Mornings at Bukit Dundang, Kuta II Hamlet, Kuta Village, Pujut District, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), always seem calm.
The coastline stretches, the sound of waves from the direction of Mosrak sweeps the air, and the thriving tourism of Mandalika seems to promise a stable future.
However, the calm was shattered when sad news came from the hills only about five minutes by boat from the shore.
A miner, Hemaldi, was found dead after being buried in a landslide while digging for gold in an illegal mining pit that had only been operating for a week.
The tragedy opened the public's eyes to the fact that just a few kilometers from the Mandalika Circuit, high-risk activities were taking place secretly.
Bukit Dundang is not just a point of wild exploration, but, because it is located in a conservation area and protected forest, mining there is prone to landslides and far from safety standards.
This incident also resurfaced the old question of how informal economic activities survive in the face of international-scale tourism infrastructure.
The incident that befell Hemaldi was not simply an individual tragedy. It was a symptom of problems with spatial governance, economic pressures, and a lack of ongoing oversight in a region that should be NTB's face in the eyes of the world.
Safety margin
Following the landslide, police quickly moved to inspect the site. Investigations revealed that gold mining activity at Bukit Dundang had only been underway for about a week.
However, within that short time, dozens of people were lured by rumors of "gold in the cliff" and rushed to dig. Video footage from residents shows a situation resembling a scramble for treasure in a narrow hole.
