인도네시아의 니켈 채굴이 환경과 지역사회에 미치는 영향

### 인도네시아의 니켈 산업: 환경 및 사회적 도전에 직면한 글로벌 강국: 인도네시아 니켈 산업
* 🌏 인도네시아는 **2023년 전 세계 니켈 수요의 40% 이상**을 주로 전기 자동차 배터리에 공급하는 **세계 최대 니켈 생산국**이 되었습니다.
* 🇨🇳 중국은 지난 10년간 **650억 달러 이상**을 투자하고 채굴 및 정련 작업의 대부분을 통제하면서 인도네시아의 니켈 산업 성장에 중요한 역할을 해왔습니다.
* 💰 인도네시아의 니켈 수출은 급증하여 **2022년에 약 200억 달러**에 달했지만, 이로 인해 공급 과잉과 **니켈 가격의 68% 하락**으로 이어졌습니다.
* 🏭 인도네시아의 니켈 산업은 **삼림 벌채, 수질 오염, 지역 사회 이주에 대한 우려** 등 환경적, 사회적 영향이 심각합니다.
* 🔋 테슬라를 비롯한 여러 자동차 제조업체가 인도네시아 니켈 프로젝트와 협력하고 있지만, **윤리적으로 공급되고 환경적으로 책임감 있는 니켈에 대한 요구**가 커지고 있습니다.
* 🇺🇸 니켈 공급 부족에 직면한 미국은 **테슬라와 공급 계약을 맺은 Talon Metals의 미네소타 프로젝트**와 같은 국내 공급처를 찾고 있습니다.
* ♻ 사용한 배터리에서 니켈을 재활용하는 것은 **주요 지속 가능성 솔루션**으로 간주되며, **Redwood Materials 및 Li-cycle**과 같은 회사에서 배터리 재활용 시설에 대한 연구를 진행하고 있습니다.
* 🌍 니켈에 대한 수요 증가와 환경 및 사회적 고려 사항의 균형을 맞추는 것은 복잡한 과제이며 **정부, 자동차 제조업체, 광산업체 간의 협력**이 필요합니다.

중국의 투자로 인한 인도네시아의 니켈 생산량 급증은 지역 사회와 글로벌 전기 자동차 산업에 영향을 미치고 있습니다.

This is a nickel mine in Indonesia. There are at least 14 nickel mines in the country, and
it's grown to be the largest nickel producer in the world, supplying more than 40% of the world's nickel
in 2023. According to the information we got, this nickel is
used as a battery material, and the battery is used for electric cars. Nickel is used in stainless steel, smartphones, and
increasingly batteries for electric vehicles and renewable energy. The demand has grown worldwide from 3.06 million
metric tons in 2022 to an estimated 3.71 million metric tons in 2024. It is possible that by the end of the decade, the share
of nickel coming from Indonesia for EV batteries will be as high as 75%. Indonesia's nickel production has nearly tripled since
2020, and China has played a key role in the country's rise as a global nickel leader. Over the last decade, China has poured over $65
billion into Indonesia's nickel industry.

boosting economic and political bonds between the two
nations. China is the world's largest producer of EV batteries. And now, with demand rising, China controls most of
Indonesia's nickel mines and processing plants. Indonesia and China are kind of like a tag team in
this. They're working together, so that lead to more nickel
being in the system. Indonesia established a ban on the export of raw nickel
and other battery minerals. And with that, you saw a lot of Chinese companies
coming to Indonesia to build refining capacity there. Meanwhile, the United States faces significant
challenges with its nickel supply, relying on just one operational mine located in Michigan. In 2023, the US mined 17,000 metric tons of nickel,
while Indonesia produced 1.8 million metric tons. Talon metals has been working on opening a new nickel
mine in Minnesota, but the path to full production can take decades. Any mining companies out there please mine more nickel.

Tesla will give you a giant contract for a long period
of time, if you mine nickel efficiently and in an
environmentally sensitive way. The search for nickel led Tesla and other automakers,
like Ford, to partner with nickel projects in Indonesia to supply its batteries. 13% of Tesla's nickel came from Indonesia in 2023, but
there's growing concern about Indonesian nickel, mainly because of regulatory
gaps and environmental impacts. Locals and experts alike worry about water pollution,
deforestation, and air pollution near nickel mines. Refining is growing in Indonesia as well, and
nickel refining is among the dirtiest of the critical minerals. Our water has changed. First, we can't drink it anymore because it's turned
murky. Second, it's hard to access my own farm now as I have
to go through the nickel mining hall road. They wanted to buy my land, but I refused. The land on the right side of our garden, which used to
be pristine native land, has now become polluted.

