The abandoned mines haunting Indonesia 

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t is not unreasonable to think of the world as divided into two: the haves and have nots, the richer and the poorer. While it might once have been possible to draw a line, the modern reality is more complex. In mining, this line would be defined the strength of worker welfare, robustness of supply chains and ultimately the level of clean-up required after operations finish. But the reality of mine aftercare is more complex.  

Many countries mandate for post-operations clean-up as part of the mining permit issued before operations begin. In areas with effective law enforcement systems, these clauses limit the liability of the extraction company to the letter of the license. While an operation in the US, for example, might risk a legal battle with someone who stubs their toe on a discarded helmet 30 years later, a clean-up clause would specify a company’s specific liability: nothing less, and nothing more. 

In countries with less effective enforcement of clean-up, these clauses instead represent a hazard themselves. Once operations end, can a contract holder be certain that their liability ends? Can they be sure that the government will take note of the standard of clean-up? In 30 years’ time, will that government accuse the license holder of not fulfilling their contract, or of actions they were never liable for in the first place? 

These are questions that Indonesian mining companies ask themselves with no clear answer. Some in power certainly have the will to ensure effective post-operations mine clean-up and registration, but face a daunting task to improve mining logistics in the country. As it stands, 2,000 unregistered mines could stand in the way of the country’s bright future. 

As the world’s greatest thermal coal exporter, mining plays a big part in the economy of Indonesia. Indonesian law holds mining companies responsible for cleaning up after excavation, but these laws often go unenforced. 

Part of the problem lies with the laws themselves. Ecologist David Woodbury wrote for non-profit Mongabay: “The law states that coal companies must restore the ‘original condition’ of the landscape — an unrealistic target that even in the best-case scenarios is not supported by current science on mine rehabilitation. 

“By suggesting that restoring the ‘original condition’ is possible, the law clouds the extent and scale of degradation left behind after surface mining. It misrepresents what is feasible through ecological rehabilitation,” Woodbury finished. 

This dynamic of miners paying officials off-the-record bears many of the hallmarks of more above-board legal processes, so in theory, the transition to a more robust legal framework may not be out of the question. But recently, the spotlight has turned onto the Indonesian police. 

In late 2022, simultaneous scandals within the police saw government reports blame police for a massive crowd disaster, an officer accused of drug trafficking, a high-profile trial of a police general and a former officer admit to the police’s systematic involvement in illegal mining. 

The country’s police force struggles with allegations of corruption, brutality and acting above the law. A report by consultancy Gan Integrity says that two in five Indonesians consider most or all of the police as corrupt. Approximately 30% of Indonesians have paid bribes to police. 

This same poll rates only one institution as less trusted than the police: the governing political party. The government has not yet made changes to minimise corruption, and with elections not planned until 2024, few expect change before then. A more effective and less corrupt police force would change the game for miners, removing illegal competition, protecting the industry from crime and levelling the playing field against those that would cut corners. 

Indonesia’s government does have incentives to overlook mining companies bending or breaking the law, beyond bribes paid to politicians. 

The country banned coal exports throughout January 2022, concerned by the threat of insufficient domestic supplies. At the time, coal minister Ridwan Jamaludin warned of “widespread blackouts” without the ban. However, mining companies protested the loss of earnings, causing the government to ease restrictions halfway through the month. 

The ban lifted in February, but returned for 34 companies in August after they reportedly failed to sell 25% of produce domestically in the first half of 2022, as required by law. The government has made it clear that it will prioritise the security of national power supply, particularly while international energy prices fluctuate. 

As such, it has an incentive to ignore environmental costs if it can maintain a steady supply of domestic coal production. Cleaning up mines is a vote winner, but a disrupted power supply is likely a larger vote loser. 

The lack of registration for abandoned mines has also come back to bite the government directly. For years, various governments have considered moving the country’s capital to create a more efficient and centrally-located city, a move which could have significant impacts for the country’s coal sector. 

Currently, Jakarta’s civic infrastructure struggles under the weight of the city’s dense population of more than 30 million. The threat of subsidence, lack of sufficient drinking water, and low air quality have become too much of a burden to its economy, and the current government has decided to do something about it. 

In 2019, after years of consideration, the government confirmed plans to move the capital to East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. This would mean massive change for the region, which currently has a population of just under four million spread across 127,000km². 

In 2013, the regional government of East Kalimantan increased the regulation around mine reclamation and clean-up. The move followed a broad campaign from locals and organisations, and marked the first time that outside forces had influenced regional mining legislation. 

The new regulations mandated that an independent commission should oversee mine rehabilitation. It also sets out reporting and monitoring obligations more clearly than national legislation, and mandates for miners to refill pits and restore plants and animals on project sites after the end of operations. 

But despite the increased regional legislation, mining pits remain unfilled, and deaths continue. A 2020 research paper reads: “Yet the policy outcome alone has not been sufficient to shape change: an estimated 1,735 coal mine voids remain un-refilled in East Kalimantan, and the number of human fatalities from deaths in mine voids continues to grow. Remediation of mine sites is rarely performed to return land to its pre-mined conditions.”