After 6 months, Rehabilitation of Former Unconventional Tin Mine Site Looks Very Promising

Supported by the German Embassy in Jakarta, IISM developed a project of rehabilitation of former unconventional tin mining land using a method called BioRehab. The technique works environmentally friendly by optimizing the role of soil microorganisms with the aim to: neutralize the pH of the post-mining land, increase natural degradation processes rate, improve soil fertility and soil granular structure and rebuild soil productivity to lead to self-sustaining vegetative.

Considered as a pilot model, the project was implemented in Marok Kecil Village, Singkep Barat District, Lingga regency, Riau Islands Province. Our partners, PT Indmira and PT Multi Coco Indonesia, were happy to collaborate in rehabilitating 1 hectare former tin mining site. The 6-month project run under a partnership form with the local community as the land owner and incorporating several steps such as: stakeholder consultation and training, land preparation, land treatment and crops planting.

The project was strongly supported by the local community and other stakeholders, including the Regional Government of Lingga which helped catalysing know-how transfer process to local stakeholders. From the technical perspective, the BioRehab method has been successfully implemented into acidic soil and no topsoil conditions at the site, proven by the growth performance of Kaliandra, the name of the crop planted, reviewed from several indicators that have been observed.