Papua’s Golden Dilemma
Unhealthy competition rages in the gold mining business between outsiders and local people in Papua. Are miners from outside Papua controlling the areas rich in gold with the support of authorities? Or is it due to a lack of regional laws regulating traditional gold mines?
February 24, 2010
TENDI Tabuni has been mining for gold since he was 5 years old. The boy from Ilaga village, Ilaga subdistrict, Nabire regency, Papua province, used to walk for one hour from his home to a gold mining location in the Puncak Jaya Mountains. Clutching an aluminum pan in his small hands, he would be accompanied by his father, Miss Tabuni, and his uncles on the journey.
Just by using the pan, “I would certainly find gold. It was a good time,” sai
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