Nickel Mining Dispute Heats Up, PT Position Allegedly Opens Forest Without Permit In East Halmahera

JAKARTA The nickel mining dispute between PT Wana Kencana Mineral (WKM) and PT Position in East Halmahera continues to heat up. The trial which took place at the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, entered the stage of proof and raised allegations of illegal mining (illegal mining) by PT Position.

PT WKM's attorney, Rolas Sitinjak, confirmed that PT Position is suspected of clearing forest land without a valid permit. The trial fact is clear, the Annual Work Plan (RKT) does not yet exist, but they have penetrated the forest. In fact, according to the Forestry Law, cutting down a tree trunk without a permit is not allowed, let alone paving the 10-kilometer road," said Rolas after the trial.

In the trial, the witness presented by the public prosecutor (JPU), namely the Director of Operations of PT Position, Hari Aryanto Dharmaputra, admitted that he did not know the details of the road clearing on state-owned forestry land. In fact, he reported the alleged loss of the company to the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Police.

Rolas assessed that PT Position only received a permit to use roads for the transportation of mining products. However, the company actually widened roads, excavated land, and damaged the country's forests. This activity is suspected to have caused considerable state losses.

"The state loss is huge. The road is opened more than 10 kilometers, the depth is 15 meters, and the width is up to 100 meters. There is nickel (ore) content. Where is the ore? This is clearly illegal mining," said Rolas.

Alleged Illegal Mining

This case dragged two employees of PT WKM, Badminton Hafidz and Marsel Bialembang, as defendants. According to Rolas, the accusation was odd because the installation of stakes carried out by PT WKM was actually aimed at protecting their mining business permit area (IUP) from adding.

"Our client installed stakes so that no party would harm WKM and to prevent illegal mining. Surprisingly, it was PT Position that reported it to the police, even though it was not their territory," he said.

Another PT WKM attorney, OC Kaligis, added that the official report of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources had mentioned the alleged illegal mining by PT Position. However, the report was not followed up by the police.

"The alleged illegal mining is not what we said, but the ESDM Law Enforcement. They are in the field. It would be strange if the official report was ignored, while the Position report was processed," said Kaligis.

Urges Apparatus And KPK To Intervene

Kaligis also questioned the calculation of the loss called PT Position. According to him, this figure cannot be used as a reference because it is not carried out by a credible institution. "The calculation itself without a legal basis is clearly invalid. It should be audited at least by licensed accountants," he said.

Rolas added that PT WKM's report on alleged illegal mining was stopped with SP3. On the other hand, the PT Position report made WKM positioned as the guilty party.

"This is not just an administrative violation, but a serious crime that must get the attention of law enforcement officials," concluded Rolas.

Kaligis emphasized that this case needs serious attention, including the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), considering the potential for large state losses due to illegal mining activities.