Article

17 Mar 2026

Lewis Jackson, Dylan Duan & Kate Mayberry, Reuters

Indonesia: GEM says mining project permit not revoked after fatal landslide

"China's GEM says no permit revocation at Indonesia nickel JV after landslide", 17 Mar 2026, Reuters

China's GEM said the environmental permit for its nickel and cobalt joint venture project in Indonesia's central Sulawesi had not been revoked, after a ‌fatal landslide last month prompted the local government to say it was considering the move.

Rectification work required by the authorities had been completed, GEM said on Monday [...].

Indonesia's environment minister said late last month that officials were weighing revoking QMB's environmental permit after a contractor was killed in a landslide.

QMB is a joint venture led by GEM. ⁠Other shareholders include China's stainless steel and nickel giant Tsingshan Group.

Timeline

Report: Filtered Tailings in Indonesia: The Catastrophic Failure of a Disruptive Technology

Date:

25 Mar 2026

Content Type:

Report
Indonesia: GEM says mining project permit not revoked after fatal landslide

Date:

17 Mar 2026

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: One worker killed in nickel tailings landslide at PT QMB facility in IMIP Morowali, incl. co. comment

Date:

19 Feb 2026

Content Type:

Article
China: Tsingshan Industrial signed cooperation agreement with UNIDO aiming to implement green industry policies at IMIP and IWIP

Date:

30 Nov 2025

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Communities see no transparent follow-up on IMIP violations despite government findings, report says

Date:

5 Nov 2025

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Chinese migrant workers bear the cost of health and safety in the booming nickel industry that is powering the global energy transition

Date:

8 Oct 2025

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Layoffs hit nickel workers powering the EV battery boom

Date:

23 Jul 2025

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Workers at PT GCNS and PT ZTE facilities in Morowali Industrial Park died of accident, report says

Date:

19 Jun 2025

Content Type:

Article
Report: Use It First, Accident Later: Neglect, Compromises in OHS Standards, and Worker Fatigue behind the High Occupational Accident Rate in the Morowali Nickel Industry

Date:

1 Jun 2025

Content Type:

Report
QMB response re- China Labor Watch report on poor working conditions & protests of workers, incl. Chinese migrant workers

Date:

8 Apr 2025

Content Type:

Company Response
Indonesia: Residents and workers’ safety at risk from several dam failures in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park where nickel is processed

Date:

28 Mar 2025

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: One worker killed in fatal accident at PT Ocean Sky Metal Industry nickel smelter

Date:

24 Feb 2025

Content Type:

Article

Marjan Daud, a worker at PT Ocean Sky Metal Industry (OSMI), one of the companies operating in the IMIP area, died in a workplace after being crushed by a 150-kilogram material.
Indonesia: Worker interviews and social media posts allege unsafe conditions, forced labour and suppression of complaints at Chinese nickel smelters; companies did not comment

Date:

4 Dec 2024

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Workers allege 'production first, safety later' culture at IMIP nickel complex leads to unsafe conditions & rising accidents

Date:

28 Nov 2024

Content Type:

Article

More than two dozen workers at nine companies in the IMIP complex alleged widespread lax safety practices, inadequate protective equipment, and poor communication between Indonesian and Chinese workers — resulting in unsafe working conditions and frequent accidents.
Indonesia: Investigation reveals systemic abuse behind deadly nickel explosion; workers face retaliation for speaking out; incl. co. comments

Date:

18 Nov 2024

Content Type:

Article

Investigation reveals how workers at Indonesia's largest nickel industrial complex face systematic retaliation and rights violations for reporting safety concerns, following a deadly explosion that killed 21 workers at the IMIP plant.
Labour NGO documents 77 deaths and 120 injuries at Chinese-invested nickel plants in Indonesia since 2016

Date:

4 Nov 2024

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: One worker killed and another injured in explosion at PT Dexin Steel nickel plant; incl. co. comment

Date:

28 Oct 2024

Content Type:

Article

Two workers died at PT Dexin Steel Indonesia's nickel facility in Sulawesi following a waste pool explosion and subsequent repair work, while IMIP confirms investigation is underway and commits to fulfill obligations to victims' families.
Indonesia: Workers owed wages by China MCC20 Group at IMIP smelter project protest for payment

