Indonesian Rainforests Turned Into Open-Cast Mining Pits to Improve Range of High-End Electric Vehicles

Eco Smugs sitting in their top-of-the-range electric vehicles are probably unaware, or perhaps don’t want to know, about the unfolding ecological tragedy in the virgin tropical rainforests of Indonesia. Higher EV ranges have been achieved by adding nickel to lithium-ion batteries, an addition that has also boosted the performance of some public transport buses in cities like London. As with many green ‘advances’, the ecological cost is horrendous. Over half the world’s supply of nickel is located in Indonesia and much of that is to be found just a few feet below unspoilt rainforests. Cue massive deforestation and extensive rollout of smelters and even EV battery factories.

Most of Indonesia’s nickel reserves are on the islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera. Nickel deposits are typically found in rock between 20 and 50 feet below the surface and are easily extracted by open-cast mining. Many of the mining concessions are in forest lands, often secondary growths but with significant burials under the older, undisturbed mature rainforests. Undisturbed until now. In 2020, Indonesia banned the export of nickel ore, which led to the introduction of local metal processing facilities. Significant destruction has occurred in the rainforests, converting habitats into open-pit mines and industrial parks. If carbon dioxide is your thing, it might be an idea to consider all the stored CO₂ released to make so-called eco, planet-saving car batteries. Not to mention the loss and possible extinction of endemic species and the local wastewater contamination running into the sea and harming nearby coral reefs.

Satellite data along with local reports suggest that primary forest loss is heading for 100,000 hectares. Another half a million hectares are feared at immediate risk due to booming demand and the 2020 nickel ore export ban. Local forest canopies are often dominated by dipterocarp trees and they are prized for their resin and hardwood. Selective logging targeting the most valuable specimens is followed by full clearance for the pits and the smelters. Ultramafic soils, formed in places where tectonic forces bring up rocks from the Earth’s mantle, host unique flora which have adapted to the local habitat.

Human existence requires the exploitation of the Earth’s natural resources. Land to grow food, ground to dig for essential metals and space to build shelter. But there is something terribly wrong about digging up some of the last remaining virgin rainforests solely to help power a vehicle that it is claimed will stop the climate changing. Moreover, many of the people promoting these new machines argue that they are more eco-friendly than a petrol vehicle – a car powered by a natural hydrocarbon easily extracted by putting a temporary pipe into the ground.

Of course the hypocrisy around EVs does not stop there. There are not enough children in the Congo to mine all the cobalt required, while the country of China that is now taking over EV manufacture is hardly a shining beacon of virtue when it comes to human rights and employment practices.

But all of this is a price the Eco Smugs seem prepared to pay. High-subsidy, low-inertia onshore wind turbines kill millions of bats and birds every year, with large gliding raptors such as eagles at particular risk. The countryside is swept of insects with every turn of the blades, helping to produce local ecological disaster areas. Once productive food-growing land is turned into dead zones by subsidy-seeking solar panels. In the UK, the offshore turbines are a menace to national security, with the Defence Department recently forced to spend £1.5 billion on a hoped-for cure for unreliable radar readings caused by the Doppler effect. Off the east coast of America, the whales can relax a little as massive industrial offshore wind parks are curtailed. Deafened by sonic noise and harassed by heavy industrial shipping, record numbers have beached on the shore over the last decade. Nobody looks, nobody cares and the mainstream media largely ignores the ecological scandal.

Nickel is a relatively expensive metal and its use in cheaper EVs is limited. But nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries offer higher energy density and help increase range. NMCs are currently the norm for premium EVs and they effectively prioritise performance over other available alternatives. Jaguar Land Rover’s supply chain investments have targeted nickel as essential for batteries that will power its new ‘Reimagine’ all-electric offerings for 2026. Undoubtedly aware of possible PR sourcing difficulties, the company says it employs inspectors to ensure responsible practices in securing supplies of materials such as nickel and cobalt. 

There may be a genuine effort on the part of publicity-conscious companies like JLR to avoid being primarily responsible for digging up the rainforest. But an overall increase in demand that is fed by higher-performance batteries will inevitably lead to the ghastly sight of virgin rainforest being felled to assuage the ‘range-anxiety’ felt by rich Net Zero-inspired motorists.

Chris Morrison is the Daily Sceptic’s Environment Editor. Follow him on X.