Story

Indonesia: Child Labor in Small-Scale Gold Mining

March 03, 2014 | Pulitzer Center
By
Larry C. Price, for the Pulitzer Center

On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, thousands of miners hack apart mountains in the Poboya Paneki Grand Forest Park and use mercury to process the ore. In the Hampalit area of central Borneo, an army of miners clear-cuts the swampy rain forest and dredges up the soil in the hunt for gold, poisoning the environment and themselves with mercury and leaving thousands of acres of wasteland. The two neighboring Southeast Asian nations, made up of some 25,000 islands, officially ban child labor, the burning of mercury and most small-scale gold mining. But in both countries, pervasive corruption, payoffs to local officials and weak central governments make it difficult to curb these practices, especially in remote areas. “That’s the problem in developing countries,” said Halimah Syafrul, assistant deputy for hazardous substance management in Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment. “Our government can be bribed. Money can talk.” Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Tasya Sutisna, 12, stacks 60-pound bags of ore after emerging from a mine shaft near Cisitu, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Near the mountain village of Cisitu on the island of Java, where mercury levels are acutely high due to large concentrations of gold mining activity and pollution of groundwater, a miner uses a glass plate to check the gold content of a sample of ore pulled from a nearby tunnel. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Miners use their hands to squeeze a ball of mercury through a piece of nylon cloth to form an amalgam of gold and mercury. Mercury binds tiny particles of gold when added during panning or crushing stages. The mercury is then burned off using a torch to reveal pure gold. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Ibu Mary, a mercury seller, weighs bottles of the metal in her shop in Cisitu, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

At the main intersection of town, miners come to Upriani’s small shop to buy mercury. She is the only dealer in town. Upriani, 38, said she sells at least 35 kilograms a day for the equivalent of $133 each. She spends some of it buying gold from miners. At times, business is so brisk she shoves rupiah notes haphazardly into a desk drawer overflowing with cash. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Miners use their hands to squeeze a ball of mercury through a piece of nylon cloth to form an amalgam of gold and mercury. Mercury binds tiny particles of gold when added during panning or crushing stages. The mercury is then burned off using a torch to reveal pure gold. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Miners use their hands to squeeze a ball of mercury through a piece of nylon cloth to form an amalgam of gold and mercury. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Miners use their hands to squeeze a ball of mercury through a piece of nylon cloth to form an amalgam of gold and mercury. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Smelting gold in a shop near Poboya, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Burning mercury in a shop near Poboya, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

A man burns mercury in the village of Cisitu, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Miners use their hands to squeeze a ball of mercury through a piece of nylon cloth to form an amalgam of gold and mercury. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Miners use their hands to squeeze a ball of mercury through a piece of nylon cloth to form an amalgam of gold and mercury. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Smelting gold in a shop near Poboya, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Miners use their hands to squeeze a ball of mercury through a piece of nylon cloth to form an amalgam of gold and mercury. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Smelting gold in a shop near Poboya, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Near the mountain village of Cisituon the island of Java, where mercury levels are acutely high due to large concentrations of gold mining activity and pollution of groundwater, a woman works her rice paddy. Mercury has found its way into the water that is used to irrigate rice and high readings have been recorded in the harvested rice itself which is a diet staple all over Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

In a mountain mining community near the village of Cisitu, 4-year-old Karisa (no last name—many Indonesians only have one name) stretches as her mother puts on makeup to begin their day. Small-scale gold mining in the area consumes large quantities of mercury and cyanide and contamination levels in rivers, ground water and crops and fish in the area is well above the safe levels recommended by the World Health Organization. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Yuyun Ismawati, co-founder of BaliFokus, an environmental group pushing to reduce mercury use, contends that illegal mining and smuggling of mercury are authorized in Indonesia by high-level officials who receive a share of the payoffs. "Gold is the daily allowance of the generals," said Ismawati, who received the 2009 Goldman Environmental Prize for her work on sustainable development and waste management. Indonesia and the Philippines are among more than 90 nations that have signed the Minamata Convention, a global pact to phase out mercury mining and reduce mercury emissions. In November, 2013, the United States became the first to ratify the convention. However, the pact does not limit mercury use in small-scale gold mining. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

Illegal dredge miners collect ore at a clear-cut region near Sindal on Borneo Island, Indonesia. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

A family bathes near Sindal on Borneo Island, Indonesia. The family came to the area to rework mine tailings left years ago by large-scale mining operations in the area. Image by Larry C. Price. Indonesia, 2013.

About 1 million children work in the dangerous job of mining and many are exposed to mercury while their growing brains are most vulnerable.

Mercury has been known to be dangerous since the time of the ancient Greeks. The liquid metal can cause tremors, memory loss, brain damage and a host of other problems. Mercury accumulates in the body over time and its effects are irreversible. It can be absorbed through the skin, ingested in food, or inhaled as a vapor.

Today, small-scale gold mining is the largest source of mercury emissions caused by humans, accounting for more than 35% of the worldwide total, according to the UN Environmental Program.

Mercury use is widespread in Indonesia, where illegal gold miners operate freely and child labor is common.