The Martable gold mining project could have devastating impacts on the survival of the Critically Endangered Tapanuli Orangutan, whose habitat overlaps with the mining area.
PT Agincourt Resources, a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson, plans to resume exploration activities at the Martabe Gold Mine in Sumatra, Indonesia. These activities overlap with the Batang Toru Key Biodiversity Area, which is an internationally recognized designation for the most important places in the world for biodiversity. It is also an Alliance for Zero Extinction site, recognized as a last refuge for Endangered (EN) or Critically Endangered (CR) species, in this case the CR Tapanuli orangutan. Recently, multiple articles have come out detailing the controversy around the resumption of exploration and the threats to this unique site and the last remaining Tapanuli orangutans.
Read Agincourt's statement here (19 January 2024)
Check out Mongabay's article, "Bid to mitigate gold mine's impact on orangutans hit by stonewalling, data secrecy" to read more about the Task Force's engagement that was discontinued.
Read "Jardine Matheson unit’s Indonesia gold mine seen as threat to world’s rarest great ape" published by the Financial Times (3 February 2024)