JAKARTA — Norway’s $1.6 trillion state pension fund has dropped French miner Eramet from its investment portfolio over its role in a vast Indonesian nickel mine accused of destroying rainforest and threatening one of the world’s few remaining uncontacted Indigenous groups. The Government Pension Fund Global, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, held a 0.44% stake in Eramet worth $6.8 million as of June 30, according to fund data. The divestment followed a recommendation from the fund’s Council on Ethics, which cited “an unacceptable risk” of severe environmental damage and gross human rights violations from Eramet’s operations in Indonesia. The decision comes as Indonesian authorities revealed that PT Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), the Eramet-operated mine in Halmahera, was running 148 hectares (366 acres) of unlicensed mining inside state forest. Authorities have since seized back the land. Indonesia is the world’s top producer of nickel, is a key ingredient in electric vehicle batteries, making the mine’s output critical to the global energy transition. But the Weda Bay case highlights the mounting tension between demand for “green” minerals and the destruction of tropical ecosystems and Indigenous lands. Eramet’s Weda Bay Nickel mine on the territory of the uncontacted Forest Tobelo people in Halmahera, Indonesia. Image courtesy of Survival International. Biodiversity hotspot under threat Weda Bay Nickel is the world’s largest nickel mine, located on Halmahera Island, part of the Wallacea Biodiversity Hotspot. A 2024 assessment identified the entire mining concession as critical habitat under International Finance Corporation (IFC) standards — home to…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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