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The death toll following the explosion of a smelting furnace at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Indonesia's Sulawesi island rose to 18 on Tuesday, as police ordered the plant to stop operations until an investigation into the incident is completed. The accident, which occurred on Sunday, was the latest in a series of deadly incidents at nickel smelting plants in Indonesia that are part of China's ambitious transnational development program known as the Belt and Road Initiative. Nickel is a key component in global battery production for electric vehicles. Four Chinese and nine Indonesian workers died instantly on Sunday when the furnace exploded while they were repairing it, said Central Sulawesi police chief Agus Nugroho. Three more victims died a day later while being treated at a local hospital. Two more workers died on Tuesday at the hospital, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18, including eight workers from China, said Deddy Kurniawan, a spokesperson for PT Indonesia
President Joe Biden will host Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the White House on Monday, one day before the US leader leaves for San Francisco to attend a summit of Asian leaders. The two presidents will share an afternoon tea and meet with top advisers, according to senior administration officials who insisted on anonymity to preview the schedule. They will also talk about ways to expand the trade of critical minerals like nickel, which can be used to produce electric vehicle batteries. Indonesia is the world's largest producer of nickel. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said they will explore opportunities to enhance cooperation on the clean energy transition, advance economic prosperity, bolster regional peace and stability, and reinforce our people-to-people ties. Biden's meeting with Widodo comes shortly before he sits down with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Indonesia is the world's third-large
Vast mineral deposits in the Indian Ocean can make India self-sufficient in nickel and cobalt, a top official of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) said on Tuesday. Nickel and cobalt are critical ingredients in the lithium-ion batteries used in most electric vehicles, which are zero-emission automobiles. Praising the Indian government's efforts in this direction through its Deep Ocean Mission, Michael W Lodge, ISA's Secretary-General, also exuded confidence that India can become a global leader in deep sea mining. He was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of International Conference on Seabed Mining', held at the Gujarat National Law University in Gandhinagar. India was one of the very first pioneer investors in deep sea mining, starting from the 1980s. In recent years, there has been enormous progress. Under the Deep Ocean Mission, India's progress was phenomenal. India has the potential to become a global leader in deep sea mineral exploration and exploitation, said ...