5 days ago
Global ‘mining mafia' feeds China's appetite for gold, investigation shows
LANTUNG VILLAGE, Indonesia — Hilltop after hilltop in this remote part of Indonesia is being scalped of vegetation. On the horizon, excavators lumber forward, gouging out rocks veined yellow. Nearby, milky chemicals collect in Olympic pool-sized trenches.
This is the work of Chinese mining syndicates flush with capital and connections, Indonesian investigators say. And virtually none of it is legal.
