Bangka faces dilemma to curb illegal tin mining activities

The authority of Bangka island has admitted that it faces a dilemma in curbing the growing illegal tin mining activities in the province, which have involved more than 3,000 mine operators and 150,000 workers.

"It is difficult to take a firm action. If we do so, there will be a massive demonstration because the workers do not have other alternatives for a living," Bangka Governor Hudarni Rani said in a press conference on Wednesday.

The governor himself refrained from branding the miners who carried out tin mining activities on state owned tin mining company PT Timah?s concession areas as illegal although they operate without permits.

Hudarni said that although the Ministry of Industry and Trade had banned tin ore exports, the activities of the "unconventional" miners continued to grow.

He said that the activities of the illegal miners had damaged the environment. "Although the damaged areas are only about five percent of the total area of the province, the illegal mining operation has seriously damaged the clean water resource in the province," he added.

Bangka island, formerly part of South Sumatra province, recently received its provincial status as part of the expansion of provincial territories in the country. State owned tin mining company PT Timah controls most of the tin concession area in the province but many parts of the concession areas have been illegally exploited by unlicensed miners mostly owned by individuals. (*)