TRENGGALEK, East Java - Indonesia’s so-called southern paradise, the hilly Trenggalek regency filled with lush green trees and vegetation, is fighting to retain its identity, as an unwelcome mining giant from Australia eyes massive gold deposits buried underneath the land.

Nine of the 14 sub-regencies in Trenggalek’s total land area of 126,000ha – nearly double the size of Singapore – sit on rich veins of gold, with the previous regent issuing in 2005 a gold mining exploration permit to a little-known local company, which then tied up with Australia’s publicly listed Far East Gold.