Driving Sustainability: Vale's Mine Quality Aligns with Global Standards

Driving Sustainability, Vale’s Mine Quality Aligns with Global Standards

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Bernardus Irmanto, President Director and CEO of PT Vale Indonesia Tbk, spoke frankly about mining issues that are often framed as destructive, attracting heavy scrutiny. He noted that mining is the backbone of civilisation and that less than 1% of the land used for mining globally is involved.

Especially for nickel and several other minerals, much is used to drive the energy transition for good purposes. Nickel, as is known, is a key raw material for the cathode of electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy storage systems, as well as for wind turbine infrastructure materials and efficient transmission networks.

“I am bold to tell the public that the nickel produced by Vale is sustainable nickel,” he said at the Jogja Financial Festival 2026, on Saturday, 23 May 2026.

Indonesia, he added, is very blessed to possess abundant nickel deposits and is number one in the world. The challenge now is how the country and industry players can convert those large deposits into value and responsibility.

According to him, in recent years we have focused on maximising production to achieve greater value. Yet we must consider market developments and technology, and the fact that large-scale production can also depress nickel prices.

“So the big question now—what I see as the most important issues—the how and the why—are crucial in supporting the energy transition. And the aim is to produce nickel responsibly,” he explained.

For example, there is cobalt production in Congo; people shun cobalt because of campaigns about cobalt in Congo that production is not responsible. Therefore Vale is not willing to be like that. Vale, he said, always shows responsibility. Vale positions itself not only as a producer but as a leader in sustainability and biodiversity.

“I want to position Vale to bring positive impacts on forests; if we open 1 hectare of land, we can improve 1.5 hectares. We say Vale’s mine quality is far better, following national and international standards. We are confident the nickel produced is not merely a commodity but carries a energy transition agenda. It is not good for the energy transition to proceed while we damage the environment,” he said.