Indonesia: Nickel waste disposal by Harita Group shown to have polluted water sources on Obi Island, NGO report says
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"$NCKL: A Question of Value" 18 April 2023
PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, an Indonesian conglomerate Harita Group subsidiary, operates the country’s first high-pressure acid leaching smelter on Obi island in North Maluku, producing 60,000 tonnes of contained nickel per year.
Harita Group business conglomerate entity in the mining and nickel downstream sector, PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (NCKL), aims to achieve revenue growth of 100 percent in 2023 after the company held an Initial Public Operation (IPO) at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in April 2023.
The mining process carried out by the Harita Group is known to have a negative impact on the environment. One is due to the nickel waste disposal process carried out by the Harita Group. This is proven by testing samples at 12 water points around the nickel mining area. As a result, 11 samples were within usual standards, and 1 sample in the Todoku River was already unnatural because it reached 0.056 milligrams/liter. This figure has passed the safe threshold for marine biota, 0.05 milligrams/liter.
The impact of nickel waste disposal is damaging to the marine ecosystem on Obi Island. If it rains, the nickel content deposited on the seabed will lift and make the Obi Island sea reddish-brown.