An Indonesian community in North Sumatra is calling on Beijing to withdraw financial backing for a China-linked zinc and lead mine in the earthquake-prone region after the project lost its environmental permit.
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On May 23, Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry formally revoked the approval it had granted in 2022 to Dairi Prima Mineral (DPM), an Indonesian joint venture seeking to build an underground mine in the Dairi regency. The move was in line with a Supreme Court ruling ordering the government to cancel the permit last August.
DPM is owned by China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction (CNMC), which holds a 51 per cent stake, and Indonesia’s Bumi Resources Minerals.
For years, Dairi residents have protested against the mine, as it posed serious environmental risks for their region.
One big concern was the building of a tailings dam that, if it collapsed, could flood the villages with toxic waste. Tailings dams are embankments constructed near mines to store mining waste in a liquid or solid form.
Rosa Vivien Ratnawati, a secretary general at the ministry, said that the revocation was carried out to comply with last year’s Supreme Court ruling.