Date:

16 Sep 2024

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Alleged explosion at PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel injures two workers

Date:

26 Jun 2024

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Hidden labour and environmental costs in nickel supply chains challenge EV manufacturers' commitments to responsible sourcing

Date:

17 Jun 2024

Content Type:

Article

New investigation traces battery nickel supply chains from Indonesian mines to major electric vehicle manufacturers, revealing dangerous working conditions, worker injuries, water pollution and rainforest destruction along the way, and calling into question EV manufacturers' commitment to responsible sourcing.
Commentary: Recurring workplace accidents in Indonesia's nickel smelters expose flaws in the government's downstreaming policy, which prioritises economic gain over workers' rights and safety.

Date:

14 Jun 2024

Content Type:

Article

Recurring explosions at nickel smelters in Indonesia are exposing the flaws in the government's nickel downstreaming policy, which prioritises economic gain over workers' rights and safety, prompting unions to call for better health and safety standards and government regulation.
Indonesia: Nickel concessions result to deforestation & adverse human rights impacts, Mighty Earth report finds

Date:

1 May 2024

Content Type:

Report
Indonesia: Two contractor employees were electrocuted in PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park

Date:

31 Jan 2024

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Workers and rights organisations call for strong protections in nickel industry as fatal accidents become more common

Date:

6 Jan 2024

Content Type:

Article

A string of fatal accidents at Chinese-funded nickel smelters on the island of Sulawesi has left workers demanding better protection. Last year alone, the Makassar Legal Aid Institute recorded at least 19 fatal incidents at nickel-processing facilities that resulted in 16 deaths and 37 injuries.
Indonesia: Chinese nickel smelters boost jobs but fuel pollution and tensions, says media

Date:

18 Aug 2023

Content Type:

Article
Powering electric vehicles: Human rights and environmental abuses in Southeast Asia's nickel supply chains

Date:

9 May 2023

Content Type:

Briefing

As the globe transitions to cleaner sources of energy, the human rights abuses in electric vehicle battery supply chains must be urgently addressed. This briefing looks at the human rights risks and impacts prevalent in the supply chains of nickel, a critical component of electric vehicle batteries.
Indonesia: Two workers die after nickel waste heap collapses at nickel mining complex; incl. co. statement

Date:

28 Apr 2023

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Three Chinese nickel workers file complaint to national human rights commission over workplace conditions

Date:

24 Feb 2023

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Labour exploitation, economic injustices, and environmental degradation plague Morowali Industrial Park, campaigners say; cos. did not comment

Date:

20 Feb 2023

Content Type:

Article

In Indonesia, sickness and pollution plague a sprawling factory complex that supplies the world with crucial battery materials.
The dirty road to clean energy: How China’s electric vehicle boom is ravaging the environment

Date:

28 Nov 2022

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Nickel production for EV battery industry in Morowali Industrial Park generates environmental and health concerns

Date:

19 Oct 2022

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Tesla's nickel transactions with Chinese companies leave trails of pollution and environmental suffering

Date:

10 Aug 2022

Content Type:

Article
China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Indonesia: Mapping and Mitigating Environmental and Social Risks

Date:

25 Jul 2022

Content Type:

Report
Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) - Project Profile

Date:

7 Apr 2022

Content Type:

Article
Indonesia: Off-grid coal plants inside China-built industrial parks evade public scrutiny as financing process remains obscure

Date:

4 Apr 2022

Content Type:

Article

Growth in parks with their own coal power plants is proving hard to stop, in spite of national pledges to reduce coal use
Chinese Investments in Asia: A Labour Perspective

Date:

30 Nov 2020

Content Type:

Report
Indonesian authorities are considering requests to dispose mining waste into the ocean amid heightened sensitivity about the environmental impact of mining

Date:

30 May 2020

Content Type:

Article
(Report) Road to Ruin: Challenging the sustainability of nickel-based production for electric vehicle batteries

Date:

30 Nov 2019

Content Type:

Article

View full story

Load more View less

More than a lens: achieving a gender-centric Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights

