Explosion at a nickel plant in Indonesia leaves at least 13 dead and 46 injured | Indonesia | The Guardian

At least 13 people were killed and 46 injured in eastern Indonesia on Sunday after an explosion at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant, an industrial park official said.

The island of Sulawesi is a hub for the mineral-rich country’s production of nickel, a base metal used for electric vehicle batteries and stainless steel.

Nickel mining: the hidden environmental cost of electric cars

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The accident occurred at about 5.30am local time (21.30 GMT on Saturday) at a plant owned by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel in the Morowali Industrial Park in Central Sulawesi province, a spokesperson for the complex said in a statement.

“The confirmed number of fatalities is 13 people, consisting of nine Indonesian workers and four workers from China,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Forty-six other people were injured, mostly due to exposure to hot steam, he said.

An initial investigation showed the explosion happened during repair work on a furnace when a flammable liquid ignited and the subsequent blast caused nearby oxygen tanks to explode as well, the official said.

The fire was extinguished on Sunday morning, according to the statement.

The firm that runs the industrial park said it was “deeply saddened by this disaster, particularly for the families affected”.

It said the remains of several identified victims had been flown home.

Footage shared with AFP showed plumes of smoke emerging from the facility with emergency services at the scene and workers looking on.

A photo shared with AFP showed the bodies of the victims lined up on top of orange body bags in a room in one of the clinics at the industrial complex.

“Their faces were burnt, their clothes were all burnt,” a worker at the industrial complex said on condition of anonymity.

The facility is operated by PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), a local unit of China’s Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry.

In January, two workers including a Chinese national were killed at a nickel smelting plant in the same industrial park after a riot broke out during a protest over safety conditions and pay.

In June a fire at the same plant left one dead and six others injured.

Indonesia turns traditional Indigenous land into nickel industrial zone

Published on 09/02/2024, 6:11pm

Indonesia supplies the EV industry with critical battery materials but the sector’s rapid expansion is threatening the rights of Indigenous peoples

Nickel is a key component of dominant battery technologies for electric vehicles. It helps to give EVs more miles out of a single charge.

Indonesia, the world’s largest nickel producer, is actively building out an EV battery industry. It is betting on the rapidly growing sector to help power economic development.

The future of the nickel industry is a key issue in next week’s presidential election. Its expansion has recently drawn scrutiny over its environmental and social impacts.

In Southeast Sulawesi, the construction of a nickel industrial complex on the Indigenous Mopute people’s traditional land has sparked conflict.

Communities compelled to leave this tract of forest, where their ancestors are buried, are alleging rights violations and police intimidation. The authorities have kept silent.

It seems that China wants to ensure its plans to dominate the global EV industry cannot be derailed because of the coming graphite shortage. It already has its nickel supplies stitched up through its sponsorship of the explosion of nickel production in Indonesia.

That swings the spotlight over to the other concern – the sustainability of the environmentally-gross production of graphite in China’s mainland industry, particularly the synthetic stuff.

No one wants a “blood” diamonds. No one wants conflict gold. And before long, no one will want dirty Chinese graphite in their shiny new EV. The pushback is already underway.

The December export controls put in place by China and rising sustainability concerns have served to steel the will of governments with big auto industries - the US, Europe & the UK, Japan and Korea - to build an ex-China supply chain.