Ten miners confirmed dead, and a further ten missing following landslide in West Papua Province, Indonesia.

The bodies of ten miners have been recovered, and further ten are missing, following a landslide in the remote Arfak Mountains of West Papua Province, Indonesia, following a landslide on Friday16 may 2025. The landslide, which occurred at about 9.00pm, and is believed to have been triggered by heavy rains associated with the onset of the southwest monsoon, and struck a camp being used by artisanal gold miners. A further four miners were injured by the event, and rescue efforts are being hampered by the remote location of the site, which is ten hours travel from the nearest town, and ongoing heavy rains in the area.

Rescue workers battling floodwaters while recovering a body from a mining camp hit by a landslide in the emote Arfak Mountains of West Papua Province, Indonesia, on 16 May 2025. Indonesia Search and Rescue Agency/AFP).

Indonesia's large size, mineral richness, and poor population make unlicensed mining a widespread problem in the country, with illegal mines typically dug with hand tools and located in remote locations where authorities are unlikely to spot them (though some such operations are larger and more blatant in nature). Such mines tend to take few health and safety precautions, and are often dug by people with only a limited understanding of the structural geology of the area, making accidents extremely common, in many cases without help ever arriving due to the hidden nature of the mines. Such mines also present an environmental threat, producing waste which is often toxic, and contributing to deforestation, which can destabilise hillslopes, placing the miners at further risk.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry seasons, the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate.

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

West Papua has two distinct Monsoon Seasons, with a Northeast Monsoon driven by winds from the South China Sea that lasts from November to February and a Southwest Monsoon driven by winds from the southern Indian Ocean from March to October. Such a double Monsoon Season is common close to the equator, where the Sun is highest overhead around the equinoxes and lowest on the horizons around the solstices, making the solstices the coolest part of the year and the equinoxes the hottest.

See also...

Cherax warsamsonicus: A new species of Crayfish from West Papua, Indonesia.

Crayfish of the genus Cherax are widely distributed in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Australia (where they are called 'Yabbies'). They are often large and colourful, and are widely traded in the aquarium trade in Europe, East Asia and North America, where, despite the genus being extensively studied, specimens belonging to no known species are often discovered. Identifying the origin of these specimens is often difficult, as the Crayfish are often pass through several different hands before reaching the retail market, and dealers themselves may not know where specimens come from.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 13 March 2017, Christian Lukhaup of Hinterweidenthal in Germany, Rury Eprilurahman of the Animal Systematics Laboratory at Universitas Gadjah Mada, and Thomas von Rintelen of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin at the Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, describe a new species of Cherax from West Papua, Indonesia.

The new species is named Cherax warsamsonicus, in reference to the Warsamson River of West Papua, where the species was found. The species is described from three male and one female specimens, with the males ranging from 73 mm to 109 mm in length, while the female was 73 mm. They have a green and red colouration, with large blue and white claws.

Cherax warsamsonicus, male from the Warsamson River, South Sorong Regency. Lukhaup et al. (2017).

The species was found on the Kepala Burung Peninsula in the Warsamson River and its tributaries. It favours shallow streams (20-60 cm deep) with clear, slightly acidic water and few plants. The Crayfish excavate burrows in the backs or under large rocks on the bottom.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Epiphytic Orchids from the Lengguru Fold Belt of West Papua.

The island of New Guinea is home to about 11% of the world's described Orchids, over 2700 species, giving it the richest known Orchid diversity outside the rainforests of the equatorial Andes. However this known diversity is probably a poor reflection of the actual diversity present, as many areas of the island have only been very briefly surveyed by botanists.

In a paper published in the journal PhytoKeys on 25 February 2016, Lina Juswara of the Herbarium Bogoriense of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, André Schuiteman of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Vincent Droissart of the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, the Africa & Madagascar Department of the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Herbarium et Bibliothèque de Botanique africaine of the Université Libre de Bruxelles, describe four new species of epyhytic Orchids (Orchids that grow on larger plants) from the Lengguru Fold Belt, a range of mountains connecting the Central Range of western Papua to the mountain's of the Bird's Neck Peninsula.

The first new species described is placed in the genus Bulbophyllum, a large and diverse group of Orchids found throughout the tropics, but thought to reach its maximum diversity ion New Guinea, and given the specific name leucoglossum, meaning 'white tongue' in reference to the white lip of the flower. This Orchid grows from a creeping rhizome, producing dark green oval leaves, and single dark red and white flowers. It was found growing in submontane forest in the Kumawa Forest Reserve at an altitude of 1005 m. The plants were growing about 150 cm above the ground on a Moss-covered overhanging tree-trunk.

