The last frontier': how red globules of nickel ore are suffocating an island's precious wilderness

"Laterite deposits are created by intense humidity and tropical weathering of rock and so they form in the tropics, often in hotspots for biodiversity and rich, intact rainforests. These deposits account for about 70% of the world's reserves of nickel, a mineral now in high demand for manufacturing batteries, especially for electric cars and clean energy infrastructure."

"At low tide here in Brooke's Point on Palawan, a long, rugged island in the south-west of the Philippines archipelago, the coral is just under the surface. Beneath his feet are brain-like mounds and curling fingers of coral. Now, almost everything is the same dull khaki, covered by a thick film of silt."

"Plunging his hands into the water, Tambiling, a farmer and Indigenous leader from the nearby village, draws up a thick, viscous clump of goop: grey threaded with orange. Laterite, he says, his face set in a grim line against the drizzle. Moharen Tahil Tambiling says rice plants on his farm in Brooke's Point, Palawan, have died because of laterite in the water."

Nickel laterite mining operations in Brooke's Point, Palawan, Philippines are causing severe environmental degradation. Laterite, a red ore containing 70% of the world's nickel reserves, forms in tropical regions with high biodiversity and intact rainforests. The mining process releases silt that smothers coral reefs, turning vibrant corals dull khaki. Agricultural lands are also affected, with rice plants dying from laterite-contaminated water. International mining companies have been attracted to Palawan due to global demand for nickel, driven by electric vehicle battery manufacturing and clean energy infrastructure development. Indigenous communities and local farmers face direct impacts from these extraction activities.

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