“Indonesia’s Nickel Boom Faces an Environmental Reckoning”, 10 August 2026

… The Central Sulawesi Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM) has filed a lawsuit with the Palu Administrative Court against Central Sulawesi Governor Anwar Hafid, alleging that the provincial government failed to take adequate action over alleged violations involving hazardous and toxic waste management at a nickel-processing operation in Morowali.

At the centre of the dispute is the management of nickel tailings associated with PT QMB New Energy Materials and its partner, PT Berkah Morowali Sejahtera, in Bahodopi, Morowali.

JATAM alleges that the company’s tailings management was carried out without the required technical approval and that inadequate government supervision contributed to repeated tailings-related incidents.

The group has cited incidents on March 4, 2025 and February 18, 2026, which it says resulted in five deaths and caused damage to the coastal ecosystem in Bahodopi.

JATAM is asking the court to declare the alleged inaction by the governor unlawful and require administrative measures, including the temporary suspension of tailings-management activities until the required technical and environmental requirements are fulfilled.

It is also seeking a comprehensive environmental audit and tighter government supervision of tailings-storage facilities.

… Governor Anwar Hafid has rejected the allegation that his administration ignored environmental violations … [that] the provincial government had carried out its supervisory responsibilities, while major licensing authority in the mining sector rests with the central government.

Anwar also said the provincial administration had previously ordered the suspension of QMB activities following an incident and that the company subsequently underwent enforcement procedures by the relevant ministry.

… The legal dispute comes as Central Sulawesi faces a broader environmental debate over the rapid expansion of nickel mining and processing … putting pressure on forests, rivers, coastal ecosystems and traditional livelihoods …