The Director of Engineering and Environment for Minerals and Coal at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) said that Indonesia’s position to date is as the world’s main nickel player. It is recorded that 5.3 billion tons of ore reserves can be produced, and up to 18.5 billion tons of ore resources are spread mainly in eastern Indonesia.
“This is an opportunity and a challenge in the energy transition effort,” said Hendra on the sidelines of a discussion held by the Energy Editor Society (E2S) with the theme Uncovering ESG Transformation in Indonesia’s Nickel Mining Industry in Jakarta, Friday (4/7/2025).
According to him, in order to support the energy transition, the concept of green mining is a necessity that must be implemented in accordance with the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework.
“In line with this, the mining law and its accompanying regulations continue to support and encourage ESG standard mining as the basis for green mining practices,” he said.
On that occasion, Tri Budhi Soesilo, Academician at the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Indonesia (UI), admitted that mining business actors in Indonesia could be said to have implemented ESG quite well. However, the problem is that there are people who are impatient with the results of what companies have done to be able to operate with attention to the environment.
“Collaborating with journalists as partners like Harita did is a good way to spread what the company has done to socialize its environmental sustainability program to the community,” said Tri Budhi.
Meanwhile, Meidy Katrin Lengkey, Secretary General of the Indonesian Nickel Miners Association (APNI), said that car manufacturers (OEMs) are also looking for responsible supplies with strong ESG standards. This is what is being pursued by nickel producing business actors in the country, one of which is Harita Nickel which is currently being certified by IRMA.
According to Meidy, Indonesia can basically create its own ESG standards, but they still have to be in line with several parameters required by global nickel consumers, namely tailings management, transparency, occupational safety and health, decarbonization, deforestation and biodiversity, openness of information for affected communities, law enforcement.
Nickel on the world market has received a lot of attention, especially regarding its environmental impact. ESG standardization in the mining process shows that the commitment of companies that implement ESG in their operational activities actually has a positive impact on the surrounding environment.
“We discussed with Tesla, Mercedes, BMW the market share from Europe, the market needs ESG standards. Indonesia can develop ESG standards but it must refer to the parameters that have been determined,” said Meidy.
It is known that PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk (NCKL) or Harita Nickel plans to expand its market, especially to Europe and the United States. So far, China is the main market for Harita Nickel products.
Meanwhile, global demand for nickel products is increasing, one of which is to support the growth of electric cars. To convince potential buyers, Harita Nickel voluntarily carries out an international standard independent assessment/audit, The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA).
“So, currently the market is very wide open. Global manufacturers have IRMA standards so we also want to show that they have IRMA standards,” stressed Deputy Health, Safety, Environment (HSE) Department Harita Nickel Iwan Syahroni.
According to him, the audit, which is the strictest in the world, has been ongoing since 2023 and the results will be completed in the near future. SCS Global Services, an IRMA-approved independent audit firm, conducted the assessment, which includes a document review (phase 1) that has been conducted since October 2024, followed by a field audit (phase 2) in April 2025.
The assessment is carried out using information from various elements such as members of the surrounding community, public officials, labor representatives, or other interested parties.
Source: Beritajatim.com
Source: www.mining-indonesia.com
