Latest Tailings Collapse at PT IMIP Nickel Mine, Central Sulawesi

WALHI and Reuters, February 18, 2026

On February 18, 2026, another landslide occurred at the tailings disposal site in the Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) area, located at IMIP 9 and IMIP 10 in Bahodopi District, Morowali Regency, at around 2:30 p.m. local time. The incident affected approximately seven units of heavy equipment, with the suspected victims being operators.

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This is not the first landslide at the IMIP tailings disposal site. Last year, a similar incident claimed three lives. This indicates that the environment’s capacity is no longer adequate for ongoing industrial activity, creating the risk of recurring landslides.

According to Reuters, a landslide has hit a mine waste zone at a nickel processing hub managed by PT Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP) on the island of Sulawesi, IMIP’s spokesperson Dedy Kurniawan said on Thursday, killing one worker and halting operations.

The landslide on Wednesday occurred in a tailings area run by IMIP tenant PT QMB, and was suspected to be caused by soft soils. It swept away excavators and bulldozers, Dedy said. * Operations at the tailings zone were halted as of Thursday, Dedy told Reuters. * One local contractor was killed by the landslide, Dedy said, adding that no others were missing. * Authorities are currently investigating the incident.

PT IMIP is the largest nickel-processing hub in resource-rich Indonesia and has over 50 tenants, mainly makers of nickel products used in stainless steel and EV battery materials, according to the company website.

Chinese steelmaker Tsingshan Holding Group is among PT IMIP’s shareholders.

QMB New Energy Materials is an Indonesia-based nickel and cobalt joint venture led by China’s GEM. QMB was forced to suspend almost all production in March 2025 after a deadly landslide buried four workers under nickel mine waste.

Neither Tsingshan nor GEM responded immediately to requests for comment, Reuters reported.

This post is based on https://www.instagram.com/reel/DU7UeMDiV4p/, https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/landslide-at-indonesia-morowali-nickel-hub-kills-one-worker, and https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/landslide-indonesias-morowali-nickel-hub-kills-one-halts-operations-2026-02-19/.