JATAM | Mining Advocacy Network

PT Weda Bay Nikel was one of the Indonesian authority lobbyists seeking for amendment of Regulation No. 41 year 1999 on Forestry which prohibited open mining in a protected forest. The company has signed a Contract of Work on February 19, 1998, with a concession area of 120 thousand hectares in Central Halmahera and East Halmahera in the North of Maluku Province. Around 56.5% of the company shares were owned by Strand Mineral Pte, Ltd (Eramet France), 33.4% of it belongs to Mitsubishi and the remaining 10% was owned by PT Antam. The mining and processing was supported by the world financial institutions such as MIGA and JBIC.

Every year, the company would dig 17 million tons of rocks, processing 5 million of ores which would produced 60 thousand tones of Nickel and 4 thousand tons of cobalt, yearly. They will process the waste with the most dangerous and out of dated system - heap leaching, by dumping sulfuric acid solutions on the heap of nickel ores. The company would develop a sulfuric acid factory which would need 1 million tones of sulfuric acid every year.

What made it more dangerous was that, the mine which would guzzle the land, water and energy would dump its tailing to the Weda Bay. This portion would definitely exacerbate the Weda Bay as an ecosystem supporting the local people's existence.

The collaboration of MIGA, the World Bank, Eramet, Mitsubishi and Antam would create a lethal threat for those who lived in the island of Halmahera, South of Maluku.

For ten days, Frank Lysy (Director and chief Economist), Paul Barbour (Senior Risk Officer), Judith Pearce (lead operation Officer), Deniz Baharoglu (sector leader), were visiting Indonesia to conduct a feasibility study for political risk guarantee to the development of the mine. MIGA's political risk guarantee would be the guarantee for those financial institutions which grant their credit for PT Weda Bay Nikel.

We were strongly fulminating MIGA's involvement in giving the guarantee and financial support for a dirty and environmental devastating project, such as the one planned by PT Weda Bay Nikel.

We were against all involvement from multilateral financial institutions in financing and providing guarantee for extractive industrial projects in Indonesia. MIGA and the World Bank should cancel their plan to give political risk guarantee for this dangerous project. Not only because the mine created threats for the safety of the people and the ecosystem on the island of Halmahera; but also because one of its shareholders - PT Antam was notorious and had bad records for both environmental damage and human rights breach.

PT Antam, was the owner of the nickel mine in the island of Gebe, Central Halmahera, which started its operation 25 years ago and was closed on 2004. The company had left not only an incredible environmental damage, but also devastation on the economic of the people of Gebe Island who mostly lived as farmers or fishermen. On 23-27 February 2010, the local people and students conducted a peaceful act demanding PT Antam to responsibly close the mine. But this act was countered with violence and shooting from Central Halmahera Brimob police unit.

On January - February 2004, PT Nusa Halmahera Mineral - the mining operator of PT Antam and Newcrest/Australia in Halmahera had cut off the Toguraci protected forest. This act was protested by the locals and ended up in an act of violence. One man died after being hit by a bullet from the Brimob, hundreds was arrested, and in the end 7 people was restrain without any lawful procedures. The shooting case was never received proper process from either the government or the Indonesian Police Force.

We will raise a call for action to demand the cancellation of the project and rejection against the granting of financial support and political risk guarantee from MIGA the World Bank, or any other financial institutions.

 

Contact Media: 

Luluk Uliyah, Jaringan Advokasi Tambang, HP. 0815 9480 246
Berry Nahdian Furqon, Wahana Lingkungan Hidup Indonesia, HP. 0812 511 0979
Riza Damanik, Koalisi Rakyat Untuk Keadilan Perikanan, HP. 0818 773 515
Dani Setiawan, Koalisi Anti Utang , HP. 0812 967 1744