Bulbophyllum leucoglossum: (A) Habitat and habit, (B) flower, side view (C) flower, front view, (D) flower close-up, showing details of the column and the labellum. Vincent Droissart in Juswara et al. (2016).

The second new species described is placed in the genus Dendrobium, another widespread genus, found from Australia to Southeast Asia, comprising exclusively epiphytic Orchids, and given the specific name centrosepalum, meaning 'sharply pointed sepals', in reference to the stucture of the flower. This is another rhizomatous Orchid, producing narrow elliptic leaves and bracts with an average of seven bright purple flowers. It was found at a single locality in Triton Bay near the village of Lobo, growing from a thick layer of Lichen and Moss covering a vertical tree trunk, in submontaine forest at an altitude of 1114 m.

Dendrobium centrosepalum: (E) Habitat and habit, (F, G) plant and inflorescence, (H) inflorescence and flowers close-up. Vincent Droissart in Juswara et al. (2016).

The third new species described is also placed in the genus Dendrobium and given the specific name taeniocaule, meaning 'flattened stem'. This is another rhizomatous epiphyte, with dark green oblong leaves and flattened stems, producing white flowers. It was found growing at a single location in Triton Bay near the village of Lobo, growing from a thick layer of Lichen and Moss covering a vertical tree trunk, in submontaine forest at an altitude of 1114 m.

 Dendrobium taeniocaule: (A) Habitat and habit, (B) plant, (C) flower and part of pseudobulb, (D) flower, front view (E) flower, side view. Vincent Droissart in Juswara et al. (2016).

The final new species named is placed in the genus Taeniophyllum, a widespread genus found from Southeast Asia to Australia, with species also known from China, India and Africa, and is given the specific name pyriforme, meaning 'pear shaped', in reference to the shape of the spur (hollow spike behind the flower). This is a leafless Orchid producing numerous elongate, flattened, unbranching roots from a single stem. It produces up to three yellowish-white flowers. This Orchid was also was found growing at a single location in Triton Bay near the village of Lobo, growing from a thick layer of Lichen and Moss covering a vertical tree trunk, in submontaine forest at an altitude of 1114 m.

 Taeniophyllum pyriforme: (F) Habitat and habit, (G) plant and inflorescence, (H) inflorescence and flowers close-up. Vincent Droissart in Juswara et al. (2016).

See also...

Gastrodia madagascariensis: A (not so) new species of parasitic Orchid from Madagascar. The German botanist Rudolf Schlechter published Orchidaceae Perrierianae, a description of all then known species of Orchids from Madagascar, including 332 new species based upon material supplied by...

Catasetum telespirense: A new species of epiphytic Orchid from the southern Brazilian Amazon.
In 2011-2012 a series of series of rescue expeditions recovered and relocated around 105 000 epiphytic plants (plants which live on other plants, typically...

Liparis wenshanensis: A new species of Orchid from Yunnan Province, China.

Orchids of the genus Liparis are found across tropical Asia, New Guinea, the islands of the southwest Pacific and tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. There are currently sixty five species known to grow...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

 

The origin of the Millipede Hoplatessara luxuriosa.

The Millipede Hoplatessara luxuriosa was first described under the name Strongylosoma luxuriosum by the Italian entomologist Fillipo Silvestri in 1895, based upon specimens apparently collected at Sorong in New Guinea (now part of Indonesian West Papua) in 1872 by the explorer Luigi D'Albertis. However no subsequent specimens have been found at this location, and this origin was called into doubt by the Dutch entomologist Cas Jaakel in the 1950s, who suggested that it appeared to be more closely related to Australian species than anything found in New Guinea, and who predicted that the origins of the species would one day be found to be in New South Wales.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 5 September 2013, Robert Mesibov of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery in Launceston, Tasmania and Catherine Car of the Department of Terrestrial Zoology at the Western Australian Museum detail the results of Millipedes collected in New South Wales between 1973 and 2013 and stored in the Australian Museum in Sydney, which reveal a number of specimens belonging to the species Hoplatessara luxuriosa, suggesting that it does originate in New South Wales, not West Papua.

Female specimen of the Millipede Hoplatessara luxuriosa from the Australian Museum in Sydney, collected near Sunny Corner in west-central New South Wales in April 2013. Scale bar is 1 mm. Mesibov & Car (2013).

