Indonesia: One worker killed in nickel tailings landslide at PT QMB facility in IMIP Morowali, incl. co. comment
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
"Landslide in Indonesia's Morowali nickel hub kills one, halts operations" 19 February 2026
A landslide has hit a mine waste zone at a nickel processing hub managed by PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) on the island of Sulawesi, IMIP's spokesperson Dedy Kurniawan said ... killing one worker and halting operations.
.... The landslide ... occurred in a tailings area run by an IMIP tenant called PT QMB, and was suspected to have been caused by soft soils. It swept away excavators and bulldozers along the way...
.... Operations at the tailings zone were halted... no one was missing.
.... Authorities are currently investigating the incident.
PT IMIP is the largest nickel-processing hub in resource-rich Indonesia and has over 50 tenants, mainly makers of nickel products...
... Chinese steelmaker Tsingshan Holding Group is among PT IMIP's shareholders.
QMB New Energy Materials is an Indonesia-based nickel and cobalt joint venture led by China's GEM. QMB was forced to suspend almost all production in March 2025 after a deadly landslide buried four workers under nickel mine waste.
Neither Tsingshan nor GEM responded immediately to requests for comment.