Sumatra Landslide Kills Four Miners in Ongoing Gold Rush

A recent landslip in Indonesia's South Solok district adds to a growing death toll in the informal gold mining sector, driven by high global prices.

Four gold miners died after a hillside collapsed in the Jorong Jujutan forest of Sumatra’s South Solok district in the early hours of October 6. The incident adds to the fatalities in Indonesia’s artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector.

Authorities identified the victims as Dani, Defriadi, Rafli, and Zul Fatrianto. They were recovered around 5 a.m., approximately four hours after the landslip. Andreanaldo Ademi, chief of South Solok district police, stated that thick mud and rocks prevented other workers nearby from assisting the trapped miners.

This event follows another incident in May, when nine miners died in West Sumatra after heavy rain caused a cliff face to collapse at an illegal gold mine. According to the West Sumatra office of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the country’s largest environmental nonprofit, 52 miners have died in the province over the last 15 years. Tommy Adam, director of Walhi’s West Sumatra chapter, suggests the actual number could be higher.

The global ASGM sector employs over 20 million people across approximately 80 countries. Many face risks from workplace accidents and exposure to mercury, a neurotoxin used to separate gold from ore. Mercury causes permanent neurological and physical harms.

International gold prices remain historically high, driven by global inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions. In January, gold prices exceeded $5,600 per troy ounce, more than triple the price before early 2020. This economic incentive may lead more individuals to engage in illegal mining despite significant health and environmental dangers.

Indang Dewata, a professor at Padang State University, noted that the ecological damage from excavation and mercury use will persist for years. The West Sumatra energy and mining agency previously estimated that up to 300 illegal mines operate across the province, costing the state around 6 trillion rupiah ($332 million).

Countries are working under the Minamata Convention on Mercury to phase out the use of mercury in sectors like illegal gold mining. The Global Environment Fund-supported planetGOLD program convened in September to advance non-mercury technology and efforts to formalize illegal miners. Indonesia has also seized mercury shipments and plans to formalize informal mining operations through special licenses.

South Solok police chief Andreanaldo said authorities have attempted crackdowns, including forest raids and excavator seizures. However, some illegal operations resume quickly after inspections. Tommy Adam of Walhi West Sumatra described simplifying these tragedies as individual incidents as an attempt to downplay organized environmental crime.

For jungle travelers and hosts, such activity highlights the pressures on remote forest areas and the communities living near them.