Small-Scale Gold Mining Pollutes Indonesian Lands

“Indonesia has the worst problem with illegal use of mercury in gold mining on earth,” Ms. Yuyun said. “Second is Colombia, then maybe Brazil. It’s a ticking time bomb.”

BaliFokus, an Indonesian environmental organization of which Ms. Yuyun is a co-founder, estimates that illegal gold mining and production areas across the sprawling Indonesian archipelago ballooned to as many as 850 in 2013 from 576 in 2006, while the number of miners rose to one million from 50,000 during the same period.

Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest gold-producing countries. The Grasberg gold mine in Indonesia’s easternmost province, Papua, is the largest anywhere. The country produced 60 metric tons of gold in 2012, said Ms. Saria of the energy ministry. She estimated, however, that 65 to 100 metric tons of gold were illegally produced in 2012 by small-scale gold miners who use mercury, costing Indonesia billions of dollars in royalties and taxes. Officials and environmental observers say it is nearly impossible to track the illegal gold; it can be easily traded or sold.

http://www.biomagazine.gr/index.php/site/article/16/25/BIO%20Environment/Small-Scale-Gold-Mining-Pollutes-Indonesian-Lands