Government develops mercury-free gold mine project

The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, is developing a small-scale gold mine pilot project without the use of hazardous mercury in Lebak, Banten Province.

If successful, the gold processing technology will then be applied in small-scale gold mines operated by traditional miners across the country so that the miners will no longer use mercury in their mining operations, BPPT Deputy Head of Natural Resources Development Technology, Wimpie Agoeng Noegroho told reporters on Monday. "This development is important for gold mining as well as for the application of what has been developed on a laboratory scale," he said, adding that the pilot project is expected to be operational in September of this year.

There is an estimated 2,500 small-scale gold mines in the country operated by traditional miners, who often use mercury in processing the gold.

BPPT, according to him, has a mandate from the government to look for technology to solve problems due to the use of mercury in small-scale gold mines managed by traditional miners. The innovation should be able to eliminate the use of mercury without affecting the traditional miners.

Director General of Waste Management at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Tuti H Mintarsih, stated that the control of small-scale mine pollution from mercury requires a solution. The effort also has to do with Indonesia?s obligations to meet the Minamata Convention.

In addition, the Government Regulation Number 74/2001 on the Management of Hazardous Wastes becomes the legal basis for the development of the technology and is also present on the list of the National Action Plan for the Elimination of Mercury Use in Traditional Gold Mines 2014-2018 to protect public health from the effects of mercury.

BPPT and the ministry are also working with the UNDP (the United Nations Development Programme) to implement the Integrated Sound Management of Mercury in Indonesia?s Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining program which applied from 2017 to 2022 under the Global Environment Facility (GEF) proposal.(*)