The Martabe Gold Mine is a gold mining project on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The project is located in the Critically Endangered Tapanuli orangutan (Pongo tapanuliensis)’s habitat, of which only several hundred individuals remain. The operator of the mine is PT Agincourt Resources, a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (JMHL). Mining operations began in 2012, and the project is currently looking to expand its operations. The presence of the Tapanuli orangutans and of a Key Biodiversity Area, which is also an Alliance for Zero Extinction site, within the concession makes it an extremely sensitive project to make any geographic mining expansion. The ARRC Task Force was contacted by JMLH in 2020 in order to align with best practice standards (IFC PS6) and improve the mitigation of its impacts on orangutans. The ARRC Task Force signed a MoU with JMLH in 2022 that ended in December 2022, but did not renew the initial engagement in 2024 following issues that could not be resolved (see August 2024 Statement below). In 2025, the ARRC Task Force signed a new MoU with Agincourt Resources, including additional commitments in favor of the conservation of the Tapanuli orangutan.
