On February 26, 2026, a fire at PT Huafei Nickel Cobalt, located within the Indonesia Weda Bay Industrial Park (IWIP) in Halmahera Tengah, Maluku Utara Province, Indonesia, drew market attention. In response, Huafei officially stated that a sudden heavy downpour caused a small amount of rainwater to seep into the quicklime storage warehouse. This triggered an exothermic reaction with the quicklime, which subsequently ignited the woven packaging bags. The flames appeared more intense than they actually were due to the dim evening light. Following the incident, Huafei's professional firefighting team responded immediately and quickly extinguished the burning material. There were no casualties, and property damage was minimal. After an investigation by local police, the site was confirmed safe with no remaining hazards, and production has gradually returned to normal.
Additionally, around the same time, a valve malfunction occurred on one of Huafei's sulphuric acid production lines, causing a momentary release of high-pressure steam and an unusual noise. Although brief, the noise caused some minor disturbance to the surrounding area. Huafei apologized for the inconvenience and stated that stricter operating procedures will be implemented to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
Written by Cora Ji, jiruyan@mysteel.com
