“Indonesian government accused of putting lives at risk with zinc mine permit”, 12 Jan 2023

Villagers in North Sumatra have accused the Indonesian government of putting their lives at risk by allowing a zinc mining firm to operate in an area prone to earthquakes and flooding.

People in the mountainous Dairi Regency claim construction work carried out by Dairi Prima Mineral (DPM) has damaged their homes and livelihoods. They fear for their safety as the mine, which is expected to be operational in 2025, will sit on the Great Sumatran fault.

“We are worried that because Dairi is a disaster-prone area, will the company be able to guarantee the safety of the villagers,” says villager Saudur Sitorus. [...]

DPM, which is majority owned by Chinese company China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction, obtained a mining concession permit for more than 24,000 hectares (59,305 acres) of land in Silima Pungga-Pungga subdistrict in 1998 and has since drilled in the surrounding hills, and built underground tunnels.

Villagers claim waste from the mine has killed thousands of fish in the nearby river and its construction led to flash floods in 2018 that killed six people and destroyed hundreds of hectares of farmland.

The company denies it was responsible. Syahrial Suandi, an external consultant for the company, said DPM had given residents money to help compensate for the dead fish [...] He says the flooding was due to illegal logging carried out further upstream by another party.

Residents have also complained about the location of a tailings (waste) dam and an explosives warehouse, moved to within metres of people’s homes – a move the government approved in November. [...]

Suandi says “almost all” of the villagers’ concerns about safety were “based on inaccurate information accompanied by a tendency to disinformation”. He says the tailings dam was moved to protect the environment and was being planned and built in accordance with government regulations. [...] The explosives warehouse [...] was moved to improve security at the mine. [T]he company has conducted “a comprehensive seismic hazard analysis and will carry out continuous monitoring”. The company also says it has provided education scholarships to the community to study in China and is training young villagers in mining. [...]

The government did not respond to repeated requests for comment.