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The announcement comes despite four years of empty assurances that its Indonesia mine would be audited under the standard
A massive nickel mining and processing complex in Indonesia has stalled on its commitment to undergo a rigorous audit under the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) standard for the past four years. This raises questions about transparency and accountability.
Weda Bay Nickel is part of the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP). It is owned by a Chinese company, Tsingshan (51.3%), a French company, Eramet (37.8%), and the state-owned PT Antam Tbk (10%). It publicly announced its intention to be audited under the IRMA Standard in 2022.
But action has been slow. In the past four years, two other nickel mining facilities in Indonesia have undertaken IRMA audits. But Weda Bay has yet to take the initial audit steps, like announcing a contract with a certification body for its IRMA audit.
An Eramet Executive Joins the IRMA Board Despite Inaction at Weda Bay
However, just recently IRMA announced that Eramet executive Virginie de Chassey was elected to one of its two Board seats set aside for the mining sector.
This announcement revives the question that civil society and impacted rightsholders and stakeholders have been asking for the past four years — why has Weda Bay Nickel failed to carry forward its public commitment to be audited under this multi-stakeholder governed standard?
And, shouldn’t the IRMA board be composed of members who deliver on their public commitments to be audited under the standard they represent?
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Violations and Loss of Rainforest and Farmland
IWIP and Weda Bay Nickel surround the village of Lelilef Sawai in an old-growth rainforest on the coast of Halmahera Island, North Maluku.
These are the lands of the O Hongana Manyawa (more commonly, but against the wishes of the People themselves, referred to as Tobelo Dalam) and Sawai Indigenous Peoples. The O Hongana Manyawa are an uncontacted Indigenous People living in voluntary isolation and are nomadic hunter-gatherers. The forest has provided the O Hongana Manyawa with all of their needs, including food, medicine, and spiritual and cultural practices.
The Sawai People farm the land, growing food primarily to feed themselves and their families.
The companies did not adequately consult with impacted rightsholders and stakeholders when scoping the project. Weda Bay Nickel is also causing significant deforestation which has displaced many O Hongana Manyaya. In addition, IWIP took control of farmland used by the Sawai and destroyed the fish farm in Lelilif Sawai.
Risky and Toxic Nickel Waste at Weda Bay
At IWIP, nickel for electric vehicle batteries is processed using high-pressure acid leaching (HPAL). HPAL consumes a significant amount of energy and generates 133 times more waste than nickel.
Waste from HPAL facilities is toxic, and a report from Earthworks earlier this year shows that in Indonesia, it is stored in facilities that are at risk of catastrophic collapse. Similar collapses at the Morowali Industrial Park have cost the lives of workers, destroyed land, and polluted water. The report called for an immediate halt to adding more waste to Weda Bay’s storage facility, which exceeds proven technological limits.
Workers’ Rights and Deadly Conditions
When we talk about frontline communities impacted by mining, it is important to remember that workers are often among those first impacted due to their proximity to projects.
In Indonesia, workers’ unions and civil society organizations are sounding the alarm as tailings facilities have caused workplace fatalities at multiple nickel sites, pointing to a systemic problem with tailings management and workplace safety across the industry. Workers often have valuable insights into the safety of mine waste facilities, and protecting whistleblowers from retaliation can help prevent accidents. Due to their expertise, workers and labor unions should be an integral part of decisions made regarding occupational health and safety.
In the case of Weda Bay specifically, a report entitled “From Long Working Hours to Sudden Death” was published last year exposing deadly working conditions at IWIP.
Obscuring Rights Violations
Voluntary mine site audits can help buyers and investors understand whether minerals from a particular facility are socially and environmentally responsible, including whether they respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Weak standards can greenwash operations and hide real harms.
The majority of known deposits of minerals needed for the transition to cleaner energy are on or near Indigenous Peoples’ land, so ensuring that mines respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights is urgent.
Voluntary mine site audits are on the rise across the world. The implications are far-reaching. Policymakers are integrating voluntary certification schemes into legislation like the European Union’s Batteries Regulation and Critical Raw Materials Act. Downstream buyers and investors rely on audits as data points in their due diligence and risk evaluation processes.
This makes it even more critical that strong standards such as IRMA are represented by Board members who are prepared to raise the bar and commit to transparency of impacts and harms so these are prevented, mitigated or remediated.
