World's Rarest Ape Lives Near a Gold Mine. That's a Problem

A little-known ape could be the collateral damage of a very well-known metal. In northern Sumatra's Batang Toru rainforest, new access roads are being laid toward the Tor Ulu Ala pit, a part of Indonesia's Martabe gold mine. Conservation group Mighty Earth says one road has already come within about 250 feet of a cluster of nests belonging to the Tapanuli orangutan—the rarest ape on Earth, recognized as a distinct species only in 2017 and now down to fewer than 800 individuals. As Gloria Dickie reports for the Guardian in a lengthy look at the apes and the threat bearing down on them, "all are found in Sumatra's fragile Batang Toru ecosystem, bordered on its southwest flank by the Martabe mine, which began operations in 2012."

The mine is operated by PT Agincourt Resources, a subsidiary of UK-based conglomerate Jardine Matheson, which believes at least 460,000 additional ounces of gold can be pulled from Tor Ulu Ala; that haul would be worth nearly $2 billion at current prices. The company argues the mine underpins roughly 3,500 jobs—70% of them local—and says expansion will directly or indirectly affect only 6 to 12 orangutans. Executives insist there've been no orangutan fatalities linked directly to mining and say revenues are needed to fund a protected area 25 miles away and an orangutan research center.

Scientists counter that the math doesn't work for a species that reproduces only every six to nine years. Even losing about 1% of the population annually can set up eventual extinction, they say, especially if females are killed or pushed out of viable habitats. Research shows female orangutans are reluctant to move when their range is disrupted, leaving them vulnerable to starvation; crowding survivors into remaining forest can spur conflict and stress. "You cannot say that any great ape species is better with mining than without," says primatologist Genevieve Campbell. (Read the full story here.)