Indonesia: Climate Rights International’s follow-up report reveals unaddressed human rights and environmental harms allegedly linked to nickel mining operations on Halmahera island
"Ongoing Harms, Limited Accountability Climate, Environmental, and Human Rights Violations in the Indonesian Nickel Industry", June 2025
The massive, multi-billion-dollar Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park, better known by its acronym IWIP, is an integrated nickel smelter mega-project located on the island of Halmahera in North Maluku. It is also the site of serious environmental destruction, human rights abuses, and greenhouse gas emissions. Much of the nickel ore destined for IWIP is sourced from PT Weda Bay Nickel, the world’s largest open pit nickel mine.
…Climate Rights International published “Nickel Unearthed: The Human and Climate Costs of Indonesia’s Nickel Industry”, documenting how IWIP and nearby nickel mining are violating the rights of local communities, including Indigenous Peoples, causing significant deforestation, air and water pollution, and emitting massive amounts of greenhouse gases from captive coal plants constructed to power the operations.
…Climate Rights International began follow-up interviews with community members from Halmahera to inquire whether the Indonesian government or companies in the area had taken steps to remediate environmental and human rights harms and fully compensate community members for their land and assets. Based on these interviews, as well as additional reporting from other non-governmental organizations and media outlets, it is evident that community members living near IWIP continue to face serious human rights and environmental harms due to industrial mining and mineral processing operations…
…IWIP is a joint venture established in 2018 and now operated by the Chinese conglomerates: Tsingshan Holding Group, Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Ltd., and Zhenshi Holding Group…
Some of the nickel processed at IWIP is used in the production of EV batteries by auto companies. Powering the production of nickel with coal undermines the purpose of EVs, which are intended to reduce the global reliance on fossil fuels.
...
Much of the nickel ore processed at IWIP comes from nearby Weda Bay Nickel, the largest open pit nickel mine in the world, as well as dozens of other nickel mining concessions in Halmahera. Weda Bay Nickel is owned and operated by Tsingshan Holding Group, Eramet, and PT Antam Tbk.
...
EV companies such as Tesla, Ford, and Volkswagen that directly or indirectly source nickel from Indonesia or have contracts to source nickel from companies that have operations at IWIP should immediately step up their due diligence by mapping their supply chains, setting robust decarbonization targets, and suspending sourcing from producers engaged in abuse. With or without government pressure, EV companies should follow through on their corporate social responsibility obligations and ensure that the minerals in their vehicles do not contribute to human rights, environmental, or climate harms.
...