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SIX miners are dead and one missing after the collapse of an illegal gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.
Survivors estimated about 22 people were trapped in the rubble when the mine in Central Sulawesi province collapsed due to unstable soil, said Andrias Hendrik Johannes, who heads the local search and rescue agency.
Illegal mining has been a growing problem across Africa and Asia for three decades, with the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development saying the number estimated employed in such dangerous operations is now over 40 million, up from 30 million in 2014 and six million in 1993. Much of the processing of gold ore involves use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide by workers using little or no protection.
Indonesia’s Joko Widodo government has been slammed by trade unions for the Job Creation Law passed last year, which rips up employment rights on maximum hours, holiday and sick pay entitlements and removes most existing environmental protections in the country.
