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
