Attached is an article from Forbes Mnagazine that describes strike that has gone on from July 2011 to February 2012. Work stoppage has not been complete with several work stops and restarts in between.
One detail the article does not describe is that when strike started the union was demanding wages of $30 - $200 an hour - not the South American wages referred to. Of note is that a day laborer in Indonesian city typicly makes about RP(Rupiah)100,000 (US $11) for a day of work.
LINK....
February 2012 Forbes article:
That's all for this time.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Introduction to Papua
Indonesia? Where in the world are we? Answer ...near the equator north of Australia see:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=-3.601142,124.541016&spn=32.031514,56.25&t=h&z=4
Papua is the eastern most major island of Indonesia. The island is divided into two parts - the eastern side Papua New Guinea (PNG) is an independent nation. The western side is a part of the nation of Indonesia. PNG is a former Australian colony and Indonesian Papua is a former Dutch colony. For some interesting reading of history and events see: http://www.janesoceania.com/papua_history/index.htm
Ironically Papua is known as Indonesia's "Last Frontier". Like Alaska in the USA we noticed some people in Indonesia don't know that Papua is part of their own country.
The janesoceania site linked above also has some great older photographs that describe the life of native villagers in the forests away from civilization. See link: http://www.janeresture.com/irian_jaya/index.htm . The included photos appear dated many years ago but we have been told many Papuans away from our western style civilization live the same way in the present.
The mining town site of Tembagapura is located in central Indonesian Papua. As an introduction a great explanation and photo album is available from Geologist Kurt Friehauf at:
http://faculty.kutztown.edu/friehauf/indonesia/timika.html
This is a photo journal with some explanations of the area including descriptions of Timika, Tembagapura and Mine operations. Continue through his trip by following the links on the lower right corner of web pages. We took a close look at this site to get a general impression of the area before making the final decision to go to the site visit at Tembagapura and Freeport operations.
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=-3.601142,124.541016&spn=32.031514,56.25&t=h&z=4
Papua is the eastern most major island of Indonesia. The island is divided into two parts - the eastern side Papua New Guinea (PNG) is an independent nation. The western side is a part of the nation of Indonesia. PNG is a former Australian colony and Indonesian Papua is a former Dutch colony. For some interesting reading of history and events see: http://www.janesoceania.com/papua_history/index.htm
Ironically Papua is known as Indonesia's "Last Frontier". Like Alaska in the USA we noticed some people in Indonesia don't know that Papua is part of their own country.
The janesoceania site linked above also has some great older photographs that describe the life of native villagers in the forests away from civilization. See link: http://www.janeresture.com/irian_jaya/index.htm . The included photos appear dated many years ago but we have been told many Papuans away from our western style civilization live the same way in the present.
The mining town site of Tembagapura is located in central Indonesian Papua. As an introduction a great explanation and photo album is available from Geologist Kurt Friehauf at:
http://faculty.kutztown.edu/friehauf/indonesia/timika.html
This is a photo journal with some explanations of the area including descriptions of Timika, Tembagapura and Mine operations. Continue through his trip by following the links on the lower right corner of web pages. We took a close look at this site to get a general impression of the area before making the final decision to go to the site visit at Tembagapura and Freeport operations.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Looking Backwards
As an introduction we are looking back to our trip during July 2010 to visit Indonesia. The site visit and interview was to Freeport Mining's operations at Tembagapura, Papua, Indonesia. The travel from Fairbanks included flights from Fairbanks to Seattle (5hrs.), Seattle- Los Angeles (2-1/2hrs), Los Angeles - Hong Kong (14 hrs), Hong Kong - Jakarta (5hrs), 8 hr layover then Jakarta -Timika (5hrs) and finally a helicopter flight from Timika to Tembagapura (1/2 hr).
