How Mongabay Indonesia revealed illegal mining and sparked official investigations in West Lombok

4 Jul 2025

In August 2024, tensions in the village of Blongas in West Lombok Regency, Indonesia, erupted when a mob torched an illegal gold mining site in reaction to years of frustration over large-scale, unregulated mining operations in the area, some reportedly run by foreign nationals and aided by heavy machinery.

The incident brought national attention to a deeper problem: the persistence of large-scale illegal mining in areas designated as community mining zones, often linked to weak government oversight. In September 2024, Mongabay Indonesia published a report that discussed the issues and shared the broader context.

The article revealed that the mining site, though within a legal concession of a private mining company, had been illegally exploited since 2010. What began as small-scale, informal mining had grown into industrial-scale operations using excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks.

Mongabay’s reporting highlighted that the scale of operations and presence of non-local workers suggested corporate involvement rather than small-scale, local mining. The report also documented community concerns about environmental degradation, disruption of livelihoods, and perceived inaction from authorities.

This latest article builds on a body of work as Mongabay Indonesia had been following this case since 2019. In September and October 2019, as well as April 2024, Mongabay Indonesia published reports on illegal gold mining activities in the Sekotong area, the same location as the burning of the illegal gold mining camp that was published in September 2024.

Information board in the area of large-scale illegal gold mining activities, which is the license area of PT Indotan Lombok Barat Bangkit. Photo courtesy of Fathul Rakhman/Mongabay Indonesia.
Information board in the area of large-scale illegal gold mining activities, which is the license area of PT Indotan Lombok Barat Bangkit. Photo courtesy of Fathul Rakhman/Mongabay Indonesia.

Impact

Following the article’s publication, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) conducted a field inspection and found  indications of state losses and possible involvement of state officials in the illegal gold mining operations.

Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning (ATR/BPN) in Jakarta also visited West Lombok. They requested a meeting with Mongabay contributor Fathul Rakhman to learn more about the individuals named in the report suspected of being involved in the illegal gold mining operations.

By December 2024, screenshots of an official letter granting permission to the acting governor of West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to investigate the Chairman of the West Lombok Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) were circulated among journalist groups in Lombok. The Chairman of the DPRD, who represents the Sekotong-Lembar constituency, is connected to the location of the illegal mining.

Then in 2025, the West Nusa Tenggara High Prosecutor’s Office began to investigate the Sekotong illegal mining case, where the prosecutor’s office saw the potential for legal violations and state losses from the activities.

This case illustrates how independent journalism can play a pivotal role in prompting government oversight, raising accountability, and informing citizens. Mongabay Indonesia’s work brought transparency to a long-running crisis in West Lombok and helped spark the scrutiny needed to address it.

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Banner Image: Illegal gold mining site in Lendek Bare, Blongas Preparation Village, Sekotong Subdistrict, West Lombok, NTB where miners’ tents were burned. Photo courtesy of Fathul Rakhman/Mongabay Indonesia.