Revealed: Newly-discovered orangutan species is ‘being driven to extinction’ by British firm’s goldmine

The latest on the fight to save the Tapanuli orangutan:

The Tapanuli orangutan, which is the rarest great ape in the world, was discovered by scientists in 2017, the first great ape to be discovered for a century. It only lives in the Batangtoru Forest, in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and there are just 800 of the charismatic primates left.

Unfortunately for the great ape and those trying to protect it, its only habitat sits on top of a rich seam of gold – which is currently being mined by a British company. Environment minister Lord Goldsmith has said the company has a “moral obligation” to stop degrading the environment.

The business, Jardine Matheson, which has been run by the same British family, the Keswicks, since the Victorian era, bought the Martabe gold mine in 2018 through a subsidiary called Astra International. They have expanded it further into the habitat of the orangutan ever since. Based in Hong Kong, and domiciled in Bermuda, Jardine Matheson has business interests across the globe and owns the Mandarin Oriental hotel chain.

Read the full piece in The Telegraph, featuring research from Mighty Earth and MapHubs.