THE security post with wooden walls was empty. Instead of blocking the road, the iron barrier arm in front of the post was left open. The five-meter wide road in Bahomotefe village, Bungku Tengah, Morowali Regency, is one of the entrances to Vale Indonesia’s nickel mining area in Central Sulawesi.

One afternoon at the end of March, there were no trucks passing over the dirt road to carry nickel ores from Vale’s concession area. In Ce