Landslide at Indonesia Morowali nickel hub kills one worker
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Indonesia accounts for more than half of the world’s output of nickel, but its smelting sector has been plagued by industrial accidents.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
A landslide at one of the world’s biggest nickel smelting hubs swept away heavy equipment and killed one worker, the latest in a series of accidents at a vast Indonesian complex that has faced growing scrutiny from the government.
The landslide was reported by Reuters to have occurred on Feb 18.
Several excavators, bulldozers and dump trucks were caught in the slide at a waste dumping site belonging to QMB New Energy Materials in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), a spokesperson for IMIP said in a statement, which did not mention any casualties.
IMIP declined to comment further.
A separate statement from the local search and rescue agency said one worker died in the incident.
Indonesia accounts for more than half of the world’s output of nickel, but its smelting sector has been plagued by industrial accidents. An explosion in late 2023 killed 21 people
A fatal landslide in 2025 disrupted output from QMB, which operates a high-pressure acid leach, or HPAL, plant in the park.
The Prabowo administration, which has expanded the role of the state in Indonesia’s sprawling commodities industry, has also homed in on Morowali.
In 2025, the Ministry of Environment launched an audit into IMIP, seeking large fines against smelting firms
Production by HPAL plants allows the extraction of a form of nickel used in electric vehicle batteries from low-grade ore. However, the process generates high volumes of waste, which are typically dried, compacted and stored.
Experts have questioned whether the waste, known as tailings, can be safely contained in the tropical archipelago, where torrential rain and earthquakes are common.
China’s GEM and Tsingshan Holding Group, the major shareholders of QMB, did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comments during the Chinese New Year holidays. BLOOMBERG
