Jakarta. Indonesian state-controlled tin miner Timah claims it loses up to 80 metric tons of the metal every day as a result of illegal miners operating in its concession, and sees no end to the problem because of how lucrative the practice has become.

There are an estimated 1,600 locations where illegal miners operate inside Timah’s concession in the Bangka-Belitung islands off southern Sumatra, according to corporate secretary Agung Nugroho.

“If in a day they can produce 50 kilograms of tin ore from each site, then that’s 80,000 kilos that we’ve lost,” Agung said in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The administration of President Joko Widodo has promised to crack down on decades of illegal mining that have skewed production figures and undercut legitimate exporters.

Indonesia is the world’s largest tin producer, and Bangka-Belitung produces about 90 percent of the nation’s tin.

Illegal mining has long been a problem in Indonesia, where enforcement of regulations is lax at best and the draw of striking it rich trumps offers of legitimate employment by mining companies.

In Timah’s case, the miner struck an agreement several years ago with residents of Bangka-Belitung to allow them to mine in its concession on an artisanal basis, but under strict safety and operational rules from the company.

“There are 5,500 miners working [under this scheme] for our partner companies. Those partner companies, in turn, contribute to about 50 percent of Timah’s production,” Agung said.

For the most part, though, small-scale miners would rather work on their own and keep what they find, says Adhi Wibowo, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry official in charge of technical and environmental compliance in the mining sector.

Working for companies like Timah, he said, “is apparently not an attractive option for them, because they will only get paid for their mining services, whereas otherwise they could be pocketing the profit from selling the ore themselves.”

Under a 2010 regulation on mining, residents can secure a so-called people’s mining permit, or IPR, to operate on an artisanal scale. But Adhi said few people were capable or willing to meet the requirements set out under the regulation.

“They find the technical requirements difficult to fulfill, such as a prohibition on the use of heavy equipment and explosives. IPR holders aren’t allowed to operate those two,” Adhi said, arguing that this would make it difficult for them to mine, hence the appeal of illegal mining.

He called the issue a “cross-ministerial” one that would be raised at an upcoming meeting led by the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and natural resources.

“There needs to be a legal umbrella to regulate this issue,” Adhi said.

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