{"id":1820,"date":"2017-02-11T22:38:46","date_gmt":"2017-02-11T22:38:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/?p=1820"},"modified":"2023-12-15T18:16:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T18:16:07","slug":"the-100bn-gold-mine-and-the-west-papuans-who-say-they-are-counting-the-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infopapua.org\/?p=1820","title":{"rendered":"The $100bn gold mine and the West Papuans who say they are counting the cost"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The $100bn gold mine and the West Papuans who say they are counting the cost<\/h1>\n

Link: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/2016\/nov\/02\/100-bn-dollar-gold-mine-west-papuans-say-they-are-counting-the-cost-indonesia<\/a><\/p>\n

By Susan Schulman<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Grasberg mine in the Indonesian region has been a source of untold wealth for its owners, but local communities say it has brought poverty and oppression<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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\"West <\/picture><\/div>
The delta of West Papua\u2019s Aikwa river, on Kamoro tribe land. Papuans claim tailing sediment from the mine has suffocated the fish and shrimp on which their diet and economy are based. All photographs: Susan Schulman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Global development is supported by \"Bill <\/a> About this content<\/a><\/div>\n
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Susan Schulman<\/a> in Timika<\/p>\n

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I<\/span><\/span>n 1936, Dutch geologist Jean Jacques Dozy<\/a> climbed the world\u2019s highest island peak: the forbidding Mount Carstensz, a snow-covered silver crag on what was then known as Dutch New Guinea. During the 4,800-metre ascent, Dozy noticed an unusual rock outcrop veined with green streaks. Samples he brought back confirmed exceptionally rich gold and copper deposits.<\/p>\n

Today, these remote, sharp-edged mountains are part of West Papua, Indonesia, and home to the Grasberg mine, one of the biggest gold mines \u2013 and third largest copper mine \u2013 in the world. Majority-owned by the American mining firm Freeport McMoRan, Grasberg is now Indonesia\u2019s biggest taxpayer, with reserves worth an estimated $100bn<\/a> (\u00a380bn).<\/p>\n

But a recent fact-finding mission (by the Brisbane Archdiocese\u2019s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission) described a \u201cslow-motion genocide\u201d<\/a> (pdf) taking place in West Papua, warning that its indigenous population is at risk of becoming \u201can anthropological museum exhibit of a bygone culture\u201d.<\/p>\n