Nickel processing industry activities need to prioritize sustainable and responsible practices to reduce the environmental or social impacts they cause. Commitment to carrying out this industrial activity can be demonstrated, among other things, through International Standardization Organization (ISO) certification.

One of the commitments in implementing nickel processing with sustainable and responsible practices was emphasized by Harita Nickel. This commitment is demonstrated through obtaining ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems.

ISO 14001 : 2015 certification focuses on the effectiveness of environmental management systems which include important aspects, such as environmental risk evaluation, regulatory compliance, and continuous improvement. Meanwhile, ISO 45001: 2018 certification requires a consistent process in identifying hazards, reducing risks, and preventing injuries and health problems in the workplace.

To obtain this ISO certification, Harita Nickel underwent a series of audit activities carried out by auditors from Societe Generale de Surveillance (SGS) Indonesia. The process of handing over the certificate from SGS Indonesia to Harita was carried out in Jakarta, Wednesday (13/12/2023).

Director of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Harita Nickel Tonny Gultom said that nickel mining requires a long time and process. This makes nickel mining activities receive a lot of attention from various parties, not only from the production aspect, but also social and environmental responsibility.

 
Director of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Harita Nickel Tonny Gultom (right) receives ISO 14001 certification for environmental management systems and ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems in Jakarta, Wednesday (13/12/2023).

"This certification is very important because it is our commitment to carrying out sustainable practices. "Therefore, the audit was carried out from the document aspect to implementation in the field," he said in a media discussion about world-class environmental and safety management in the nickel processing industry in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Harita has been administering ISO 45001 and ISO 14001 certification since 2020, starting with an agreement and commitment to implementation by all organizational functions in the HSE management system. Then in 2022 an assessment will be carried out based on the National Standards for Occupational Safety Management System Certification from the Ministry of Manpower.

After that, in February 2023 Harita received ISO45001 certification from SGS-United Kingdom Accreditation Service (SGS-UKAS) in the management of occupational health and safety management systems. Nine months later, Harita received ISO 14001 SGS-UKAS certification for environmental management systems.

Various provisions or regulations from the government become our reference in operating, both in social and environmental aspects.

According to Tony, this certification was also obtained because Harita had identified environmental risks according to established standards. After carrying out mining activities, reclamation is also carried out to organize, restore, improve environmental quality and maintain the ecosystem within.

One of the mining practices also refers to the Decree of the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Number 1827 of 2018 concerning Guidelines for Implementing Good Mining Engineering Principles. The mining process starts from clearing the land, stripping top soil, removing overburden, taking limonite ore to be processed in the factory, closing the mine hole, to reclamation and revegetation.

 
Waste storage ponds in the Harita Nickel group's nickel mining and processing industrial area on Obi Island, South Halmahera, North Maluku, Saturday (25/11/2023).

"In ESDM regulations, reclamation obligations are referred to international standards. This reclamation is included in the planning document. In fact, we provide guarantees in the form of reclamation funds. "The company spends funds twice, namely to carry out reclamation and the funds are deposited in the bank which can be disbursed if it is declared to have met the criteria for successful reclamation," said Tonny.

Apart from that, the company also created sediment ponds as a container for sedimentation to purify the flow of water coming out of the mining area. Meanwhile, the remaining ferronickel smelter production is processed into building material products, such as paving blocks and bricks.

In accordance with the provisions

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) and Management System Manager Harita Nickel Suprianto explained that the management of the health, safety and environmental (HSE) system is carried out in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Then, management document guidelines are also prepared to create controlled and sustainable operations.

"Various provisions or regulations from the government are our reference in operating, both in social and environmental aspects. "For example, in emergency management, we are required to make improvements every year," he said.

SGS Indonesia Knowledge Director Waras Putri Andrianti stated that getting ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certification was not easy. This requires high commitment from management to staff as well as consistent implementation and continuous improvement of the standards set.

PT Trimegah Bangun Persada Tbk or Harita Nickel is part of the Harita Group which operates sustainable integrated nickel mining and processing on Obi Island, South Halmahera, North Maluku. Since 2016, Harita Nickel has had a nickel saprolite smelter (smelter). Then in 2021, the company will also have nickel limonite processing and refining facilities (refinery) in the same operational area.

Harita Nickel is listed as a company with the initiation of processing and refining nickel limonite (low grade) with high pressure acid leach (HPAL) technology. This technology is able to process nickel limonite which was not previously utilized into a product of strategic value in the form of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP).

With the same technology, MHP as an intermediate product has been successfully processed into final products in the form of nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate which are core material for making cathodes for new energy sources, namely electric vehicle batteries.

Image source: KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Source: www.kompas.id/Sertifikasi ISO Tandai Komitmen Pemrosesan Nikel yang Berkelanjutan