Category Archives: International SOS Jakarta
Gold & Silver Mine, North Sumatra
A fresh site for me in North Sumatra. This time its a gold/silver mine situated an hours flight + 2 hours by car from Medan in a place called Martabe. The mine has had multiple owners over the last 6 years and its finally on track to start production.
The flight to and from from Medan was on Susi Air, a small passenger and cargo airline that has an interesting history. Started by Susie Pudjiastuti and her partner, it was originally formed to service her family’s seafood business. Since then it has grown and has a small fleet of new planes and they employ expatriate pilots. They have become known for being the training ground for Indonesian pilots before they are poached or are lured by the bigger airlines like Garuda and AirAsia.
The camp site itself reminded me of a mountain retreat. Clean, green and scenic. Most of the structures are temporary and use 20 and 40 foot containers. The accommodation facility reminded me of a Japanese capsule hotel.
Surprisingly, the food was excellent and was better than most of the sites I have already visited. The workforce agree and they seem to quite happy with where they are.
No helicopter ride this time, but a very scenic and unique flight experience back to Medan flying over Lake Toba. My colleague and I took the back seats and enjoyed the best leg room we’ve ever had. When we landed we saw an abandoned plane which we were glad wasn’t our interconnecting flight.
After visiting a local private hospital in Medan, I stayed the night at the Aryaduta hotel which is a luxury hotel but priced at a very affordable (corporate) rate. Highly recommended and the food, particularly Chinese, is excellent.
Kalimantan (First site visit for 2010)
Here we go! My first site visit for 2010. This time its to Kalimantan (the island of Borneo) to see a mining construction contractor in Sangatta and a number of other clients based in Balikpapan. Sangatta is on the east of the island and is the base for a large coal mining operation.
We get there by a Twin Otter plane from Balikpapan’s airport. The flight takes approx an hour and on this flight there happened to be a few too many ‘large’ passengers. This forced the airline to send our luggage on a separate flight as the plane was overweight.
Accommodation
The Clinic
Mine Pit Operations
The Moon Surface
Coal Mine Visits (Kalimantan June 2009)
Another trip to a client’s coal mining operations in Kalimantan for an audit of their medical facilities and an assessment of their new site that relies on sub contractors for medical services. As usual, I attend with either a doctor or a specialised auditor and meet with the client’s on site management team.
The first site is Sebuku which is in South Kalimantan (capital is Banjarmasin). The main natural resources in South Kalimantan are forest and coal. Coal deposits are found over almost the whole province, and in some places they are exploited commercially. Other minor resources are oil, gold, gem stones, quartz sand, phosphate and granite.
The second site is Jembayan which is in East Kalimantan is the second largest Indonesian province, located on the Kalimantan region on the east of Borneo island. The resource-rich province has two major cities, Samarinda (the capital and a center for timber product) and Balikpapan (a petroleum center with oil refinery). Ever since Indonesia opened its mineral and natural resources for foreign investment in 1970s, East Kalimantan province has experienced major boost of timber, petroleum and other exotic forest products. The state-owned petroleum company Pertamina has been operating in the area since it took control oil refinery from the Royal Dutch Shell company in 1965.
Nickel Mine Visit (Halmahera)
Wedabay is on Halmahera the largest island in the Maluku Islands. Halmahera is the site of several mining projects where my employer operates medical facilities.
It is part of the North Maluku province of Indonesia. Halmahera’s fortunes have long been closely tied to those of the smaller islands of Ternate and Tidore, both off its west coast. These islands were both the sites of major kingdoms in the era before Dutch East India Company colonized the entire archipelago. During World War II, Halmahera was the site of a Japanese military base at Kao Bay.
Aerial view from incoming helicopter to site
Dr Fanie & I checking out the beach
Dr. Willemese, Dr. Fanie & Government Doctor, nurse & Myself
Coaching our Medic Team
Running Drills
An Introduction
Indonesia is full of adventure. From the abundant sights to see across the thousands of cities, towns and villages; to navigating entrepreneurial opportunities that require creativity, grit and perseverance. Indonesia has become my new home.
If you are interested in non-conformity, emerging markets, entrepreneurship, health, travel, scuba diving and adventure, I hope you’ll find this blog of interest. Do drop me a line, I do my best to respond to every message.
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Posted by Indonesia on November 26, 2009 in Bali, Lombok & Gillis, Belitung, Commentary, Crisis Situations, Diving, Family & Friends, International SOS Jakarta, Life In Jakarta, Medical Services, Out in the Jungles, Projects, Travel for Fun, Vietnam, Weddings
Tags: Indonesia, Work Overseas