This pollution has affected our garden plants and has impacted tens of hectare acres belonging to local residents. The advantages that the profits obtained will only improve areas in big cities. Meanwhile, those of us on remote islands are victims of government greed. Well over $40 billion has been invested in the last five years in this sort of shock and awe approach to low-grade nickel out of Indonesia. And that means they have cut corners, they've cut corners on safety, they've cut corners on the environment, and there are no labor rights that we would recognize as labor rights in Indonesia. CNBC visited a remote area in Sulawesi to understand the impact of nickel mining on the locals' lives and its significance on the wider electric vehicle industry. I go fishing every day at 6 a.m. as usual. It used to be a short trip, but now has become longer because the water is murky. This is the island of Sulawesi.

It's one of some 17,500 islands that make up
Indonesia, which is Southeast Asia's largest country. Here in the fishing village of Sukarela Jaya, nickel
products are not a part of daily life. My daily work involves farming and fishing, but I
mainly focus on farming. I've lived on the wagon since I was born, just like my
mother who was also born here. In the past few years it has changed. But in the advanced world, nickel is a vital part of
modern technology. It's prized for its strength and rust resistance. It's used in stainless steel and batteries. Each year, over 3 million metric tons of nickel are
produced and mined for more than 25 countries. Nickel just has an amazing property, along with
manganese and cobalt, to provide electric vehicles that extra range and
capability. It's also used for military purposes, so you have
nickel metal alloys

that can be applied for things like armor and in steel
making. And so, you know, nickel is such an important mineral
because we need the nickel supply for both national security and economic security purposes. About 65% of nickel is used for stainless steel. Another 12% goes into special alloys, vital in
industries like aerospace for making turbine parts. The remaining 23% is used in various products
like catalysts, chemicals, and batteries. The demand for nickel and batteries is expected to
skyrocket 247% by 2030 due to the global electric vehicle boom. Nickel is also crucial for renewable energy projects
like solar, which rely on batteries for energy storage. The battery sector is the fastest rising demand used
for nickel and is expected to be the main driver of primary nickel use over in the future. The big use right now is in clean energy systems. And that's why we're focused on building a secure
domestic source of nickel from US deposits.

China's significant investment in Indonesia's nickel
industry has played a pivotal role in its growth and development. This investment boom matches with
Indonesia's processed nickel exports jumping from $1 billion in 2015 to about $20 billion in 2022. Sixty to 70% of Indonesian nickel production is Chinese
mining or Chinese refining. So you're really then replicating the dependency on
China. So this is all part of China's strategy as a country
to dominate global production of nickel. China, you know, is heavily subsidized EV
manufacturing. It's a race to be a global leader. And I think it sees Indonesia as a as a source for
some of the materials that it needs. In 2022, Indonesia banned the export of raw nickel
despite opposition from the European Union and a ruling from the World Trade Organization. Indonesia still bans nickel ore exports, requiring
nickel to be processed domestically before export. As a result, processed nickel products surged.

A flood of foreign investment, mostly from China, essentially turned Indonesia from a mining giant into a refining giant. Not material that is being produced in Indonesia with collaborating in collaboration with Chinese companies, is largely being exported back to China for the development of their electric vehicle battery sectors, their stainless steel sectors. There's been so much development in Indonesian supply that it's meant that the nickel market is oversupplied. There's more material being produced than there is, um, demand for it. And that's had a negative impact on the price. The price of nickel has plummeted 68% from $50,000 per metric ton in March 20th 22 to $16,100. Now we have a situation where, you know, China is working towards market domination, and that's really, you know, where you're seeing all these nickel mines consider their fate, at least temporarily, because you know who can compete on this price.

It's a fake price. It's a depressed below market value of the
resource. This isn't just about having enough nickel for Chinese
manufacturing. It's about having a dominance over the whole global
supply of nickel. This is affecting mining projects worldwide. We're seeing a big oversupply of nickel from Chinese
companies operating in Indonesia. That's lowering prices, and that's making it
hard for some projects in places like Australia to actually survive
economically, because they have to operate under a more Western idea of profitable,
profitable enterprise. They're not relying on state support. That is, again, driving through and trying to create a
strategic imperative for China, Brazil, Australia. They have comparable reserves. They have begun taking nickel mines offline because
they can't compete, because Indonesia is using so much cheap coal to process their nickel. Nickel smelting and refining is an energy-intensive and
dirty process, depending on the energy source.

