In Indonesia which is Asia’s largest gold producer, informal gold mining is a crucial source of income for hundreds of thousands. But this once traditional livelihood hides a deadly secret that may be poisoning its most vulnerable residents and causing irreversible environmental harm.

We reveal the scale of Indonesia’s multi-million dollar trade in mercury, the toxic element used to extract gold from its ore. With a new and illegal domestic supply, we reveal how this mercury is being used at thousands of mines and investigate how NGOs have found increased rates of children born with life-changing defects. We meet the miners and the people fighting for change and take viewers into the illicit mines that have been hidden from public view.

With Indonesia bound by international agreements to stop mercury usage by 2025, we learn what is being done to meet that target. We also explore some of the greatest challenges the country will face if it is to protect its citizens from this metal that becomes toxic when used in the wrong ways.

Watch more Undercover Asia:    • Undercover Asia | Full Episodes  

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About Undercover Asia 10: CNA's award-winning investigative series Undercover Asia uncovers the hard truths in the underbelly of Asia, and exposes the unintended fallout of change in the fast-moving continent.
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