The long, suspenseful journey to Indonesia's nickel ‘paradise'

Asia News Network

14-07-2025

July 14, 2025
RAJA AMPAT – The recent brouhaha over nickel mining operations in Southwest Papua's Raja Ampat regency, a UNESCO Global Geopark known as the 'world's last paradise', exposed the stark contrast between tourism and mining, and that the two industries should not exist in such close proximity.
The stories gathered by The Jakarta Post from a trip to Raja Ampat in late June, only two weeks after the controversy broke out, paint a complex picture of parties with multiple interests who were convinced that mining and tourism could coexist, insisting that the tensions had arose over ways to make this possible.
The tension is very much palpable on Gag Island, home to the mining operation run by PT Gag Nikel, the only company that was allowed to continue with its activities despite their closeness to the popular marine tourism haven.
Getting to Gag Island was not easy, as it is only accessible by sea but beyond the reach of scheduled passenger boats, making chartering or 'piggybacking' the only options available for visitors.
Gag Island is located far to the west of Waisai, Raja Ampat's main transit town on Waigeo Island, making the trip unnecessarily long and expensive. It takes around five hours to make a one-way trip on a small boat equipped with twin 1-liter, 50-horsepower Yamaha outboard motors.
The water around Raja Ampat is calm, especially during the peak season between October and April, but boats still have to slow down at certain spots to dodge reefs or floating woody debris, sometimes massive, which can puncture the hull, if not damage the outboard's propellers.
Outside the peak tourist season, the winds can be more unpredictable, the seas choppier and storms more likely. Yet the small islands and reefs in the region serve as natural barriers for potentially high waves, making the trip relatively comfortable.
The biggest challenge in traveling to Gag Island is the uncertain weather. When the Post traveled to the island on June 19, a massive downpour hit as soon as we set sail, bringing visibility to just 150 to 250 meters. As visual navigation was impossible we veered off course several times, only finding our way back after the rain had stopped.
We weren't sure if five hours should be enough time to reach Gag Island, since the local residents varied in their answers as to how long the journey would take from Waigeo.
Barred entry
Before setting out, we secured permission via text messages from Mustajir, Gag Nikel's Jakarta-based legal manager. But this turned out to be a fruitless effort, as workers at the mine denied us entry.
We docked at a pier next to an entrance to the workers' quarter and adjacent to the loading bay for barges transporting nickel ores, where the company's security personnel were the first to greet us.
Our arrival appeared to cause quite a commotion, with security officers squawking their walkie-talkies multiple times while others checked their phones constantly, trying to obtain confirmation for our visit. No one had the authority to speak to us, and our attempt at small talk only elicited the same response: 'The company's representatives will answer that.'
In the end, three staffers from Gag Nikel's community development team agreed to spare a few minutes for an interview, but the mine was strictly off-limits. They offered no clear reasons as to why we weren't allowed in, other than saying that it would be a hassle to give us the required safety briefing and protective gear.
One employee named Haris gave the most intriguing reason: Driving to the mine could invite unwanted attention from outside parties. He also recounted a mysterious incident involving an unidentified helicopter doing flybys over the island in the last few days.
Gag Nikel may have kept its license, but it had to suspend its operations on June 5 to make way for what the government's so-called 'evaluation'. As a result, most of the company's divisions temporarily stopped work, especially those related to nickel production, the staffers said.
Suspicion abounds
We discovered our ordeal was far from over when we decided to leave the island. As we sailed away, we stopped by a barge loaded with nickel ore to snap a few photos when we were intercepted by a verbally irate resident: 'Go away already! The villagers are angry!'
Curiously enough, we looked around only to see an empty beach without the presence of a single person, let alone an angry one, leading us to surmise that whoever yelled had been one of the company's workers.
That incident over, we sailed back the way we came as a man on a longboat tailed us, but diverting slightly further south to see if we could get pictorial evidence of the island's mining operations. Our unknown companion soon caught up with us, however, and we immediately made our way out of the bay.
The mine is located inland, so nothing but an old pier and the road leading to the mine can be seen from the sea to the island's southeast. Very little is visible of the environmental impacts from the mine's activities, except for a few deforested patches of land.
The man continued to tail us on his longboat but before he could close the distance in any significant way, we pretended to sail eastward and the trick prompted him to head back to the bay.
Sailing on southward again, we took some more pictures until we spotted an unidentified ship coming toward us: That was our cue to head back to Waigeo.
It turns out we were not the only ones treated with intimidation tactics. A similar experience happened to Greenpeace Indonesia activists when they visited Kawe Island, where PT Kawei Sejahtera Mining (KSM) operates a nickel mine.
This only reflects the tension brewing in the area after the government revoked the permits of some mining companies, especially the strain among those that fought for the smooth operation of their businesses in both mining and tourism.
Local protectionism
The local community that holds the customary land rights to Kawe Island have installed barricades to prevent outsiders from reaching the area, effectively stopping any tourism activities in their territory. Since they also have authority over Wayag Island, the community has closed off visitors to the popular tourist spot known for its majestic karst formations.
These barricades are indiscriminate, and the community even denied access to a local legislative councilor when he attempted to visit Kawe. In fact, Southwest Papua Governor Elisa Kambu canceled her planned trip to the island on June 11 due to security concerns.
A similar blockade was also put up by the inhabitants of Manyaifun Island, where PT Mulia Raymond Perkasa (MRP) had started exploration for mineral deposits before the government moved to suspend the activity.
On June 25, the opposing sides on the island agreed a truce brokered by local police officers and took down the barricade.
It seems calm has returned to parts of Raja Ampat, at least for now.