The Hong Kong (HK) airport was our first experience with the orient. The airport is big even for world standards handling over 50 million passengers per year. This airport has been open since around 1998. The "old airport " was located in the city and outgrown. The planes reportedly had to fly in between buildings to get to the runways. The new airport was built on a man made island. More detailed HK airport information can be found at the web site:
http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/facts-figures/facts-sheets.html
Hong Kong Airport
If you are very interested in airports more HK Airport photos are available at:
http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/cheklapkok_new/cheklapkok_new1.html
The outskirts of Hong Kong are very interesting. Approaching by plane it appears as part of the city is literally built in the steep jungle terrain. There are cleared areas with 20- 50 story buildings built. Then a modest distance (a block or two) of dense trees in between. The area of old Hong Kong looks like a typical city from the air. We will certainly come back through HK in the future. A Hong Kong travel tourism site can be found at:
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/login.html
From Hong Kong we flew to Jakarta Indonesia . We passed through the airport and stayed at an airport hotel for our layover of 8 hours. I'm sure we'll spend some time in the future. Jakarta is Indonesia's largest city with a population of 14 million. A brief description and some history can be read at:
http://jakarta-tourism.go.id/content/en/180/preface/General travel guide is:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/jakarta
Travel Between Terminals At Jakarta Indonesia Airport
Timika Airport Papua, Indonesia
Departing Timika Airport For Tembagapura By Helicopter
Flight Through Rain Forest To Elevation 6,000+Ft At Tembagapura
Tembagapura Heliport
(Landing spot for helicopters are on paved pads in front of door areas.)
After arriving in Tembagapura we were picked up by our very friendly company host and taken to "visitors quarters". The visitors facilities vary in size and quality but we were fortunate to get a room in the guest house. After a detailed tour of Tembagapura the mines and Ernie's job interviews we had a good idea about the site living and working conditions. We spent two quick days in Tembagapura and were on our way back to Fairbanks. Standard travel from Tembagapura back to Jakarta normally includes an overnight stay at the Rimba hotel near Timika. The helicopter only fly in the morning back and forth to Tembag since afternoons are almost always foggy and rainy at Highlands.
Helicopter run leaving heliport
We left for our long trip back to Alaska. Fortunately we had no problems and it was a very smooth trip. It is amazing how far around the world you can go in relatively little time.
Given that the interview went very well Ernie was expecting there would be a job offer. Now some hard decisions were going to have to be made..........
The Hong Kong (HK) airport was our first experience with the orient. The airport is big even for world standards handling over 50 million passengers per year. This airport has been open since around 1998. The "old airport " was located in the city and outgrown. The planes reportedly had to fly in between buildings to get to the runways. The new airport was built on a man made island. More detailed HK airport information can be found at the web site:
http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/facts-figures/facts-sheets.html
If you are very interested in airports more HK Airport photos are available at:
http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/cheklapkok_new/cheklapkok_new1.html
The outskirts of Hong Kong are very interesting. Approaching by plane it appears as part of the city is literally built in the steep jungle terrain. There are cleared areas with 20- 50 story buildings built. Then a modest distance (a block or two) of dense trees in between. The area of old Hong Kong looks like a typical city from the air. We will certainly come back through HK in the future. A Hong Kong travel tourism site can be found at:
http://www.discoverhongkong.com/login.html
From Hong Kong we flew to Jakarta Indonesia . We passed through the airport and stayed at an airport hotel for our layover of 8 hours. I'm sure we'll spend some time in the future. Jakarta is Indonesia's largest city with a population of 14 million. A brief description and some history can be read at:
http://jakarta-tourism.go.id/content/en/180/preface/General travel guide is:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/jakarta
(Landing spot for helicopters are on paved pads in front of door areas.)
After arriving in Tembagapura we were picked up by our very friendly company host and taken to "visitors quarters". The visitors facilities vary in size and quality but we were fortunate to get a room in the guest house. After a detailed tour of Tembagapura the mines and Ernie's job interviews we had a good idea about the site living and working conditions. We spent two quick days in Tembagapura and were on our way back to Fairbanks. Standard travel from Tembagapura back to Jakarta normally includes an overnight stay at the Rimba hotel near Timika. The helicopter only fly in the morning back and forth to Tembag since afternoons are almost always foggy and rainy at Highlands.
 |
| View of Rimba Hotel near Timika Airport |
 |
| Pool Area at Rimba Hotel |
We left for our long trip back to Alaska. Fortunately we had no problems and it was a very smooth trip. It is amazing how far around the world you can go in relatively little time.
Given that the interview went very well Ernie was expecting there would be a job offer. Now some hard decisions were going to have to be made..........
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