Illegal gold mining activities in Pongkor increase significantly

Gold mining activities have increased significantly in Mount Pongkor in Bogor, West Java, over the past month as hundreds of villagers came to the area for excavating gold, without legal permit.

Using traditional methods, the people dig mines for gold in the villages of Cihiris, Malasari and Bantarkaret. They are part of the area reserved for state mining company PT Aneka Tambang (Antam).

Many of them came from the West Java districts of Lebak, Pandeglang and Nanggung. Even some of them came from Lampung in southern Sumatra, Suara Pembaruan daily reported.

They did not care that five people digging mines in the place had died recently after being buried under the sand and rocks.

Curug Bitung villager Agus Muhamad tod the daily the illegal gold miners had carried out their activities quietly so that area guards could not spot them. In the past, the guards fired their guns into the air to scare away illegal miners who were approaching Mount Pongkor. It is located in Mount Halimun National Park.

Agus estimates the number of illegal gold miners would increase during the Islamic fasting month which will start in the middle of this month as Moslems would have to spend more for the Idhul Fitri holiday.

Actually, PT Antam had carried out assistance programs for villagers living near Mount Pongkor hoping that its move would eventually help eradicate illegal mining activities at Mount Pongkor.

?But, most villagers in the area had not benefited from the assistance programs because program funds had been manipulated by certain people,? Agus said. (*)