Bauxite miners disregard government regulation and continue mining operations in Riau Islands, Indonesia

According to a recent report, unlicensed mining of bauxite is still found continuing on the islands of Angkut, Dendang and Bukit Bati in Bintan, Riau Islands, despite a government call to end the activities.

"I do not know why they still continue to mine the bauxite,” said the head of Bintan and Tanjungpinang’s forest management and production department on Sunday.

He also said bauxite mining sites in Bukit Batu are located close to the Bintan district administration office, while workers of mining firm CV Gemilang used the main road to transport bauxite to the port and sell it to PT Gunung Bintan Abadi.

Per the regulation, no bauxite mining trucks are allowed to use public road to transport bauxite. Earlier, Environment and Forect Ministry forest preservation director Sustyo Iriyono had stressed that the bauxite mining should not be done on these small islands. Added to this, he said that the ministry had sealed a number of mining sites and would file law suits against anyone engaged in illegal mining.

"We have the names of five companies that operate at 19 mining sites. Those violators could be prosecuted either in Jakarta or in Riau Islands," he said, as reported by news agency Antara.