"86 Civil Society Groups from All Over the World Urge Sumitomo Metal Mining to Suspend Nickel Mining and Processing Operations in Palawan, the Philippines — Condemning No Effective Water Pollution Measures over a Decade and Concerned about Possible Further Damage to Local Communities," 14 April 2025

On April 14, 2025, 86 civil society organizations, including those working at international and regional levels plus organizations working nationally in 39 countries, submitted a petition to call on Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltg. (SMM) to immediately suspend the Coral Bay Nickel Processing Project and the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Project in Palawan until effective and publicly verifiable countermeasures are developed and implemented to avoid destructive impacts on local communities...

According to a recent report by an expert who has been conducting water quality surveys since 2009 in cooperation with FoE Japan, hexavalent chromium exceeding domestic and international environmental standards has been detected constantly during the rainy season at a fixed point in the Togpon River flowing from the existing mining concession of the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining. In September 2024, the highest concentrations of hexavalent chromium was observed in 15 years of water quality studies.  It is clear that the projects have failed to effectively address water pollution for more than a decade, despite the repeated calls of civil society groups for action.

With expectations of growing global demand for nickel in the context of efforts toward a decarbonized society, mining operations have begun to expand in the region. However, as no effective pollution mitigation measure has been taken to date, it is highly likely that similar water pollution will spread to other rivers. It is undeniable that indigenous peoples and farmers who depend on the rivers for their daily lives and agriculture in the vicinity of the projects may be adversely affected for decades to come. More local communities will also be exposed to health damage risk because hexavalent chromium is a highly toxic substance that is carcinogenic and also causes skin irritation, etc.

SMM is the parent company (100%) of Coral Bay Nickel Corporation (CBNC), which has been operating the HPAL processing plant in Batarasa of southern Palawan since 2005, and all the nickel-cobalt mixed sulfide produced by CBNC is exported to SMM’s plants in Japan to produce battery materials, etc.. The company’s battery materials have been officially adopted by Tesla as well as by Toyota Motor Corporation for their in-car batteries...