IMIP nickel waste landslides and Obi island (Indonesia)
- 3 people died.22 March 2025 collapse at the QMB waste site; four workers buried, three died.
- 1 people died.February 2026 landslide at the same site.
- Official count 13 people died.24 December 2023 furnace explosion at ITSS; later reports gave 20 to 21.
- 53 people died.Deaths recorded in nickel industrial areas in 2015–2022 (Mongabay Indonesia).
- Press and investigations OCCRP, Gecko Project, The Guardian and Deutsche Welle: Leaked company documents showed chromium-6 above Indonesia's 50 ppb limit: 128 ppb in February 2022, 173 ppb in February 2023, and every one of 30 days tested in August 2022. No interviewed villager recalled receiving a warning.
- Company or project Harita: Its own tests measured 5 to 40 ppb and the water is drinkable.
Nickel-waste storage at the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park collapsed in March 2025, killing three subcontract workers, and a further landslide killed one worker in February 2026. On Obi Island, residents of Kawasi village and an OCCRP-led investigation reported chromium-6 readings above Indonesia's drinking-water limit near a nickel smelter; the operator disputes the findings.
Three on 22 March 2025 and one in February 2026. Walhi Central Sulawesi counted eight waste-management worker deaths at IMIP in total.
Status As of March 2026: no fine or revocation of environmental approval recorded after the two fatal waste landslides at IMIP; as of October 2026 the IRMA audit results for Harita Nickel on Obi were unpublished.
- Tsingshan Holding Group — Described in the sources reviewed as majority owner of IMIP; the ITSS furnace that exploded in December 2023 is linked to it.
- Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt — Investor in Huayou Nickel Cobalt, one of the operators at the IMIP km 8 waste site, which makes a semi-finished nickel product for batteries.
- Harita Group — Operator of the nickel mine and smelters at Kawasi, Obi Island. Mongabay Indonesia
- Indonesian government — Nickel exports reported to have grown from about USD 6 billion to about USD 30 billion; about USD 30 billion in 2022.
- Subcontract workers at IMIP — Three died on 22 March 2025 and one in February 2026; Walhi Central Sulawesi counted eight waste-management deaths at the park. Mongabay Indonesia
- Labota village residents — 341 families, 1,092 people, were affected by the 16 March 2025 mud flow. Mongabay Indonesia
- Kawasi villagers — Chromium-6 readings above the national limit in the water source, according to leaked company documents; sago area and producers fell. Mongabay Indonesia
What happened
The Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, processes nickel. Indonesia banned exports of raw nickel ore in 2020, and the government said processing nickel at home would make the country a centre of the electric-vehicle battery supply chain. At kilometre 8 of the park, PT QMB New Energy Materials and Huayou Nickel Cobalt operate a site that produces mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP), a semi-finished nickel product used for electric-vehicle batteries. The process used, high-pressure acid leaching, dissolves low-grade ore in sulphuric acid under heat and pressure and leaves large volumes of waste sludge. Earthworks put the waste at about 120 tonnes per tonne of nickel; a union leader put it at about 10 tonnes.
In 2020 four companies applied for permission to dispose of this waste by pipeline in the deep sea. In 2021 the government announced it would not grant such permits, without issuing a written ban, and the companies began storing the waste on land. On 16 March 2025, in heavy rain, muddy water containing heavy metals flowed from the waste facility of PT Huayue Nickel Cobalt into the Bahodopi River and Labota village. Mongabay Indonesia reported that 341 families, 1,092 people, were affected. On 22 March 2025, shortly after midnight, soil slid at the QMB waste site. Four workers of a subcontractor were buried and three died. The company's first statement attributed the event to continuous rain and reported two victims found and one worker missing. A workers' union said the facility stood on a filled pond and that satellite images from January 2025 showed an earlier slide at the same facility.
In February 2026 another landslide at the same site killed one worker. Mongabay Indonesia reported that IMIP produced 11.5 million tonnes of waste a year and that 47 million tonnes were expected in 2026. A park spokesperson pointed to soft ground beneath the site. Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the company had caused deaths twice and promised legal and criminal action and revocation of its environmental approval. As of March 2026 no fine or revocation had been recorded. Walhi Central Sulawesi counted eight waste-management worker deaths at IMIP. Mongabay Indonesia also reported 53 deaths in Indonesian nickel industrial areas between 2015 and 2022, and 21 deaths in a furnace explosion at the park on 24 December 2023.
