Albertus Vembrianto

Hundreds indigenous Papua families stay in the riverbanks in Timika, Papua, Indonesia, besides tailing disposal stream of Freeport McMoran, biggest gold mine in the world. Based on the report of Earthworks and Mining Watch Canada, 2012, PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), affiliated with Freeport McMoRan’s, produces and dumps over 200,000 tons of tailings per day (over 80 million tons per year). The tailings contain high concentrations of toxins such as copper, arsenic, cadmium, and selenium. The tailings have buried over 166 square kilometers of formerly productive forest and wetlands. In this area, the above indigenous Papua families stay. These families earn money by becoming informal miners in the tailing disposal areas. They stay in plastic camps without access to proper living appliances such as clean water and electricity. Their children grow without formal education, but learn to earn money and get high in cheap way.