"Kawasi Muddied by Nickel" 7 February 2022

Samsudin, 48, had a frown on his face. He let out an occasional sigh as he plucked plastic waste sticking to the hull of his boat docked along the Kawasi Beach, Obi District, South Halmahera Regency, North Maluku. [...] The mud is lethal to the coral reefs where the fish reside. Sanusi, another fisherman affected by the nickel waste, said that before mining began, they could catch between 30 to 50 kilograms of coastal fish, including red snapper and bubara (giant trevally) every time they went to sea. [...]

Tempo’s observation when visiting Kawasi showed that the mud originated from the mining activities scattered all over Kawasi. The nickel mines to the east of Kawasi are open quarries. [...] Mining mud not only destroys the coral reefs, its heavy metal content also damages marine organisms and their internal organs. [...]

Nickel miners began to arrive in 2008, when the South Halmahera Regent at the time, Muhammad Kasuba, issued a general investigation mining for nickel mineral authorization permit. The permit for land measuring 7,462 hectares was issued to a subsidiary of Harita Group, PT Trimegah Bangun Persada. [...] The largest smelter is managed by Harita Group through a partnership with a Chinese state-owned company, Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co Ltd. [...]

Fahrudin Tokoboya, Head of North Maluku Environment Agency, said that the regional administration has just approved the sea tailing location permit for PT Trimegah Bangun Persada. However, in his view, the company continues to dispose waste on land. “We have not received the plan for waste disposal to the sea. As far as I know, the permit has not been issued,” said Fahrudin. [...]