"According to the preliminary investigation, the cause of the explosion may be that there was still some explosion-inducing liquid at the bottom of the furnace and an explosion occurred during maintenance," a spokesman for the Morovali Industrial Park said in a statement.
Sulawesi is rich in laterite nickel deposits, and Chinas Qingshan Holding Group invested in Central Sulawesi province in 2009 to build the Morovali Industrial Park, nickel processing plants and steel mills. (File photo via Reuters)
Morovali Industrial Park is a nickel-processing industrial park jointly developed by Chinas Qingshan Holding Group and Indonesias Bintang Delapan. Tsingshan Holding Group is the majority shareholder of Tsingshan Stainless Steel Factory in Indonesia.
Nickel is an essential ingredient in stainless steel and electric car batteries. Sulawesi has rich laterite nickel ore reserves and production, but the development of local nickel ore processing industry is restricted by weak infrastructure, backward technology and insufficient talents. Helped by Chinese investors, Indonesia has become the worlds leading producer of stainless steel.
The spokesman confirmed that the dead included eight Indonesian workers and five Chinese workers, and 38 people were injured. Park director Rahmansia told the Indonesian media "Luo Pan", 15 Indonesians and 10 foreigners have to be sent to hospital for treatment, 17 of them are in serious condition.