East Kalimantan officials admit difficulties in curbing illegal mining

Secretary of the East Kalimantan administration Waris Husain said that the government inter-department team was facing various difficulties in its effort to curb illegal mining activities in the province.

Waris said that the illegal mining activity involved thousands of people located in various areas.

"The most rampant illegal mining is seen in the Kertanegara and West Kutai regencies both gold and coal (mining)," Waris told the local Kaltim Post daily following a meeting of the inter-department team on the curbing of illegal mining.

He pointed out as example is the illegal mining activity conducted by local villagers in the mining area of gold mining firm PT Lanna Harita Indonesia in the Sungai Siring area, North Samarinda. He said that illegal mining activity had continued until now although the company had reported it to the police. He also said that the Thailand Embassy in Jakarta had called on the East Kalimantan administration to take serious action against the illegal miners. Lanna Harita is partly owned by Thailand's Lanna Lignite.

Meanwhile, East Kalimantan senior police officer Abdul Madjid, who's also a member of the inter-department team, said that the illegal mining activity had been backed up by businessmen, police and the military.

"In South Kalimantan, the people (traditional miners) were being financed by businessmen. Then the police, the military, and administration officials were also involved," he said, referring to his experience in handling illegal mining activity in the South Kalimantan province.

Both Waris and Abdul suggested the government to streamline the bureaucracy for the local traditional miners group in cooperatives to obtain the license in implementing mining activity to help reduce illegal mining activity.(*)