The 24 December 2023 explosion occurred at a furnace of PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS), which is linked to Tsingshan Holding Group, described in the sources reviewed as IMIP's majority owner. The official count was 13 dead; later reports gave 20 to 21. The first explanation referred to liquid left at the bottom of the furnace. No penalty or prosecution was found in the sources reviewed.
On Obi Island in North Maluku, Kawasi village lies directly behind the nickel mine and smelters of the Harita Group, with the industrial area less than 100 metres from the back of some houses, according to Mongabay Indonesia. An investigation published in April 2025 by OCCRP, the Gecko Project, The Guardian and Deutsche Welle, based on leaked company documents, reported that chromium-6 in the village's drinking-water source repeatedly exceeded Indonesia's limit of 50 parts per billion, with readings of 128 ppb in February 2022 and 173 ppb in February 2023, and that all 30 days tested in August 2022 exceeded the limit. Harita denies the findings, says its own tests measured 5 to 40 ppb and says the water is drinkable. Mongabay Indonesia reported in April 2026, citing district agriculture office data, that sago area in the district fell from 297 hectares in 2023 to 127 hectares in 2025 and the number of sago producers from 284 to 100. Harita Nickel became the first Indonesian mine to enter an audit by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) in October 2024; it chose an optional corrective-action period of up to 12 months, during which results are not published.
- 2020Indonesia bans export of raw nickel ore; four companies apply for permission to dispose of HPAL waste in the deep sea
- 2021Government announces it will not grant deep-sea waste permits, without a written ban; waste is stored on land
- 202324 December: furnace explosion at the ITSS plant in IMIP; official count 13 dead, later reports up to 21
- 2024October: Harita Nickel (Obi) enters an IRMA audit
- 2025January: union cites satellite images of an earlier slide at the QMB waste site. 16 March: mud flow into Bahodopi River and Labota. 22 March: QMB waste-site collapse, three workers die. April: OCCRP-led investigation on chromium-6 at Kawasi. June: Environment Ministry findings at IMIP reported (unverified figures)
- 2026February: a further landslide kills one worker. March: no fine or revocation recorded. April: Mongabay reports sago loss on Obi. July and October: IRMA audit of Harita Nickel still without published results
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.
Continuous rain caused flooding and a landslide (initial statement, March 2025).
Mongabay IndonesiaSoft ground beneath the site (February 2026).
Mongabay IndonesiaThe facility was built on a filled pond, and January 2025 satellite images showed an earlier slide at the same facility.
EarthworksThe company caused deaths twice; legal and criminal action and revocation of the environmental approval promised, none recorded by March 2026.
Mongabay IndonesiaAbout 10 tonnes of waste per tonne of nickel.
13 dead.
21 dead (reports range from 20 to 21).
Mongabay IndonesiaLeaked company documents showed chromium-6 above Indonesia's 50 ppb limit: 128 ppb in February 2022, 173 ppb in February 2023, and every one of 30 days tested in August 2022. No interviewed villager recalled receiving a warning.
Its own tests measured 5 to 40 ppb and the water is drinkable.
The eco-village, about 5 km inland, was built on cut and filled sago gardens; villagers said some plots were taken on Sundays or at night without the owners knowing.
Mongabay IndonesiaLand use followed free, prior and informed consent and was examined in the IRMA audit.
Mongabay IndonesiaNickel processed at home for the battery supply chain, presented as low-carbon.
Coal-based producers emit 57–70 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of nickel against a proposed 20-tonne low-carbon threshold; 83% of 2025 output went to stainless steel and 17% to batteries.
Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA)How it looked
Shown
- Nickel processed at home to make Indonesia a centre of the electric-vehicle battery supply chain (‘hilirisasi’, downstream processing)Indonesian government
- Nickel presented as ‘low-carbon battery nickel’Indonesian state and Chinese-capital industrial parks
- Continuous rain caused flooding and a landslide (initial statement after the 22 March 2025 collapse)PT QMB New Energy Materials · Mongabay Indonesia
- Soft ground beneath the site (February 2026 landslide)IMIP park spokesperson · Mongabay Indonesia
- A company executive raised a glass of water at the Kawasi water source before the press in April 2023; photographs do not show whether he drank itA Harita executive, as reported by OCCRP and partners
- Land use for the relocation ‘eco-village’ followed free, prior and informed consent and was examined in the IRMA auditHarita's sustainability manager · Mongabay Indonesia
Recorded
- 16 March 2025: mud flow from PT Huayue Nickel Cobalt's waste facility into the Bahodopi River and Labota village; 341 families, 1,092 people affected
- 22 March 2025: collapse at the QMB waste site; four subcontract workers buried, three died
- A workers' union said the facility stood on a filled pond; January 2025 satellite images showed an earlier slide at the same facility
- February 2026: a further landslide at the same site killed one worker; IMIP waste output 11.5 million tonnes a year, 47 million expected in 2026
- As of March 2026 no fine or revocation of environmental approval recorded after the two fatal landslides
- Mongabay Indonesia reported 53 deaths in nickel industrial areas in 2015–2022 and 21 deaths in the December 2023 furnace explosion
- 24 December 2023: furnace explosion at the ITSS plant in the Morowali park, reported by Tempo; the official count was 13 dead, later reports 20–21
- Kawasi water source: chromium-6 128 ppb (February 2022) and 173 ppb (February 2023) against a 50 ppb limit, per leaked company documents reviewed by OCCRP and partners
- Sago area in the district fell from 297 ha (2023) to 127 ha (2025); sago producers from 284 to 100
- CREA: coal-based Indonesian nickel producers emit 57–70 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of nickel against a proposed low-carbon threshold of 20 tonnes; captive coal capacity reached 19.3 GW in July 2025
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- pt-qmb (March 2025): Its first statement after the 22 March 2025 collapse said continuous rain caused flooding and a landslide, reported two victims found and one worker missing (as summarised by BHRRC). · Mongabay Indonesia
- pt-imip (February 2026): A park spokesperson pointed to soft ground beneath the site after the February 2026 landslide. · Mongabay Indonesia
- indonesia-klh (March 2026): Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq said the company had caused deaths twice and promised legal and criminal action and revocation of its environmental approval; no fine or revocation was recorded as of March 2026. · Mongabay Indonesia
- harita (April 2025 and April 2026): Denies the chromium-6 findings, says its own tests measured 5 to 40 ppb and that the water is drinkable; its sustainability manager wrote that land use for the relocation village followed free, prior and informed consent and was examined in the IRMA audit. · Mongabay Indonesia
- tsingshan (December 2023): The initial explanation of the 24 December 2023 explosion referred to liquid left at the bottom of the furnace.
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- Outcome not on recordMinistry of Environment response to the fatal IMIP waste landslidesMinistry of Environment (KLH) · Administrative · Ministry of Environment → Operator of the IMIP waste site (PT QMB New Energy Materials in the March 2025 collapse)
The environment minister said the company had caused deaths twice and promised legal and criminal action and revocation of its environmental approval. As of March 2026 no fine or revocation had been recorded. Mongabay Indonesia
- 2022-11OngoingEU v Indonesia: export ban on raw nickel ore (WTO)WTO dispute settlement · International court · European Union → Indonesia
A WTO panel found the ban inconsistent with WTO rules in November 2022. Indonesia appealed into a gap left by the non-functioning Appellate Body, so the ruling was not final. This concerns the export ban, not the waste or water matters. The Jakarta Post
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
- Disputed Is the water at Kawasi, Obi Island, safe to drink?
Court
- Unclear Ministry of Environment response to the fatal IMIP waste landslides: outcome not on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Waste unpermitted mt: Environment Ministry finding at IMIP, June 2025;.
- Insufficient Area (ha): Structures outside the environmental impact assessment at IMIP, June 2025;.
Accounts
- Disputed What caused the waste-site collapses at IMIP?
- Disputed How much waste does battery-grade nickel leave per tonne?
- Disputed How many people died in the 24 December 2023 furnace explosion?
- Disputed Was land for the Obi relocation ‘eco-village’ taken with consent?
- Disputed Is Indonesian battery nickel ‘low-carbon’?
Record
- Unclear Whether any sanction was imposed on the operators after the March 2025 and February 2026 landslides: none recorded as of March 2026.
- None on record No penalty or prosecution was found for the December 2023 furnace explosion.
- None on record Death toll of the December 2023 explosion: the official count was 13; later reports gave 20 to 21.
- None on record Waste volume per tonne of nickel: Earthworks gives about 120 tonnes, a union leader about 10 tonnes.