The Millipede Hoplatessara luxuriosa appears to be native to the grassy eucalypt forests of western New South Wales, an area where temperature fluctuate over the year from about 0.7℃ to about 25.5℃ and an average of 858 mm of rain falls each year. In contrast the Sorong area of West Papua has annual temperatures that fluctuate between about 25℃ and 31℃, with an average annual rainfall of 2840 mm. Mesibov & Car conclude that it is highly unlikely that a small invertebrate could survive in both environments, and conclude that Hoplatessara luxuriosa is, as predicted by Jakeel, native to New South Wales.

A grassy eucalypt forest near Sunny Corner in west-central New South Wales, the preferred environment of Hoplatessara luxuriosa. Mesibov & Car (2013).

Luigi D'Albertis is known to have spentmuch of 1873 in Sydney between completing his West Papua expedition and returning to Europe. Mesibov & Car theorize that his specimen of Hoplatessara luxuriosa was collected during this time, and subsequently mislabeled prior to its description by Fillipo Silvestri.

See also Hunting the lost Opossum, Millipedes blamed for Australian rail crash, The Kandyan House Gecko; not extinct after all and Trying to find Peking Man.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

A new species of Diving Beetle from New Guinea.

Diving Beetles (Dytiscidae) are often largish predatory Beetles with an aquatic lifestyle. Both the adults and larvae are predatory, though they are otherwise quite different. The young are aggressive shrimplike animals that emerge from eggs laid on plant stems. When fully grown these pupate in mud (above the water table), emerging as oval, brownish Beetles, capable of both flying to disperse and diving to lay eggs and feed. Both adults and young deliver a powerful bite, and inject digestive enzymes into their prey, which can include other Insects, Crustaceans, Worms, Leeches, Mollusks, Tadpoles and small Fish. The Beetles then feed by sucking fluids out of their victims.

In a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 28 May 2013, Helena Shaverdo of the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna and Lars Hendrich and Michael Balke of the Zoologische Staatssammlung München, describe a new species of Diving Beetle from the Indonesian province of West Papua.

The new species is placed in the genus Exocelina, and given the specific name baliem, after the site where it was found, a pond in the Baliem River Valley. Exocelina baliem is a medium sized (4.1-5.5 mm) reddish brown Diving Beetle. It is known from a single location, an ephemeral pond in a riverine relic forest in the Baliem River Valley, roughly 1 km from Wamena Airport, at an altitude of 1700 m.

Exocelina baliem, female. Shaverdo et al. (2013).

Shaverdo et al. observe that this is the first species of Exocelina known from ponds in New Guinea, with other members of the genus being found in directly stream related stagnant water, such as rockpools, stagnant backflows, marginal puddles and waterholes along stream banks, and at the immediate stream margin. It is difficult to assess if this is a genuine novelty, since the species was only observed at a single location, which may have been exceptional, and, similarly, occasional use of ponds by other species of Exocelina in New Guinea cannot confidently be ruled out.

Although the species has only just been described, the specimens from which it was described were collected in 1992. The pond in which it was found had disappeared by 1993, when only a single specimen could be found, on a tuft of reeds. The site was revisited in 2011, when it was found that the woodland had been cleared, and all ponds in the area were showing signs of eutrophication (excess nutrients, often leading to blooms of algae which block the light to other plants), presumably associated with agricultural runoff. Whether the Beetles survive elsewhere is uncertain.

The original pond where Exocelina baliem was discovered in 1992. Shaverdo et al. (2013).

Map of New Guinea showing the location where Exocelina baliem was discovered (red circle). Shaverdo et al. (2013).

See also A new species of Skin Beetle from Yunnan Province, China, A blind, cave dwelling, Ground Beetle from Anatolian Turkey, Three new species of Palm Weevil from Columbia, A new species of Bumble Bee Scarab Beetle from the Early Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia and A new species of Corythoderine Scarab Beetle from Cambodia.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Another worker killed in fresh Grasberg Mine cave in.

A worker has been killed in a cave in at the Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold operated Grasberg Mine in Indonesian West Papua, less than two weeks after an incident on 14 May 2013, in which 38 workers were buried, killing 28 of them. The incident is described as having happened when a tunnel collapsed at an underground 'drop point' (possibly the terminus of an underground railway). 

An emergency responce team removing the body of one of the workers killed in the 14 May 2013 cave in. Freeport Indonesia.

Work at the mine was suspended following the 14 May incident, but partially resumed on Wednesday 29 May, officially for 'mining facilities and equipment maintenance'. Between 35 and 40% of the workers at the mine are said to have resumed work, with the All-Indonesian Workers Union in the Chemical, Energy and Mining Sectors, which represents about 18 000 of the 24 000 workers at the mine advising its members not to return till a full enquiry into the incident has been carried out. The union has also been angered by the suspension of pay negotiations following the 14 May cave in, something Freeport Indonesia claims it has done 'out of respect' but which the union describes as 'unethical'.

