Petition urges Sumitomo Metal Mining halt Philippine nickel projects over water risks
Ahead of Sumitomo Metal Mining’s June 25 AGM, a petition signed by 11,315 people in 64 countries was resubmitted urging it to immediately suspend the Coral Bay processing and Rio Tuba mining projects in Palawan. The petition cites over 15 years of toxic heavy-metal contamination near the Togpon River, with rainy-season hexavalent chromium exceeding Japanese and Philippine standards, and criticizes SMM for refusing to disclose the numeric limits needed to evaluate compliance, while expansion threatens biodiversity and Indigenous livelihoods.