Net Social Impact of Illegal Unconventional Onshore Tin Mining in South Bangka, Bangka Island

Abstract

Various economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits in illegal unconventional tin mining in Bangka Island have not been mapped clearly. The objective of this study is to obtain information on the economic, social, and environmental costs and benefits incurred by these mining activities expressed in monetary terms. The researcher conducted a field research in three mine villages and interviewed the miners, village government apparatus, and community leaders to map the impacts in the area. The benefits are the income and the growth of sales business, while the incurred costs include the flow of cash towards investors outside the village and the cost of river revitalization, land reclamation, watershed rehabilitation, and flood emergency response. Limited disclosure of data by the mining community and the lack of data available have yielded little cost benefit calculation. Net Present Value (NPV) approach was used to measure net social impact by assessing the profitability of mining, its benefits for the mining community, and the losses incurred by cost of investors and land reclamation. The results of calculation were positive, suggesting that unconventional mining had a significant economic impact at the local level. However, there needs to be further cost analysis of broader environmental damages.