- Unclear Whether sanctions for the Environment Ministry's findings at IMIP were applied: unclear in the sources.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: the Environment Ministry's June 2025 inspection findings at IMIP (structures of more than 1,800 hectares outside the environmental impact assessment, more than 12 million tonnes of unpermitted nickel slag and waste, and 24 emission sources without continuous monitoring). The figures come of the ministry statement.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a separate account that some IMIP facilities were missing from the environmental impact assessment (AMDAL) and that a 179-hectare area next to the park was cleared.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Rainforest Rescue (2025) reported boron, chromium(VI) and nickel leaking into groundwater and over-full waste dams; the research note places this on Obi Island, while the report's title refers to Morowali.
- None on record IRMA audit results for Harita Nickel on Obi remained unpublished in October 2026 because the company chose the corrective-action period.
- Unclear No ruling or court case on the sago land taken for the relocation ‘eco-village’ was found.
Did the harm stop?
Not recorded as stopped. As of March 2026 no fine or revocation of environmental approval had been recorded after the two fatal landslides, and annual waste output was expected to rise from 11.5 to 47 million tonnes in 2026.
Who paid?
Subcontract workers (four died in the two recorded landslides), residents of Labota (341 families affected by the March 2025 mud flow) and villagers of Kawasi, according to the sources cited.
Sources
Government and regulators
- KLH/BPLH Temukan Pelanggaran Lingkungan Serius di Kawasan Industri PT IMIP (Ministry news item on serious violations found at the PT IMIP industrial area)Indonesian Ministry of Environment (KLH) · 2025-06-19
Press and investigations
- Kolam limbah nikel IMIP jebol dan tewaskan tiga pekerja (Nickel waste pond at IMIP bursts and kills three workers)Mongabay Indonesia · 2025-04-08
- Will Indonesia's appeal of WTO nickel dispute fall into a void? (opinion)The Jakarta Post · 2022-12-04
Communities and civil society
- Morowali (blog post on nickel waste at Morowali)Earthworks · 2025-05-01
- Toxic nickel waste puts Morowali's people and coast at riskRainforest Rescue · 2025
- Out of sight, out of control: 31 GW of captive coal is jeopardizing Indonesia's economic and emissions goalsCentre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) · 2026-01-27
Connected cases
- Halmahera nickel complex (IWIP, Weda Bay) and the Hongana Manyawa Indonesia · 2018–2026 Related matter
- Tsingshan Holding Group (Company) — here: Described as majority owner of IMIP; ITSS furnace explosion, December 2023; there: 51% owner of Weda Bay Nickel; IWIP co-founder
- Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Company) — here: Investor in Huayou Nickel Cobalt, an operator at the IMIP km 8 waste site; there: IWIP partner; investor in three refineries there
- Harita Nickel, Kawasi chromium-6 water and sago loss (Obi Island) Indonesia · 2012–2026 Related matter
- Harita Group (Harita Nickel) (Company) — here: Operator of the nickel mine and smelters at Kawasi, Obi Island; there: Mine and smelter operator, Obi Island
- Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) (Standard-setter) — here: Mining assurance standard-setter; audit of Harita Nickel; there: Auditor/standard-setter of the responsible mining audit
- Indonesian nickel oversupply: BHP Nickel West suspension and the LME green contract Indonesia · 2023–2026
- Tsingshan Holding Group (Company) — here: Described as majority owner of IMIP; ITSS furnace explosion, December 2023; there: Chinese-capital operator at the park
- Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Company) — here: Investor in Huayou Nickel Cobalt, an operator at the IMIP km 8 waste site; there: Chinese-capital operator at the park
- Indonesian Ministry of Environment (KLH) (Government) — here: Environment ministry; there: Indonesian Ministry of Environment
- Sulawesi 'green nickel' runs on coal power; respiratory infections rose Indonesia · date not stated
- Tsingshan Holding Group (Company) — here: Described as majority owner of IMIP; ITSS furnace explosion, December 2023; there: Park partner in the Sulawesi nickel chain
- Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt (Company) — here: Investor in Huayou Nickel Cobalt, an operator at the IMIP km 8 waste site; there: Park partner in the Morowali nickel chain
- Salar de Atacama lithium extraction Chile · 2019–2026
- Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) (Standard-setter) — here: Mining assurance standard-setter; audit of Harita Nickel; there: Standard-setter that rated the Albemarle and SQM sites