Indigenous Cek Bocek/Selesek Reen Sury people (recognized as Berco tribe) have filed a complaint against Indonesia’s PT Amman Mineral Nusa Tenggara (PT AMNT) at the Copper Mark for violations of multiple criteria of the leading assurance framework for copper value chain at its Elang mining project in the island of Sumbawa in West Nusa Tenggara. They have demanded immediate suspension of the PT AMNT’s Copper Mark certification and a full and independent investigation into the complaint submitted on 9 August – the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.
Opposition to mining in Sumbawa originated in the early 2000s when the PT Newmont Nusa Tenggara – a subsidiary of USA-based mining company, Newmont Corporation – commenced exploration activities in the concession it received overlapping with ancestral lands of the Cek Bocek people.[1] Despite persistent objections, operations proceeded without substantive consultation or consent in Batu Hijau mine now operated by PT AMNT that acquired the mine in 2016. Batu Hijau mine is the second largest copper and gold mine in Indonesia and one of the world’s top and one of the world’s top five copper-equivalent contained reserves.[2] In July 2024, PT AMNT received the Copper Mark for the Batu Hijau mine while it “partially met” the Copper Mark’s criterion on Indigenous Peoples’ rights as per independent assessment to receive the certification.[3]
In 2025, PT AMNT commenced Phase 8 mining operations at Batu Hijau, which will continue through 2030. Operations will then transition to Elang deposit – one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold resources discovered in 1991 – which is expected to be mined through 2046.[4] In parallel, they restarted exploration and drilling efforts across their concession areas while drilling efforts are ongoing at the Elang deposit.[5] PT AMNT is currently finalizing the Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) – a vital phase preceding the commencement of full-scale mining operations. For the Cek Bocek people, this stage represents a decisive moment that will determine their future.
“Our future is being determined at this stage. Without Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, the DFS serves only as a superficial exercise of legitimacy,” said Febriyan Anindita, Chairperson of Sumbawa chapter of Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN) – the national level federation of Indigenous Peoples of Indonesia. AMAN had earlier opposed the 2022 stakeholder mapping study for Batu Hijau mine, which had stated that the existence of Indigenous Peoples in Sumbawa was still a matter of debate, during the assessment of Batu Hijau mine for the Copper Mark certification.
In the complaint, the Cek Bocek people have noted their formal legal recognition as Indigenous People through a local regulation adopted in 2020. They have thus asserted that the PT AMNT has operated on their ancestral lands without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) descecrating their culturally significant sites, including ancestral graves.
As Indigenous leader Datu Sukanda stated, “Our ancestral lands embody not only physical territory but the soul and history of our people. To disregard our voices is to undermine our very existence.”
Further, as per the complaint, PT AMNT has engaged in deliberate “greenwashing” by omitting information about conflict with the community from its reports, and even violated a formal mediation agreement facilitated by Indonesia’s National Commision on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) between the company and the Cek Bocek people. Those actions constitute not only the breach of criteria of Copper Mark on FPIC, Human Rights, Stakeholder Engagement and Grievance Mechanism, but also clear violations of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, among other international human rights laws and standards.
“If our concerns in the complaint are disregarded, Copper Mark risks becoming a mere instrument of greenwashing for corporate interests,” added Febriyan Anindita of AMAN. “This is a call for recognition, respect, and justice that must be realized before it is irrevocably delayed.”
[1] https://sukuberco.com/berco-indigenous-community-challenges-pt-amnt-at-global-certification-forum-examining-the-commitment-to-sustainable-mining/
[2] https://www.amman.co.id/amman-mineral-nusa-tenggara
[3] https://coppermark.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Copper-Mark_AP_PT-Amman-Mineral-International-Tbk_summary-report_2024.07.23.xls
[4] https://www.amman.co.id/article/phase-8-batu-hijau-amman-s-strategic-transition-for-sustainable-mining-and-national-competitiveness#:~:text=This%20extension%20plays%20a%20critical,to%20be%20mined%20through%202046.
