Harita Nickel, Kawasi chromium-6 water and sago loss (Obi Island)
- My sago palms in the area covered 297 hectares in 2023 and 127 hectares in 2025. Mongabay Indonesia
- Press and investigations OCCRP, Gecko Project, The Guardian and Deutsche Welle: Leaked company documents showed 128 ppb (February 2022) and 173 ppb (February 2023) against a 50 ppb limit, and exceedances on all 30 days tested in August 2022.
- Company or project Harita Group: Its own tests measured 5–40 ppb and the water was potable.
- Government and regulators Regional environment agency inspector: Said in January 2023 that the company had demonstrated compliance.
- Press and investigations Mongabay Indonesia: The settlement was built on cut and filled sago gardens; villagers said some plots were taken on Sundays or at night without owners’ knowledge. Mongabay Indonesia
- Company or project Harita Group sustainability manager: Land use complied with free, prior and informed consent and was examined in the IRMA audit. Mongabay Indonesia
- Standard-setters and registries IRMA: Audit results not yet published under the corrective-action period the company chose. IRMA
An April 2025 investigation reported chromium-6 in Kawasi village’s drinking-water source above Indonesia’s limit, next to Harita Group’s nickel operations on Obi Island. Harita disputes the findings; a 2026 report recorded a fall in sago palm area in the district.
Highest measurement reported (February 2023); limit 50 ppb. Harita reports 5–40 ppb in its own tests.
Status As of July 2026: the IRMA audit of Harita Nickel was ongoing and results were unpublished; Harita disputes the chromium-6 findings; no court case found.
- Harita Group — Raised US$660 million in an April 2023 IPO; its facilities were given National Strategic Project status (as reported)
- Kawasi villagers — Drinking-water source above the national limit; sago land reduced; relocation to a settlement built on sago gardens Mongabay Indonesia
- Groundwater and sago palm area on Obi Island — Chromium-6 above the legal limit; sago area from 297 ha to 127 ha Mongabay Indonesia
What happened
Kawasi is a coastal village on Obi Island that adjoins the nickel mine and smelters of Harita Group. The industrial zone is within 100 metres of the back of village houses, according to Mongabay Indonesia. Nickel from the site, according to the investigation, enters the supply chains of Tesla, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz through Chinese battery makers.
In April 2025, OCCRP, the Gecko Project, The Guardian and Deutsche Welle published an investigation based on leaked company documents. It reported that chromium-6 in the village’s drinking-water source repeatedly exceeded Indonesia’s limit of 50 parts per billion (ppb): 128 ppb in February 2022 and 173 ppb in February 2023, and above the limit on all 30 days tested in August 2022. None of the villagers interviewed recalled receiving a warning. The investigation reported that the company had known of exceedances since 2012. Harita denied the findings, said its own tests measured 5–40 ppb and said the water was potable.
A community leader in Kawasi told the investigation that she had had bloody and pus-containing cough, frequent abdominal cramps and diarrhoea since the mine began, and that she did not know whether the water was the cause but drank it every day.
Mongabay Indonesia reported on 25 April 2026, citing district agriculture office data, that sago palm area in the area fell from 297 hectares in 2023 to 127 hectares in 2025, and the number of sago producers from 284 to 100. It reported that the relocation settlement known as Kawasi Baru or the “eco-village”, which Harita built about 5 km inland was constructed on cut and filled sago gardens, and villagers said some plots were taken on Sundays or at night without the owners’ knowledge. Harita’s sustainability manager wrote that land use complied with free, prior and informed consent and had been examined in the IRMA audit.
Harita became the first Indonesian mine to enter an audit by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in October 2024. The site audit took place in April 2025. After the draft report Harita chose an optional corrective-action period of up to 12 months, during which results are not published. As of IRMA’s update of 28 July 2026 the audit was ongoing.
- 2012Date from which, according to the April 2025 investigation, the company knew of chromium-6 exceedances; Harita denies
- 2022Chromium-6 in Kawasi source measured at 128 ppb (February); all 30 days tested in August above the 50 ppb limit
- 2023Regional environment agency inspector states in January that the company had demonstrated compliance; 173 ppb measured (February); IPO raises US$660m (April)
- 2024Harita enters IRMA audit (October)
- 2025IRMA site audit (April); OCCRP and partners publish investigation (April); sago area down to 127 ha
- 2026Mongabay Indonesia reports sago decline (25 April); IRMA update: audit ongoing (28 July)
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Leaked company documents showed 128 ppb (February 2022) and 173 ppb (February 2023) against a 50 ppb limit, and exceedances on all 30 days tested in August 2022.
