San Fernando Valley, in northern Los Angeles, killing fifty-seven and leaving more than fifteen hundred seriously injured. It was an ominous sign.
****
Indonesian Borneo (East Kalimantan ) Longdamai – Mahakam River
Once test drilling along the Mahakam River’s reaches showed substantial traces of gold, excitement swept through the villages and, in less than a year, a flood of prospectors from neighboring provinces inundated the stretches along the once-deserted riverbanks. The effects had been catastrophic for the Mahakam Dayaks – not least amongst these, Jonathan Dau’s Penehing whose lands would soon come under threat. He had ventured downriver to the provincial capital, Samarinda, to seek the Governor’s support in stemming the flow of illegal miners, his pleas falling on deaf ears. Gold fever had reached new levels within the corrupt, local Administration, with officials accumulating mining lease titles via their cronies in Jakarta’s Ministry of Mines. As the State maintained ownership of all natural resources, gold concessions were naturally allocated to vested interest groups associated with the Central Government. Increased foreign investment activity along the Mahakam reaches brought an even greater influx of Madurese and Javanese, the Dayak communities becoming increasingly incensed with these migrant groups’ complete disregard over local claims. Although the Longdamai mining rights originally belonged to Dayaks, somewhere along the line officialdom managed to secure these on behalf of a number of Samarinda Chinese businessmen who, subsequent to a number of catastrophic forays into the area, abandoned the site. Within weeks, itinerants had appeared, equipped with the most simple of tools, and started digging, their numbers so great the Dayak chief believed that it would only be a matter of time before all Penehing communities were overrun. Not surprisingly, sprawling shantytowns began to appear along the Mahakam, Dayak communities in Longbangun and Batukelau already under threat.
The wave of illegal miners not only occupied traditional land, but brought with them one of the most dangerous of substances known to man – the highly toxic, liquid metal, mercury. Jonathan visited the Longbangun camp, observing the archaic methods used by the miners in the extraction process. Shafts, barely large enough for one man let alone several, had been dug, thirty and forty meters underground, the men unable to swing their hand-picks more than a few centimeters in the cramped and poorly-lit tunnels. Of course, many had already been killed, most buried under tons of rock and soil, the result of poorly shored shafts. But it was the long-term effects of their presence that worried Jonathan most. The ancient process utilized in the crude extraction of gold was poisoning Dayak lands and, undoubtedly, rivers and streams.
He observed as the potential, gold-bearing rocks were crushed by hand and large amounts of mercury were added to small, manually rotated barrels to separate the gold. Jonathan watched as the mercury was strained, and then burned, the deadly gas given off going straight into the atmosphere. None, of course, wore any form of protective clothing such as gloves or masks. Once the precious yellow metal had been extracted, the workers would then discard the deadly residual along the riverbanks where they took their drinking water, washed their bodies and clothes, and fished. It was far too soon for the inevitable symptoms to appear; and, when these did, he knew that the cause of their skin and gum diseases would all be disguised by ignorance.
Depressed by what he witnessed, Jonathan Dau became impatient for Angela to complete her studies and return home, where they could work together to prevent the further spread of devastation to their precious forests and land.
****
Canada -Vancouver
Christopher Fielding stared out through the double-glazed windows in the direction of a wind-chilled Stanley Park, the impulse to jump curbed by the knowledge that the windows were firmly fixed into the skyscraper’s walls. Borneo Gold Corporation (BGC) shares had plummeted to a new low, the embarrassment eclipsed only by the enormous financial losses he and other investors had incurred.
Minutes before, Scott Walters had phoned, the conversation vitriolic, at best. Walters had provided mezzanine capital initially, to kick-start the operations, his financial backing sufficient to float the company based on a number of Indonesian mining tenements. He made it quite clear that it had never been his intentions to remain involved for the long haul.
‘What in the hell are you doing with BGC?’ an angry Walters had shouted, Fielding wincing with every word. ‘Stock in every other Canadian miner with Indonesian rights has gone through the roof. What are your guys doing over there, for Chrissakes?’
‘It’s only temporary,’ Fielding had tried, ‘we have acquired other properties and these should make BGC stock rise once the reports have been filed.’
‘And where will you find the capital to fund further operations?’ he demanded.
‘BGC stock will rise when we release our annual report next month. We have some very attractive prospects in Kalimantan.’
‘Don’t give me that crap!’ the vehement financier yelled. ‘Look what happened after results of the last survey were released. God-damn it, Chris, I could have doubled or even tripled my investment elsewhere by now!’
Walters’ claim would have been difficult to refute. Over the previous ten years a rush of new gold mining entities had listed on the Calgary and Vancouver stock exchanges, most of which had remained reasonably solvent, their Indonesian prospects enabling the companies to raise additional capital without too much difficulty.
‘You could always vote for a change in the Board’s composition next month,’ Fielding challenged, then became concerned as the line went quiet, worried that the financier may be contemplating going down that path.
‘Don’t tempt me!’ The menacing voice alarmed the BGC president. Walters was connected, a point he had often raised when recalcitrant associates reneged on their commitments.
‘There’s not much else I can do, Scott,’ Fielding tried another tack. ‘Kremenchug appears to have lost interest and hasn’t been that communicative since he moved back to Australia. I know he has been negotiating with others over here.’ Fielding did not mind throwing Kremenchug to the wolves. He could hear Walters breathing heavily and guessed his mind was digesting this information, and what steps he could take to clip their associate’s wings.
‘Leave Kremenchug to me,’ he insisted, ‘besides, from what I hear he is in a heap of shit in Australia.’
Everyone in the industry was aware of the mess Alex was embroiled in Down Under. Fielding’s consolation was not having had any capital at the time to participate in the Meekathara prospect when it first went on offer. ‘You don’t want me to contact him?’
‘No,’ the banker warned, ‘I’ll have a few words with him when he shows his face. In the meantime, I’ll spread the word that he’s persona non grata.’
Fielding became further alarmed. Kremenchug’s name was still linked to BGC in a substantial way. ‘Don’t, Scott,’ he pleaded, ‘we’re still trying to tidy up a few arrangements in Jakarta, and, if he gets wind of what’s happening, we may as well close up shop there, altogether.’ Fielding felt a surge of panic; should Walters have their associate black-listed, he knew that this would stigmatize all involved and, with Kremenchug’s very close ties with the Indonesian government, he could retaliate.
Walters’ shrill laugh echoed down the line. ‘You think he walks tall and carries a big stick? Let me tell you something, Chris. It’s whoever carries the moneybags over there that counts. Don’t fret about Kremenchug; the