Immigration crackdowns don’t change the law or business risk in US supply chains

More than a lens: achieving a gender-centric Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights

Immigration crackdowns don’t change the law or business risk in US supply chains

Indonesia: GEM says mining project permit not revoked after fatal landslide

Timeline

Report: Filtered Tailings in Indonesia: The Catastrophic Failure of a Disruptive Technology

Indonesia: GEM says mining project permit not revoked after fatal landslide

Indonesia: One worker killed in nickel tailings landslide at PT QMB facility in IMIP Morowali, incl. co. comment

China: Tsingshan Industrial signed cooperation agreement with UNIDO aiming to implement green industry policies at IMIP and IWIP

Indonesia: Communities see no transparent follow-up on IMIP violations despite government findings, report says

Indonesia: Chinese migrant workers bear the cost of health and safety in the booming nickel industry that is powering the global energy transition

Indonesia: Layoffs hit nickel workers powering the EV battery boom

Indonesia: Workers at PT GCNS and PT ZTE facilities in Morowali Industrial Park died of accident, report says

Report: Use It First, Accident Later: Neglect, Compromises in OHS Standards, and Worker Fatigue behind the High Occupational Accident Rate in the Morowali Nickel Industry

QMB response re- China Labor Watch report on poor working conditions & protests of workers, incl. Chinese migrant workers

Indonesia: Residents and workers’ safety at risk from several dam failures in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park where nickel is processed

Indonesia: One worker killed in fatal accident at PT Ocean Sky Metal Industry nickel smelter

Indonesia: Worker interviews and social media posts allege unsafe conditions, forced labour and suppression of complaints at Chinese nickel smelters; companies did not comment

Indonesia: Workers allege 'production first, safety later' culture at IMIP nickel complex leads to unsafe conditions & rising accidents

Indonesia: Investigation reveals systemic abuse behind deadly nickel explosion; workers face retaliation for speaking out; incl. co. comments

Labour NGO documents 77 deaths and 120 injuries at Chinese-invested nickel plants in Indonesia since 2016

Indonesia: One worker killed and another injured in explosion at PT Dexin Steel nickel plant; incl. co. comment

Indonesia: Workers owed wages by China MCC20 Group at IMIP smelter project protest for payment

Indonesia: Alleged explosion at PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel injures two workers

Indonesia: Hidden labour and environmental costs in nickel supply chains challenge EV manufacturers' commitments to responsible sourcing

Commentary: Recurring workplace accidents in Indonesia's nickel smelters expose flaws in the government's downstreaming policy, which prioritises economic gain over workers' rights and safety.

Indonesia: Nickel concessions result to deforestation & adverse human rights impacts, Mighty Earth report finds

Indonesia: Two contractor employees were electrocuted in PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park

Indonesia: Workers and rights organisations call for strong protections in nickel industry as fatal accidents become more common

Indonesia: Chinese nickel smelters boost jobs but fuel pollution and tensions, says media

Powering electric vehicles: Human rights and environmental abuses in Southeast Asia's nickel supply chains

Indonesia: Two workers die after nickel waste heap collapses at nickel mining complex; incl. co. statement

Indonesia: Three Chinese nickel workers file complaint to national human rights commission over workplace conditions

Indonesia: Labour exploitation, economic injustices, and environmental degradation plague Morowali Industrial Park, campaigners say; cos. did not comment

The dirty road to clean energy: How China’s electric vehicle boom is ravaging the environment

Indonesia: Nickel production for EV battery industry in Morowali Industrial Park generates environmental and health concerns

Indonesia: Tesla's nickel transactions with Chinese companies leave trails of pollution and environmental suffering

China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Indonesia: Mapping and Mitigating Environmental and Social Risks

Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) - Project Profile

Indonesia: Off-grid coal plants inside China-built industrial parks evade public scrutiny as financing process remains obscure

Chinese Investments in Asia: A Labour Perspective

Indonesian authorities are considering requests to dispose mining waste into the ocean amid heightened sensitivity about the environmental impact of mining

(Report) Road to Ruin: Challenging the sustainability of nickel-based production for electric vehicle batteries