TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Banyuwangi Regency Government has responded to illegal gold mining operations in the Roworejo area of Pancer Village, Sumberagung Village, within Pesanggaran District, East Java.
Bayu Hadiyanto, the acting head of the Banyuwangi Environmental Agency (DLH), called for an immediate halt to these unauthorized operations. "We hope these illegal mining activities can be stopped and regulated," Bayu said in a text message to Tempo on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
According to Bayu, the illicit gold operations are not only unlicensed but also fail to comply with environmental quality standards. He plans to forward reports of the illegal mine to the Environmental Law Enforcement (Gakkum) office of East Java Province. "We will pass this information to the East Java Gakkum for further action," Bayu said.
In coordination with the provincial Gakkum, the Banyuwangi DLH will carry out on-site inspections. "We will conduct joint field monitoring and evaluation," he added.
Addressing the presence of gold mining in the region, Bayu pointed to several regulatory frameworks, including Article 6 Paragraph 1 of Law No. 3/2020 on Mineral and Coal Mining, Circular No. 1.E/HK.03/MEM.B/2022, and Article 2 Paragraph 11 of Presidential Regulation No. 55/2022 on the delegation of mining licenses.
"For metallic mineral mining, specifically gold, the regulatory authority rests entirely with the central government," Bayu explained.
As reported previously, illegal gold mining on Mount Lompongan has threatened hundreds of hectares of crops tended by local farmers within the social forestry area of Pancer Village. The miners' use of cyanide leaching has led to severe mud sedimentation in the local river, triggering wet-season floods that submerge residential farmlands.
Edi Lasmono, a local farming community leader in Sumberagung Village, said that despite deep concerns, residents felt powerless to halt the operations. "Their justification is that the miners are simply trying to make a living," Edi said on Tuesday.
Edi noted that cyanide-based gold processing is currently operated across three or four locations. "Miners use water hoses to blast the soil, which is then filtered through mats. The remaining contains a soft deposit that is dumped into the river, flows downstream, causing damage to the crops," he explained.
Read: Cyanide-Based Illegal Mining Puts Banyuwangi Farmland at Risk
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Cyanide-Based Illegal Mining Puts Banyuwangi Farmland at Risk
1 hari lalu
Hundreds of hectares of farmland in Banyuwangi, East Java, are at risk due to illegal gold mining activities using cyanide methods on Mount Lompongan.
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