At Aspai, a dozen or so dredging machines belch out thick exhaust. Crews of six plunge pipes deep into scummy ponds. Their sluice-boxes separate sediment from the gold flecks and disgorge it into muddy streams. Mercury tailings and other effluent then flow through a 416,000-hectare national park that is home to endangered orangutans and other protected wildlife.
With mineral prices still high, Indonesia’s wildcat miners will not be giving up in a hurry. The crews at Aspai say that they are lucky to extract 15 grams of gold a day between them. That is worth only $750—before the middlemen have taken their cut. But in a country where 40% of the population live on less than $2 a day, small-scale mining still holds great allure for people like Ibu Ipah.
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