They have been documenting the impacts of Harita Nickel, the company operating a nickel mine and processing facility, on the island which has possible supply chain connections to major car companies such as BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.There have been multiple flooding events, exacerbated by or originating from infrastructure failures at the mine and deforestation linked to mining.
On June 13, 2025, community members and regional environmental organization, WALHI Maluku Utara, reported the partial collapse of the interior sediment pond wall built by the company to collect run-off and sediment from nickel mining and refining operations. Overflow from the sediment pond flooded crops and homes, damaging belongings and
harming water sources. Harita Nickel stated in a 2024 response to the Washington Post, “Our analysis showed that the runoff in affected water bodies presents no danger to the environment or humans. Yet, in response to inputs and questions from the community and our stakeholders, and as a precautionary measure, we took steps to remedy and prevent this occurrence, including enlarging our sediment ponds.”
But the issue of flooding has not been adequately addressed by Harita and is only worsening with each rainy season. The problem extends to fisherfolk who have documented polluted seawater at the beach in Kawasi Village following flooding events, like that of June 13, 2025.
“They took our rights. This is the land of our ancestors, the land of our customs and culture,” said Jemy, who is both Tobelo Galela and Seram, and has been impacted by Harita Nickel.
The operations of Harita Nickel came under further scrutiny by investigations non-profits the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project 二 The Gecko Project which revealed the company constructed the sediment ponds in an attempt to control the persistently high levels of the carcinogenic chemical, chromium-6, in water originating from mining operations, which was also showing up in the drinking water in Kawasi Village. Reporting also shows that the ponds did not successfully reduce the levels of chromium-6 in water originating from mining operations.
After 15 civil society organizations around the world sent a letter of support for the community’s demands, Harita nickel stated that “no drainage channel, sediment pond, or outlet channel intersects with natural drinking water sources or rivers.”
This letter was further shared with automakers sourcing from the company such as Mercedes-Benz, Tesla, Volvo, and Volkswagen, but only Mercedes-Benz met with civil society, and a representative from Kawasi village for more information about the letter in order to continue engaging Harita Nickel.
The community is demanding compensation to residents for costs associated with damages incurred from the flooding and to address the root causes of ongoing infrastructure and waste management failures to prevent future disasters. To date, Harita has not responded to the community directly or shared its plans on what mitigation measures will be implemented to address the harm caused by their operations.
