Risks of public mining activity in Sekotong, Lombok island

It has been a while since the last update of my blog. Sorry to keep you wait guys !!! (although you were not), hehe.

Last time, I continued my travelling to mining site with my friends in Lombok, Sekotong.  It has been fascinating experience for to explore that site because I can keep upgrading my insight of my area as well as boosting my intention to know more about environment.

Scenery around the mining site 

It's always marvellous to learn new things. When we conducted a small survey of how local people make an effort to produce gold by themselves, The area also serves me a stunning scenery on my way to get the mining site. Although, we went there in daylight while the sun keeps burning our skins, we eventually can arrive in local mining site.

After arriving on the location, it was really staggering to see most of people in Sekotong had their equipment (like a small factory) in front of their house. They told us that it had been their side jobs to obtain gold since New Mont and Indotan enterprises cancelled their projects to excavate the area, since then the abandoned land is being utilised by communities.

Conventional Mining tools

Knowing how societies' methods to take the gold out from the land, we become worried and frightened about the local residents' health. They attempt to delve the land and use one of hazardous substances, Mercury (Hg), to pull out the gold. The wastewater from extraction of the gold is spilled out towards environment. The brown water from the activities certainly contains hazardous disposal for human health.

Wastewater from mining activity

Gold mining is producing adversely impacts for water as well as degrading air quality. With poor handling during amalgam process, it produces large amount of siliceous dust caused major cause of health impact among the miners (Ogola, 2002). Protection while extracting process is needed to avoid inhaling dust contained dangerous material.

It is estimated that when producing 1 kg of Au (Aurum) about 1.32 kg of Hg is required (Harada et al., 1997). The discharge amount of Hg from the extraction process is quite high. Thus, once take into our body, Mercury is accumulated and attacked our central nervous systems resulted in narrowing our vision, loss of hearing, awkward movement and others. This mercury poisoning is commonly known as Minamata.


Finally, it is suggested that the local government provide professional assistance that can teaches the public miners surrounding area "how to do a proper way of mining" that will guarantee a safety and will protect the environment.


References;
Harada, M.: 1997, Neurotoxicity of Methyl-mercury: Minamata and the Amazon, in: M. Yasui, M.J. Strong, K. Ota and M.A. Verity (eds), Mineral and Metal Neurotoxicology, CRC Press, Tokyo, pp. 177–188.

Ogola, J. S., Mitullah, W. V., & Omulo, M. A. (2002). Impact of gold mining on the environment and human health: a case study in the Migori gold belt, Kenya. Environmental geochemistry and health, 24(2), 141-157.