Hans Nicholas Jong, Jakarta – A controversial zinc-and-lead mine being developed on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has hit a roadblock after the country's Supreme Court ordered the revocation of its environmental permit.
In its Aug. 12 ruling, the court upheld a lower court's earlier decision that the environmental permit should never have been issued in the first place in light of experts' warnings of potentially disastrous fallout due to the project's location on an active tectonic fault.
"Now the Supreme Court has made it clear: further development of this mine is unlawful," Mangatur Lumbantoruan, a resident of the village of Sumbari in Dairi district, North Sumatra province, said in response to the ruling. "The mine is dangerous. Government and financiers should withdraw their support."
Residents of Sumbari and other villages sitting within the project's zone of influence have for years petitioned against the development of the mine. The central object of their criticism is the planned dam to hold mining waste, or tailings. An independent analysis by experts identified extreme risks of the dam collapsing because it would sit in one of the most seismically active regions in the world.
Data from news portal Volcano Discovery show there are about 41 earthquakes on average per year in or near Dairi. So far this year alone, Dairi has experienced 27 quakes of magnitudes above 2, and up to 4.7.
As a result of previous volcanic eruptions, the region is caked in a thick deposit of unconsolidated volcanic ash. And it's on this relatively shaky foundation that the project developer, PT Dairi Prima Mineral (DPM), proposed building its tailings dam.
This makes it very likely for the dam to collapse in the future, according to mine waste safety expert Steven Emerman, who has reviewed DPM's plans. He described the plans as "the worst cases I have ever seen" and said "the flagrant disregard for people's lives and the environment is staggering."
Despite repeated warnings from the experts, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry decided to approve the project's environmental assessment in August 2022, issuing an environmental permit that essentially greenlit the mine.
"It was embarrassing to see the Indonesian government allowing the creation of another such disaster, whilst also trying to claim Indonesia would be a hub for responsible mining and battery production for a clean energy transition," said Tongam Panggabean, the director of BAKUMSU, a legal advocacy group representing the communities opposed to the mine project.
In response to the permit approval, 11 residents filed a legal challenge with the Jakarta State Administrative Court in February 2023. In August that year, the court ruled in favor of the villagers, finding that the mining area was prone to disaster and thus unsuitable for mining. The court also ordered the ministry to revoke the environmental permit.
But both DPM and the environment ministry appealed the ruling to the high administrative court, which ruled in their favor in November 2023.
The villagers then filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, which has now handed down the final ruling in the matter. It upheld the Jakarta administrative court's ruling and found a lack of citizen participation in the project development. It also ruled the project's environmental approval wasn't in line with the general principles of good governance, on top of the disaster risk.
Emerman said he welcomed the ruling. "All around the world we see mining disasters, especially where there is poor governance without adequate community consultation," he said. "It is essential that courts play their role in ensuring governments protect people and the environment. It is heartening to see the Indonesian Supreme Court acting responsibly."
The ruling has also been hailed by the plaintiffs, who have for years been fighting to stop development of the mine.
"With a planned tailings dam that would collapse and potentially kill us, we are so hopeful the Supreme Court decision will put a stop to this stupidity," said Marlince Sinambela, a resident of Bongkaras village and one of the plaintiffs.
Message to financiers
The plaintiffs say the ruling sends a clear message to the project's developers and financiers that the project was never feasible to begin with.
China has been a major financier of the project, with the state-controlled Carren Holdings Corporation Limited agreeing earlier this year to loan $245 million to mine developer DPM.
Carren's decision to fund the project, despite the controversies surrounding it, likely stemmed from ignorance and misinformation, Mangatur said. But the Supreme Court's ruling should give the financiers pause, he added.
Beijing-based metals and mining company China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC), DPM's parent company, said the court's ruling might affect the project's progress, but insisted it would go on nonetheless.
NFC said DPM will also cooperate with the environment ministry to appeal the ruling.
Indonesian mining giant PT Bumi Resources Minerals (BRM), which is DPM's minority owner, said the ruling should be annulled because there's evidence that the community around the mining site in fully supports the project and wants the mine to go into operation immediately.
"This is contrary to the plaintiff's claim that the community around the PT DPM mining site rejects PT DPM's operational activities," BRM said in a statement.
Tailings free?
BRM also said environmental sustainability and the safety of the villagers around the mining site is a priority in the development, including of the waste-processing facility.
NFC, meanwhile, said DPM will promote the implementation of a tailings-free process in developing the mine in order to build an environmentally friendly and safe mine.
All this is just a greenwashing attempt, Emerman said, pointing out there's no such thing as a "tailings-free" mine.
"There is a move in the mining industry to avoid the words 'tailings' and 'dams.' It's greenwashing. People should not be misled," he said.
The only way to have a tailings-free process would be to convert the entire ore body into marketable products, Emerman said. But such a plan has never been carried out and would be impossible for the DPM mine given the toxicity of the tailings, he said.
"Tailings dams, regardless of what you call them, must be constructed in cases like this. And tailings dams are especially dangerous when they are in high-rainfall, seismically active areas, and built on unstable foundations – which all exist in the DPM case," Emerman said.
Given these overwhelming risks, the mine is a litmus test for the future of mining safety in Indonesia, he said.
If the environment ministry defies the Supreme Court's ruling by refusing to revoke the project's environmental approval and challenge the ruling instead, the government's plans to turn Indonesia into a global hub for responsible mining and battery production will be further undermined, Emerman said.
"If the Supreme Court's decision is not implemented, it shows the world Indonesia lacks the will to ensure environmental and human rights protection related to mining," he said.
Marlince, the plaintiff, said she's still not resting easy.
"The government and the company, they may try to challenge, ignore or get around the Supreme Court decision," she said. "If DPM continue with their disastrous plans, we will continue to oppose. We have no choice. Our lives, our livelihoods and our culture are at risk. We want the government to stop backing this mine that will kill us. We want financiers to stop funding DPM."