Malili, October 16, 2026 – PT Vale Indonesia Tbk ("Vale Indonesia" or the "Company") continues to uphold its commitment to conducting responsible mining operations. This commitment is reflected in the Company's efforts to maintain the sustainability of food security for communities within its operational areas following the Marine Fuel Oil (MFO) spill incident.
To ensure the continuity of food security for affected communities, Vale Indonesia collaborated with various expert institutions, including IPB Consulting, the ICBB Laboratory, the BRMP Agricultural Postharvest Laboratory, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Agriculture and Food Security Office of East Luwu Regency to analyze and assess the impact of the oil spill on food crops through a scientific approach. The results showed that all rice grain samples harvested from the demonstration plot areas met food quality and safety standards. Accordingly, the rice was declared safe for consumption.
The testing of the rice harvested from the demonstration plots was part of a series of remediation efforts initiated by Vale Indonesia in collaboration with the East Luwu Regency Government, the Towuti Agricultural Extension Center (BPP), and Bogor Agricultural University (IPB).
Head of External Relations Sorowako & Outer Area of Vale Indonesia, Yusri Yunus, stated, "We have a strong commitment to conducting responsible company operations, including under special circumstances where operational risks occur. In relation to this incident, in addition to cleaning up the affected areas immediately after the event, we also wanted to ensure that local community farmland is clean and can return to productivity with crops that are safe for consumption. This scientific assessment forms part of the Company's commitment to ensuring that the entire agricultural economic value chain in Towuti District can return to normal operations without ecological constraints."
"We fully understand the concerns faced by farmers since this oil spill incident occurred. To address these concerns, we have taken mitigation measures to restore a sense of security and certainty regarding community livelihoods. The results of these independent laboratory tests serve as evidence that with proper management, agricultural land can remain productive and generate food that is safe for consumption," explained Yusri Yunus.
"The Company has implemented an agricultural assistance program for areas affected by the MFO spill in Towuti District immediately following the incident to ensure that farming activities could continue throughout one full cultivation cycle, from February to September 2026, on affected lands located in Molindowe Hamlet, Lioka Village; Polapi Hamlet, Lioka Village; Baruga; Langkea Raya; Matompi; and Timampu," added Yusri Yunus.
Meanwhile, East Luwu Regent Irwan Bachri Syam, who attended and directly led the Presentation of the Rice Demonstration Plot Test Results, expressed appreciation for the collaboration and synergy among all parties involved in the various efforts to address the oil pipeline leak incident, ranging from the cleanup of all affected areas, identification of affected assets, compensation payments, implementation of the rice demonstration plot program, to the testing of rice harvested from the demonstration plots, which was declared safe.
Mursalim, a farmer from Timampu Village, said, "Based on the results presented by the two laboratories, we can conclude that the next planting season can proceed because the harvest has been declared fit for consumption," after attending the Presentation of the Rice Demonstration Plot Test Results held at the East Luwu Regent's Office.
The series of holistic response measures implemented since the beginning of the incident through the laboratory testing phase represents the Company's concrete commitment. All of these efforts have been fully focused on ensuring that communities can resume their agricultural activities with confidence and achieve improved levels of productivity.
