A YELLOW Keihatsu excavator is parked among irregularly shaped mud holes on the southern side of Nagari (village) Lubuk Ulang Aling Selatan, Sangir Batang Hari subdistrict, South Solok Regency, West Sumatra. There is no documentation indicating ownership of the diesel-powered Chinese-made machine.

“There are two types of gold miners here, traditional panners and those supported by investors,” said a former mining investor who ac