<
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/07/basf-eramet-drop-2-6b-indonesian-nickel-project-that-threatens-isolated-tribe/>
"JAKARTA — German chemical giant BASF and French miner Eramet have pulled out
of a multibillion-dollar “green energy” project in Indonesia because of its
impact on one of the last Indigenous tribes on Earth living in voluntary
isolation.
In an announcement on June 24, both companies said they had scrapped plans to
invest up to $2.6 billion in the project on the island of Halmahera in
Indonesia’s eastern province of North Maluku. The Sonic Bay project would have
seen the construction of a refinery producing about 67,000 metric tons of
nickel and 7,500 metric tons of cobalt a year. These metals, crucial
ingredients in electric vehicle batteries, would have come from the nearby Weda
Bay Nickel mine, the world’s largest nickel mine, in which Eramet holds a
minority stake.
In its announcement, BASF said it would “stop all ongoing evaluation and
negotiation activities for the project in Weda Bay.”
The decision came after a sustained campaign by activists voicing concerns that
the Sonic Bay refinery, which is essentially an extension of the Weda Bay
Nickel project, would increase the risk of Indigenous peoples in the area
losing their lands. Weda Bay Nickel’s concession overlaps with rainforest
that’s home to hundreds of members of the Forest Tobelo people, according to
U.K.-based Indigenous rights NGO Survival International, which has lobbied both
BASF and the German authorities to drop out of the project."
Via
Fix the News:
<
https://fixthenews.com/good-news-global-emotions-poverty-indonesia-bluefin-tuna/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
