High in the snow-capped mountains, the sight of tribesmen roaming in loincloths contrasts sharply with that of miners using hi-tech machinery to extract gold and copper ore at a huge US-owned facility in remote Papua province.
The heavily-guarded complex is the resource-rich country’s biggest mine and has been a controversial presence for more than five decades accused of environmental devastation and extracting huge wealth while giving too little back to a poverty-wracked area.
The mine is owned by US-based Freeport, but London mining company Rio Tinto helped to pay for mine expansion and benefits from a profit-sharing agreement.
See http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/us-mining-giant-faces-fight-with-indonesia/.