The Indonesian Government has also expressed opposition to the resumption of work at the mine, with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik claiming that work should not resume without his permission, which will not be given until the results of an enquiry are in. However the company is claiming the decision to resume work is their responsibility, not that of the government.

The Grasberg Mine produces around 220 000 of concentrated ore per day, making it the world's second most productive copper mine. Around 80 000 tonnes of tonnes of this are from the underground mine, with the remainder from a large pit mine also at the site.

See also At least 20 miners killed in North Kivu mine collapse, 23 Miners still trapped after cave-in at gold and copper mine in Indonesian West Papua, Over 60 feared dead in Darfur gold mine collapse, Miner killed by gas on Mindanao Island and Chilean court suspends work at the Pascua-Lama Gold Mine over entironmental concerns.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

23 Miners still trapped after cave-in at gold and copper mine in Indonesian West Papua.

A cave in at a mine in Indonesian West Papua on Tuesday 14 May 2013 has killed five workers, with another 23 still trapped inside a tunnel. The incident happened at the Grasberg Mine, operated by Arizona-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. The Grasberg Mine is the world's largest gold mine, and third largest copper mine, employing over 19 000 workers.

Rescue Workers in a tunnel at the Grasberg Mine on 17 May 2013. PT Freeport Indonesia/AP.

The Grasberg Mine comprises an open pit mine covering 24 700 acres, and an 'exploration zone' covering a further 500 000 acres; the 14 May incident occurred in a tunnel used for training purposes. The mine has previously suffered from landslides during the monsoon season, which have been linked to over-steep sides in the main pit. The area is also prone to Earthquakes. The mine has been plagued by other problems. The facility has come under attack by the Free Papua Movement (who seek independence from Indonesia) on a number of occasions, which has provoked brutal reprisals from the Indonesian security forces, reportedly involving hundreds of deaths. The site is accused of being responsible for severe environmental problems in the region, where local rivers are described as almost devoid of fish, due to mine tailings and acid runoff entering the water system. The site has been subject to investor boycotts and has had difficulty in gaining insurance due to environmental violations. The site has also suffered several strikes due to workers complaining about low wages and lack of safety. 

The main open pit at the Grasberg Mine - described as the 'Earth's biggest hole in the ground'. West Papua Media.

Operations at the mine have ceased while rescue attempts continue. Workers are said to be holding a sit-in on a road close to the site.

See also Over 60 feared dead in Darfur gold mine collapse, Chilean court suspends work at the Pascua-Lama Gold Mine over entironmental concerns, Two Sierra Leonean artisanal miners killed by soil cave-in, Chilean miners strike after landslip kills worker and 83 feared dead after Tibetan landslip.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake under West Papua.

The Indonesian province of West Papua was hit by a Magnitude 7.0 Earthquake at a depth of 68 km beneath its Central Highlands, slightly after 1.40 pm local time (slightly after 4.40 am GMT) on Saturday 6 April 2013, according to the United States Geological Survey. This is a big, quake, but moderately deep, so it is unlikely to have caused widespread destruction; the United States Geological Survey estimate there is a 35% chance the quake may have led to loss of life. It will have been felt over a large area, and witnesses have reported feeling the quake on Bali. Large Earthquakes in Indonesia have caused major tsunami events in the past, but this is not likely on this occasion as the quake is both deep and on-land.

The epicenter of the 6 April Earthquake (black star) and the areas likely to have suffered the worst damage. Note that the epicenter does not fall within the area likely to suffer the worst destruction, which is in higher mountains slightly to the north. Damage to buildings is only likely within the yellow and green areas, the blue areas are likely yo have felt some shaking. USGS.

The tectonic situation underlying West Papua is complex, with the island being made up of a number of small tectonic plates being squeezed between the larger Pacific and Australian plates. The area affected by the 6 April quake lies on the boundary between the Maoke Plate, which underlies much of West Papua and the Woodlark Plate, which underlies much of the east of the island. Other parts of the island lie on the Bird's Head, Australian and South Bismarck Plates. To the north of West Papua the Caroline Plate is being subducted in the Manus Trench, which is parallel to the northern shore of the island.

The plates underlying West Papua and the surrounding area. Wikipedia.

See also Eruption on Manam Motu, Ash cloud reported over Karkar Island, north of Papua New Guinea, Magnitude 6.8 Earthquake hits Bam Island and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.