GOLDONGO
Indonesia · How it works

What it does, and what it doesn’t

GOLDONGO is a terrain-screening tool. When the Indonesia network is scored, every stream segment will carry a rank for the physical conditions that let heavy minerals settle — so you can decide which streams are worth a visit before you leave the house.

A score is not a probability of gold.

A high score means a stream segment has the trap geometry to concentrate heavy minerals — not that there is gold upstream. Kalimantan and Sumatra rivers carry gold across huge, wet networks. Reaching the water is the hard part; reading it is what the map is for.

How the score is built

The score reads four shapes out of the elevation model. Each one is a place where the water slows and the heaviest grains drop first.

01

Slope breaks

Where a steep reach flattens, the current loses the energy that carried heavy grains. Gold drops before anything else.

02

Inside bends

Water runs fastest on the outside of a bend and slowest on the inside. The bar on the inside is where the heavy fraction settles.

03

Junctions

Where a tributary joins, the flow slows and spreads. The downstream side of the confluence keeps what both streams carried.

04

Bedrock constrictions

Where the valley narrows to rock, the bed is scoured to bedrock and every crack works as a riffle.

Each segment gets one score from those signals. Scores compare within a region — same elevation base, same rules — not across regions.

Where the data comes from

In construction

Elevation

Planned: DEMNAS, the ~8 m national surface model from Badan Informasi Geospasial, with canopy correction where it matters.

Streams

The stream network is derived from the elevation model itself and cross-checked against OpenStreetMap waterways, HydroRIVERS and Sentinel-2 imagery, so the lines follow where water actually runs. Every source is open and credited in the footer.

What it doesn’t do

  • It does not say there is gold. No score, no colour and no target says “gold here”.
  • It does not replace the field. Every result rests on remote sensing and a terrain model; it is not a substitute for looking.
  • It does not grant permission. A high score is not a right to go and take a sample; the rules where you are decide that.
  • It does not claim precision. Coverage varies; some segments are scored on less data than others and are flagged in the segment panel. Scores from different regions are not comparable.

Protected areas

Segments inside a protected area are forced to 0 and hatched red on the map. Official boundaries are incomplete in many countries — heritage sites rarely have a public service — so this gate can miss. Verify an area’s status yourself before you go.

Where we are

In construction. Elevation data is the constraint under canopy; Kalimantan is the candidate once a clean surface model is ready.

GOLDONGO is a terrain-screening tool. A score is not a promise of gold, and it is not a licence: check land status and follow local rules before you dig.