penjom

An Open Gold Mine in Penjom, Look at the size of the operation.

Penjom is a small village, situated about ten kilometers from Kuala Lipis. For the past 40 years, it was a sleepy village. It was not so in early 1900's. It was the center of mining activities in Kuala Lipis.

When Hugh Clifford arrived in Kuala Lipis in late 1800, he did not visit the present town, but he went to Penjom, even the main market for Kuala Lipis was in Penjom.

Now, nearly 150 years later, the history repeats itself. A new gold mine was opened at Penjom, but this time the physical damage is 1000 times more, with the power of the big machinery, the new improved techniques to exploit for the maximum benefit, the virgin earth was thorn to  pieces. I had some satellite pictures from Google Map.

When the gold runs out, the miners will certainly go, leaving the local people to nurse the wounds and live the whatever would be left, from the greenery and the tropic forest.

There were some complaints about the pollution in the stream, as chemicals were used in the gold processing, but it was quickly squashed by the local interested group.

It  is hope the local people from Penjom will get some benefits, so the benefits can be shared and not limited to the groups in the poshed high rise offices.