Ministry Of ESDM Stops Mining Activities On Mount Semeru

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) has stopped all mining activities in the red zone of Mount Semeru, East Java, to prevent casualties due to eruptions and hot clouds avalanches.

Secretary of the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ediar Usman, said that Mount Semeru still has the potential to emit lava and hot clouds from avalanches, so the mining area must be vacated.

"We agreed that activities in the red zone must be vacated because it is very possible that there is still the potential for lahars or hot clouds to fall," he said at a press conference quoted by Antara, Monday, December 6.

The eruption of Mount Semeru which occurred on Saturday afternoon, December 4, 2021, caused thick clouds to cover the sky in Lumajang Regency, East Java.

The natural disaster caused dozens of sand mining trucks to turn back due to volcanic ash rain.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources also asked the public not to carry out activities in the Mujur watershed in the Kobokan Curah and other watersheds that originate at Mount Semeru to avoid the danger of cold lava flooding.

"The potential for cold lava floods is still there because we see that in the upstream or peak of the mountain there are still a lot of materials from volcanic eruptions," said Head of the Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of the ESDM Ministry, Andiani.

According to Andini, the volume of material at the top of the mountain is still large, especially with the condition of increasing rainfall in the next 1-2 months, which can cause potential cold lava floods.

"The BMKG states that rainfall will still continue for the next 1-2 months, of course, the potential for this lahar is still high to threaten around Semeru, especially the crater openings that lead to the south and southeast," explained Andini.