Time Bomb

Each day illegal miners discharge 17.5 kilograms of mercury into rivers and seas in North Sulawesi—a time bomb for area residents.

September 7, 2004

CALL him Rambo. His face is tanned by the burning sun and his body is thick-set. Dressed in a singlet and faded blue jeans, he’s all muscles. He walks slowly to the old, heavy-duty Toyota hardtop, a picture of ruggedness with a powerful machine.

The muscular man isn’t an action movie star. He’s a coolie transporting gold-bearing earth at a smallholder mining operation at Ratatotok in the North Sulawesi district of South Minahas

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