We need electric vehicles to meet our climate ambitions. What we don't need is cheap and dirty nickel to do it. CNBC reached out to several of the largest nickel producers in the region, but none responded to our request for comment. Indonesia is flooding the market with low-cost nickel. It's fueled by a huge build-out of captive coal, and so part of what allows the this nickel to be so cheap is it's being refined by coal. Unfortunately, this is often very low-quality coal. And so it emits a huge number of particulates impacting the local communities where these smelters are built. Since 2000, nickel production in Indonesia has led to significant environmental damages, including deforestation, displacement of indigenous communities, and contamination of important reef ecosystems. In 2023, there was an uptick in deforestation. In Indonesia, nickel mines have cleared nearly 75,000 hectares of forest to extract nickel.

The people of Sulawesi have seen this first hand. The big fish have disappeared because their food, the
small fish, died from polluted water. They used to live close to the shore, but now I have
to row for half an hour to catch any fish. If we were to fish daily, we'd have to go far because
of the pollution. I'm really against the mining operations. They affect the water, causing the fish to leave or
die. The mine hasn't positively impacted the local
community. In fact, it's had a detrimental effect, particularly
on livelihoods. The environment is polluted, social conditions are
deteriorating, and cultural norms are being disrupted due to an influx of migrant workers. Even the village, which has traditionally relied on
fishing, is now heavily polluted. Indonesia and this this huge surge in nickel mining is
driving deforestation. It's impacting the health of communities near mines
and smelters.

But it's not inevitable. 40% of the nickel mines in Indonesia have significant
degraded land within their concessions. And so what these mining companies could do if the
auto companies and their investors put pressure on them, is start mining in those areas
first. The same logic was employed by the palm oil industry,
and has led to something like a 90% decline in deforestation for palm oil in a place
like Indonesia. We can't cook anymore. We can't drink anymore. Like our coconut garden at IDI. There's one at the end of it that I can't reach
anymore, but my children still can. If I were alone, I'd struggle to access it because
it's on the mining route now due to the constant traffic from mining operations were unable to reach
it. Clearly there's conflict because we refused to sell
the company, and our friends pressure us to sell. What choice do we have? Our friends who sold now regret it.

They survive as if they've never had a contract. It's disheartening. No one feels fortunate in this situation. We're already feeling the impact. Over the past few years, since the nickel mining company began operations in Mega on Wawonii Island, significant changes have occurred. One major impact is the decline in water quality, which has become cloudy and unfit for public use. For instance, Banda Spring, once a clean water source, has turned murky and is now unusable. On top of that, the village's water supply from the pipeline has been contaminated due to nickel mining activities, particularly affecting Teluk Rokoknya Village. Others have witnessed pollution affecting their crops, making farming a challenge. The soil used to be dark black, which was the natural color of our land. Now it has turned brown and reddish due to mining activities above our village, causing pollution in our garden. The use of high pressure acid leaching is a crucial technique in nickel extraction, and it has faced

criticism for its toxic waste. A lot of nickel produced in Indonesia is carbon
intensive. There have been concerns around waste disposal, so it
creates a bit of a conundrum because the world needs nickel, but the largest source of nickel doesn't
produce it in the most efficient way. I think in order to protect populations, we need the
Indonesian government, we need international automakers. We need everyone to agree that there needs to be
stronger social and environmental safeguards to protect people who are being impacted by nickel mining. Indonesian government officials did not immediately
respond to CNBC's request for comment. Talon metals is a US-based mineral exploration
company. Its plan is to build a domestic supply of ethically
sourced and sustainable nickel. We have high standards for protection of the
environment, for public consultation. As something goes through a permitting process, labor
rights, our operations will be organized, they'll be safe, they'll provide high levels of
benefits and and good

compensation for working people. Yes, it's going to take a little bit longer, but the benefits of being able to operate in a place
like the United States and being proximate to all of the battery manufacturing in the
United States is a big advantage for us. Although it is still in the permitting stage for its
new nickel mining projects, Talon has already secured a supply deal with Tesla to
get Tamarack Nickel into its EV batteries. We're very fortunate that we have an offtake agreement
for about 60% of our production with Tesla. We're proud of our connection with Tesla, and that we
will together create a domestic supply of nickel for EV batteries. All the nickel that we would produce for battery
making is in itself recyclable. So we will track and trace the nickel
that's produced at high standards in Minnesota or actually in North Dakota. That will go on to Tesla, and they'll be able to track
and trace.

That also means that Redwood Materials or any other recycler, when that reaches its end of life, then it will be able to be known that that nickel was produced responsibly in the United States. And hopefully, we can improve that ratio of, you know, virgin mining material and recycling. Over time, when nickel is recycled, it keeps its strength and versatility. Recycling would significantly cut down carbon emissions and reduce the need for new mining operations. Companies like Li-cycle and Redwood Materials are two North American companies working on building battery recycling facilities to decrease the need for new mines. We should put as much emphasis as possible into recycling batteries at the end of their life. The EU has some really good legislation on this. The US could be doing more. It makes all the sense in the world that because we have these resources domestically and with our free trade allies, that we would want these companies to source where they can get it.

