Government formulates solutions to illegal mining

The government has formulated solutions to the illegal mining activities across the country, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Thursday.

The first solution is to encourage the illegal miners to assume new non-mining professions.

The second solution is to encourage the illegal miners to group themselves in cooperatives and continue their mining activities at the areas allocated by the government for small-scale mining operations.

The third solution is to encourage the formation of partnership between the illegal miners and mining contract holders, under which the former work to support the operation the latter.

"In the partnership scheme, the former illegal miners become the subordinates of contract holders on a win-win solution basis," Purnomo said in a written statement distributed during a two-day seminar on illegal mining.

The two-day seminar, which was opened on Thursday, was organized by the Association of Indonesian Mining Professionals (Perhapi).

Purnomo said the ministry had formed a task force to handle the illegal mining problems, headed by the ministry's inspector general Muzani Syukur.

He said the team had managed to produce a comprehensive study on the problems of the illegal mining.

Quoting the results of the task force's study, Purnomo said people had turned to illegal mining activities due to poverty. But, the lack of legal awareness and decline in social and cultural values have also driven the illegal mining activities. (Godang)