Nickel Mining in Indonesia

The document analyzes the socioenvironmental governance of Indonesia's nickel sector, highlighting the high carbon intensity of laterite processing and the significant ecological and social risks associated with HPAL technology. It identifies critical gaps in the regulatory framework, particularly regarding the lack of mandatory free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples and insufficient public access to water quality monitoring data.

• Indonesia possesses the world's largest nickel reserves, estimated at 55 million tonnes, and has seen its global production share increase from 16% in 2017 to 54% in 2023.
• Nickel processing in Indonesia is among the most carbon-intensive globally due to a heavy reliance on coal; industrial parks for processing account for 15% of the country's coal power output, with potential growth to 24%.
• High-pressure acid leaching (HPAL) is significantly more water-intensive than rotary kiln electric furnace (RKEF) processing, requiring approximately 300 cubic metres of water to produce 1 kg of nickel.
• Nickel mining has caused severe water pollution and land degradation, leading to the suspension of mining in Raja Ampat in June 2025 after companies violated environmental laws and caused ecological damage.
• The expansion of nickel mining threatens Indigenous communities, such as the O’Hongana Manyawa on Halmahera Island, whose nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle is disrupted by rapid mining development since 2020.
• HPAL processing generates vast quantities of corrosive chemical tailings (160 tonnes per tonne of nickel metal) that are difficult to store due to Indonesia's high rainfall and seismic risks, as evidenced by a March 2025 landslide at IMIP that killed four workers.
• While Indonesia uses the AMDAL framework for environmental impact analysis, significant governance gaps remain, including the lack of mandatory free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) for Indigenous Peoples and the absence of public water quality monitoring data.

APA

Esmail, S., Cornaro, E., Tekinbas, E., Ortega, C., & Nweke-Eze, S. (2026). Nickel Mining in Indonesia. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-05/nickel-mining-indonesia.pdf

Chicago

Esmail, Sophia, Elena Cornaro, Ege Tekinbas, Carlos Ortega, and Stanley Nweke-Eze. Nickel Mining in Indonesia. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2026. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-05/nickel-mining-indonesia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Esmail |first1=Sophia |last2=Cornaro |first2=Elena |last3=Tekinbas |first3=Ege |last4=Ortega |first4=Carlos |last5=Nweke-Eze |first5=Stanley |title=Nickel Mining in Indonesia |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=May 2026 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-05/nickel-mining-indonesia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{esmail2026nickel, author = {Esmail, Sophia and Cornaro, Elena and Tekinbas, Ege and Ortega, Carlos and Nweke-Eze, Stanley}, title = {{Nickel Mining in Indonesia}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2026-05/nickel-mining-indonesia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }