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Foto: Vale Indonesia
com.liferay.portal.kernel.util.DateUtil_IW@7db2c414
Foto: Vale Indonesia

Our Commitment

Lake Matano is a testament to the performance of our water and effluent management. We make serious investments to treat runoff water before it is discharged into the environment.

We analyze processed effluent periodically, which will be channeled into the tributary to Lake Matano. The analysis aims to ensure compliance with the quality standards according to the Minister of Environment Regulation No. 9 of 2006 concerning Wastewater Quality Standards for Nickel Ore Mining Businesses and/or Activities.

Together Reducing the Intensity of Water Consumption

We strive to optimize water use for every tonne of nickel in matte produced, in accordance with PT Vale's Water Efficiency and Wastewater Pollution Load Reduction Policy.

The most significant need for water is for hydropower operations on the Larona River, with water sources from Lake Matano, Mahalona and Towuti. Water from the lake is channeled into a dam reservoir and passed down a canal to drive turbines. The amount of water consumed is equal to the water taken from the lake. No water is drawnfrom the water stress area.

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Our commitment to protecting the three lakes also supports the lake's status as a Natural Tourism Park Conservation Area, based on Minister of Agriculture Decree No. 274/Kpts/ Um/4/1979 dated 24 April 1979.

Total water use in 2023 is 7,561,108 m3, a decrease of 11% from the previous year's consumption. Meanwhile, the water consumption intensity value in 2023 reached 106.9 m3/Ton Ni, lower than 2022‘s 141.77 m3/ton Ni, or 0.14 Megaliters/ton Ni.

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Water Consumption Intensity Value

Description: 1 m3 conversion is equivalent to 0.001 Megaliter. Water consumption in 2023 is lower than in 2022.

Throughout 2023 PT Vale has made a number of efforts to boost water consumption efficiency, namely:

  • Monitoring water consumption by installing flow meters on water distribution lines from reservoirs to factory areas.

  • Implementing water recycling in Lamella Gravity Settlers to produce a ferrous sulphate solution of 2,000 cubic meters.

  • Utilizing recycled water from production processes for slag cooling, totaling 385,000 cubic meters.

  • Implementing the SWAP (Steam, Water, Air, and Power) online monitoring system to monitor water consumption and promptly identify pipe leakage locations on the water distribution network.

Effluent Management

In an effort to comply applicable laws and regulations, an independent, accredited laboratory conducts regular monitoring and analysis of our effluents. The analysis was carried out using the SNI 6989.59:2008 Water and Wastewater methods, as well as methods according to American Public Health Association (APHA) standards. 

The inspection results in 2022 found that the quality of the company’s processed effluent has met the quality standards.

The effluent management performance cannot be separated from the instruments and resources that we allocated thoughtfully. To control effluent from the mining area and processing plant, we built more than 100 settling ponds in the Sorowako Block. Settling ponds are equipped with two liquid waste treatment facilities to reduce pollution of water bodies, namely:

  • Pakalangkai Wastewater Treatment, which has been operating since 2013.
  • Lamella Gravity Settler (LGS), which has been operating since 2014.

LGS technology is a standard technology in water purification for the processing of drinking water raw materials. The first LGS technology for mining in Indonesia is the result of 2 years of research and collaboration with BPPT (Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology). 

The construction of this facility is a form of the company's compliance with the Regulation of the Minister of the Environment No. 9 of 2006 concerning Wastewater Quality Standards for Nickel Ore Mining Business and/or Activities.

Liquid waste treatment is accompanied by regularly checking lake water quality with independent institutions. The results of measurements of TSS and Cr6+ levels in Lake Matano and Lake Mahalona are consistently far below the quality standards of the government and APHA.

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PT Vale is the first mine to use LGS technology.


Liquid waste treatment is also accompanied by regular lake water quality checks.

Water quality checks are carried out with an independent team.

The results of measurements of TSS and Cr6+ levels in Lake Matano and Lake Mahalona are always far below the quality standards set by the government.

Effluent Quality Measurement Results for 2023

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