Activists Warn Government of Gold Mine Impact to Environment
5 July 2014 13:34 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Banyuwangi - Banyuwangi's Forum For Environmental Learning (BaFFEL), an environment conservation organization in Banyuwangi, East Java, considered that more shares given by a gold mine company PT Merdeka Serasi to the Banyuwangi government is not comparable to damages that resulted from gold mining.
BaFFEL spokesman Rosdi Bahtiar Martadi said that by receiving the share, Banyuwangi Regent only put economy aspect ahead of environmental aspect.
"The gold mine is located in dense area, so the risk is high, both for materials and health," Rosdi said in a press conference yesterday.
For example, Rosdi brought up case of Giant Mine which was operated in Canada for 54 years. The gold mining has left Canada government suffering a great loss and that the government had spent Rp1.44 trillion to recover the ex-mining site. Currently, Rosdi said, Canada needs at least Rp8.55 trillion to freeze contamination of arsenic trioxide from affecting larger area.
"That does not include other costs borne by the Canadian Government which is Rp18 billion each year," Rosdi continued.
On the other hand, Banyuwangi regent Abdullah Azwar Anas said the share would have more value once the operator PT Bumi Suksesindo (BSI) starts to exploit the mine on the Tumpang Pitu mountain in 2016.
The result of exploration by PT BSI shows that one ton of rocks on the mountain contains 0.9 gram of gold. The company is planning on exploiting three million tons of rocks per year or 24 million tons of rocks in a eight-year period.
IKA NINGTYAS
