Antam recovers three bodies after illegal mining incident at Pongkor gold site

State-controlled miner PT Aneka Tambang Tbk (Antam) said on Monday it has recovered three bodies following an incident linked to suspected illegal mining near its Pongkor gold mine in West Java that occurred about a week ago.

The incident took place within Antam’s mining licence area but outside its official operations, the company said, adding that preliminary investigations conducted with law enforcement indicate the victims were involved in illegal mining activities, locally known as gurandil.

Police have previously said the fatalities were caused by exposure to toxic gas following a leak inside the mine, according to earlier reports. Antam did not mention the cause of death in its statement.

Antam said the bodies were evacuated by a joint team comprising the company, police and other authorities, with operations carried out in line with occupational safety procedures and under heightened security conditions at the site.

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Search and follow-up efforts are ongoing based on technical assessments by the relevant authorities, Antam added.

Antam President Director Untung Budiharto said the incident had prompted the company to strengthen supervision and tighten enforcement of occupational safety and security across its mining areas.

“Illegal mining carries very high risks and can result in loss of life,” Untung said in a statement released on Monday. “We will tighten supervision and strengthen security to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”

The company said it would enhance monitoring systems and access controls within its mining licence area, in coordination with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders.

Antam added that it would continue to cooperate with authorities in handling the case and support enforcement efforts to curb illegal mining around its operational sites.

Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak