. “If there are mining operations in a conservation zone, it’s only an esthetical issue. But we may not widely ban it either, because mining already existed earlier,” said Bambang.
Still, Bambang admitted that the presence of unlicensed people’s mining was a problem, and not only in Ciletuh, but in many places of Indonesia. “As they aren’t licensed, we have no authority yet to enter there. The zone is actually already under the sphere of law enforcement and can be subject to prosecution,” said Bambang.
Reordering
In connection with illegal mining in the zone of Perhutani in Waluran district, Cecep Suryaman from the Perhutani Communication and Reporting Regional Division of West Java and Banten said Perhutani Sukabumi had many times reordered unlicensed gold mining in the location. The illegal mines are in the Forest Administration Unit (BKPH) of Lengkong, Forest Administration Subregion (RPH) of Hanjuang Barat.
In January 2020, Perhutani even reported to the Sukabumi Police. In August 2020 the forest police and field officers conducted an operation and again a report was submitted to the regency police.
Beyond the Perhutani zone, illegal gold mines are also believed to spread to the land of PT Perkebunan Nusantara (PTPN) VIII state-owned estate corporation in Ciemas, Sukabumi regency. Reza, a PTPN VIII employee, said no report had been received about the presence of illegal gold mining in the PTPN VIII area. But his company had cooperated with the West Java Police, so that any illegal mine discovered by PTPN VIII could be promptly probed by the police.
Sukabumi Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. M. Lukman Syarif did not respond to phone calls when his confirmation was sought about the rampant illegal gold mining in the Ciletuh-Palabuhanratu Geopark. (ILO/IRE/NIA)
This article was translated by Aris Prawira.