Alleged human rights and environmental abuses linked to China’s critical minerals supply chains are on the rise, with more recorded in Indonesia than any other country because of its booming nickel sector, according to a report released Wednesday.
Business and Human Rights Centre (BHRC), a non-governmental group based in the U.K., kept track of reports of alleged human rights abuses and environmental damage linked to Chinese companies’ overseas investments in supply chains of 11 minerals critical to the clean energy transition. The latest report is based on allegations recorded in 24 countries from 2023 to 2025.
It found a rising trend every year with Indonesia standing out as a hot spot with 96 allegations out of the 326 reported during the period, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (52), Myanmar (36), Serbia (32) and Zimbabwe (20).
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Nearly all alleged incidents in Indonesia are linked to its booming nickel industry. Huge investment by dozens of Chinese companies in recent years, including battery giant CATL, has turned the country into the world’s largest producer of nickel, a metal used in the production of stainless steel and high-density electric vehicle batteries.
The alleged abuses in Indonesia’s nickel sector range from unsafe working conditions, which led to injuries and fatal accidents, to environmental pollution in nickel mining and processing hubs such as on Sulawesi and Maluku islands.
The deadliest incident happened in 2023, when a nickel smelter furnace operated by Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel, a subsidiary of Chinese stainless giant Tsingshan, exploded in Morowali, Central Sulawesi province, killing 21 people.
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Imam Shofwan, of Indonesia’s Mining Advocacy Network, an NGO focusing on human rights and environmental issues in the mining industry, said the report “doesn’t surprise us at all.”
“This nickel downstream project was carried out with extreme recklessness,” Shofwan said, referring to the government’s push to develop a nickel processing industry and turn Indonesia into a major player in the global EV supply chain.
The proliferation of nickel smelters using China’s high-pressure acid leach (HPAL) technology in Indonesia is a particular concern, said Ian Hiscock, a lead critical minerals researcher at the Energy Shift Institute.
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Observers, however, remain skeptical that companies are making steps to ensure worker safety and limit environmental impact.
“Considering the recurring accidents with increasing numbers of victims, the lack of improvement in the agricultural and fisheries situation, and the increasing incidence of smoke-related respiratory illnesses, I believe the improvements are too small for such a large amount of damage,” Shofwan said.
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