NASA aircraft to survey Freeport's tailing disposal impacts on Aijkwa river

DC-8 aircraft owned by NASA of the United States would fly over Indonesia from Sept 12 through Sept 19 to conduct a long-distance survey in four locations, including one along the Aikwa river in Irian Jaya, where gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia disposes its huge tailing.

Dr Agus Kristijono, coordinator of the Pacific Rim Second (Pacrim-2) Campaign in Indonesia, said in Jakarta on Thursday that the survey was conducted on the request of Freeport.

Agus, also a competency manager in the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), said the NASA aircraft, equipped with sophisticated Synthetic Aperture Radar to conduct long-distance sensory perception, would record the impacts of tailing disposal on the river's banks.

The instrument used by NASA aircraft, currently still in the experimental stage, could recognize the characteristics of soil, the thickness of the soil and water contained in the soil. It could be used for mapping soil with all the content inside, and for monitoring lands along the coast, mangroves, and for mining planning and its rehabilitation. (*)