Divya Karyza, Jakarta – Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq is considering revoking the environmental license for PT QMB New Energy Materials, a tenant at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Central Sulawesi, following a fatal workplace accident and allegations of unlicensed waste dumping.
Speaking after a meeting with the Coordinating Food Minister Zulkifli Hasan in Jakarta on Monday, the minister, who also heads the Environmental Management Agency (BPLH), highlighted repeated safety failures at QMB New Energy Materials.
"We are conducting an in-depth study and will soon formulate a plan to revoke the environmental approval," Hanif told reporters on Monday, as reported by Antara.
PT IMIP spokesman Dedy Kurniawan said on Feb. 19 that the landslide the day before occurred in a tailings area run by an IMIP tenant QMB New Energy Materials, which processes low-grade nickel ore using HPAL to produce mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a key material for electric vehicle batteries.
Operations at the tailings zone have been halted as of Feb. 19, Dedy said, Reuters reported.
Dedy added that "the preliminary cause is suspected to be soft soil conditions in the lower area," adding that "several excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks were also swept up in the landslide."
Tailings are the residual materials left after extracting the target mineral from ore. They often consist of crushed rock, water, trace amounts of metals such as copper, mercury, cadmium and zinc, as well as processing additives, such as petroleum byproducts, sulfuric acid and cyanide.
IMIP is the largest nickel-processing hub in resource-rich Indonesia and has over 50 tenants, mainly makers of nickel products used in stainless steel and EV battery materials.
Chinese steelmaker Tsingshan Holding Group is one of IMIP's shareholders.
The Environment Ministry's review was prompted by concerns over dangerous working conditions and alleged permit violations.
Minister Hanif specifically pointed to the company's handling of tailings, the waste residue from mineral ore processing, claiming the material was being stockpiled without the required licenses.
"So, I will pursue civil and criminal charges, as well as revoke its environmental approval, because it has caused two deaths [so far]," he said, as Antara reported.
Richard Fernandez Labiro, executive director of nonprofit organization Tanah Merdeka Foundation (YTM), stated that companies must urgently reinforce tailings storage facilities to prevent more deaths.
According to YTM estimates, QMB New Energy Materials produces between 14.4 million tonnes and 19.2 million tonnes of tailings annually.
"To extract 1 tonne of MHP, the company produces 150 to 200 tonnes of tailings," Richard said, as reported by Mongabay.
This marks the second fatal embankment failure at an IMIP waste pond in less than a year.
"The repeated accidents underscore systemic failures in tailings management since HPAL technology was introduced in 2021," Richard said, as quoted by Mongabay on Monday. "The process yields massive amounts of toxic and corrosive waste."
Source: https://asianews.network/indonesia-mulls-revoking-license-for-nickel-company-after-fatal-landslide