Its own tests measured 5–40 ppb and the water was potable.
Said in January 2023 that the company had demonstrated compliance.
The settlement was built on cut and filled sago gardens; villagers said some plots were taken on Sundays or at night without owners’ knowledge.
Mongabay IndonesiaLand use complied with free, prior and informed consent and was examined in the IRMA audit.
Mongabay IndonesiaAudit results not yet published under the corrective-action period the company chose.
IRMAReported, from leaked documents, that the company had known of exceedances since 2012.
Denied the findings.
How it looked
Shown
- An IRMA audit of Harita Nickel, the first for an Indonesian mineHarita Group and IRMA · IRMA
- Kawasi Baru “eco-village” relocation settlement with school, health clinic and uninterrupted electricityHarita Group, as described in the investigation
- A company executive held up a glass of water from the source before the press in April 2023Harita Group, as reported
Recorded
- Chromium-6 in the village drinking-water source measured 128 ppb in February 2022 and 173 ppb in February 2023; the limit is 50 ppb.
- All 30 days tested in August 2022 exceeded the limit.
- Sago area fell from 297 ha in 2023 to 127 ha in 2025; producers fell from 284 to 100.
- IRMA results had not been published as of its update of 28 July 2026.
- Rainforest Rescue reported boron, hexavalent chromium and nickel seeping into groundwater on Obi Island and over-full tailings dams.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- harita-nickel (2025-04): Denied the investigation’s findings, said its own tests measured 5–40 ppb and that the water was potable.
- harita-nickel (2026-04): Its sustainability manager wrote that land use for the relocation settlement complied with free, prior and informed consent and was examined in the IRMA audit. · Mongabay Indonesia
- irma (2026-07-28): Update of 28 July 2026: the Harita Nickel audit was ongoing; Harita had chosen the optional corrective-action period. · IRMA
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Accounts
- Disputed Did the company know of chromium-6 exceedances from 2012?
- None on record IRMA: Audit results not yet published under the corrective-action period the company chose.
Record
- Not disclosed IRMA audit results: Harita chose a corrective-action period of up to 12 months, during which results are not published; the audit was ongoing as of July 2026.
- Unclear Whether the community leader’s symptoms are caused by the water: she said she does not know.
- Unclear Whether the company executive drank the water he held up before the press in April 2023: photographs do not show it.
- Disputed Chromium-6 measurements conflict: 128–173 ppb in the investigation’s documents, 5–40 ppb in Harita’s own tests.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: whether the company knew of exceedances from 2012, which Harita denies.
Did the harm stop?
Not established in the sources reviewed; the IRMA audit was ongoing as of July 2026.
Who paid?
Not established in the sources reviewed; the investigation and Mongabay Indonesia describe Kawasi villagers as bearing the water and land effects.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Nasib hutan sagu ketika industri nikel masuk Pulau ObiMongabay Indonesia · 2026-04-25
Communities and civil society
- Toxic nickel waste puts Morowali’s people and coast at riskRainforest Rescue · 2025
Standard-setters and registries
- Harita Nickel CAP updateIRMA · 2026-07-28
Connected cases
- IMIP nickel waste landslides and Obi island (Indonesia) Indonesia · 2020–2026 Related matter
- Harita Group (Harita Nickel) (Company) — here: Mine and smelter operator, Obi Island; there: Operator of the nickel mine and smelters at Kawasi, Obi Island
- Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) (Standard-setter) — here: Auditor/standard-setter of the responsible mining audit; there: Mining assurance standard-setter; audit of Harita Nickel
- Halmahera nickel complex (IWIP, Weda Bay) and the Hongana Manyawa Indonesia · 2018–2026 Related matter
- Salar de Atacama lithium extraction Chile · 2019–2026
- Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) (Standard-setter) — here: Auditor/standard-setter of the responsible mining audit; there: Standard-setter that rated the Albemarle and SQM sites