And it's produced at a high standard. It's a little more expensive to do that sourcing, but
not that much more expensive that it's going to change the price of the vehicle. While companies like Talon are exploring solutions,
getting ethically sourced nickel, particularly from Indonesia, remains a big challenge for carmakers. Back then, most locals supported the mining activity
because jobs were scarce and any chance to earn money was seen as crucial. Visits from companies were welcomed, and many of us
backed their plans, but with better access to TV and educated locals returning home, some have warned us
about the serious risks of mining. They told us about the environmental pollution that
could harm the future generations. Now we strongly oppose the mining operations.

How China Took Over Indonesia’s Nickel Industry To Fuel Its EVs

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글로벌 니켈 산업에서 인도네시아의 지배력

인도네시아는 전 세계 니켈의 40% 이상을 공급하는 세계 최대 니켈 생산국이 되었으며 전기 자동차 배터리 생산에 중요한 역할을 하고 있습니다.

중국은 인도네시아의 니켈 산업에 막대한 투자를 단행하며 양국의 경제적, 정치적 관계를 강화했습니다.

인도네시아의 니켈 채굴 및 정제 산업이 성장하면서 수질 및 대기 오염, 삼림 벌채, 지역 사회에 미치는 영향 등 환경에 미치는 영향에 대한 우려가 제기되고 있습니다.

니켈 채굴이 지역 사회와 세계 경제에 미치는 영향

인도네시아의 니켈 채굴은 환경오염을 유발하여 지역 주민들의 삶에 영향을 미치고 농업과 어업 활동에 영향을 미쳤습니다.

니켈 채굴에 대한 막대한 투자로 인해 대도시의 이익이 우선시되면서 외딴 섬 지역사회의 복지는 소홀히 취급되었습니다.

전기 자동차, 재생 에너지 프로젝트, 청정 에너지 시스템에서 니켈의 중요한 역할로 인해 니켈에 대한 전 세계 수요가 급증하고 있으며, 이에 따라 니켈의 안전한 공급에 대한 필요성이 커지고 있습니다.

중국이 인도네시아 니켈 산업에 미치는 영향

인도네시아에 대한 중국의 막대한 투자로 인해 인도네시아의 가공 니켈 수출이 급격히 증가했습니다.

현재 인도네시아 니켈 생산의 대부분은 중국의 채굴 또는 정련과 연계되어 있어 중국에 대한 의존도가 매우 높습니다.

주로 중국 기업이 주도하는 이러한 생산량 급증은 니켈 시장의 공급 과잉을 초래하여 가격이 68%까지 급락했습니다.

인도네시아 니켈 채굴의 환경적, 사회적 영향

석탄에서 정제된 값싸고 더러운 니켈을 원료로 한 인도네시아의 니켈 생산은 2000년 이후 심각한 환경 피해와 삼림 벌채를 초래했습니다.

채굴 작업은 지역 사회에 부정적인 영향을 미쳐 오염을 유발하고 생계를 방해하며 중요한 생태계의 쇠퇴를 촉진했습니다.

니켈 채굴이 급증하면서 토착민들의 갈등과 사회적 여건이 악화되었지만, 채굴 회사가 황폐화된 지역에서 우선적으로 채굴하도록 압력을 가함으로써 개선의 가능성이 있습니다.

니켈 채굴이 와원이 섬에 미친 영향

와원이 섬의 니켈 채굴 활동은 수질 악화로 이어져 깨끗한 수원에 영향을 미치고 마을의 상수도를 오염시켰습니다.

또한 채굴 활동으로 인해 농작물 성장에 영향을 미치고 토지의 자연 색을 변화시키는 오염이 발생하고 있습니다.

채굴 회사인 Talon Metals는 환경 보호와 공공 협의에 중점을 두고 지속 가능하고 윤리적으로 공급되는 니켈 공급을 목표로 하고 있습니다.

윤리적 니켈 생산 및 배터리 재활용의 중요성

니켈 재활용은 품질을 유지하고 탄소 배출을 줄이며, Li-cycle 및 Redwood Materials와 같은 기업이 이를 선도하고 있습니다.

미국과 동맹국들은 책임 있는 생산을 지원하기 위해 윤리적으로 공급되는 니켈을 우선적으로 사용해야 합니다.

이러한 어려움에도 불구하고 환경 문제와 보다 지속 가능한 관행에 대한 요구로 인해 니켈 채굴에 대한 반대가 커지고 있습니다.