The geographical faces of the island include forests, hills, coconut plantations, rocky outcrops, mangroves and pristine beaches.

Land animals include Javanese deer (Rusa timorensis), tarsier (Carlito syrichta - a nocturnal arboreal primate), common cuscus (Phalanger orientalis), Asian water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) and wild boar (Sus scrofa).

[9] Bangka Island is located close to Bunaken Marine National Park, a popular marine-based international tourism destination.

[13] PT MMP and local government officials pressed ahead with the mining plan, insisting it would bring economic benefits.

[14] The Director of PT MMP, Yang Yongjian, accused a non-government organization of masterminding anti-mining protests in an effort to extort money from his company, but he did not name the NGO.

[15] Manado Administrative Court (in Decision No.04/G.TUN/2012/PTUN.MDO) on 30 August 2012, rejected a lawsuit by Bangka residents and tourism operators to cancel the exploration permit.

[22] A campaign to prevent the planned mining gained national attention after receiving support from veteran Indonesian rock band Slank.

[24] PT MMP's production permit had been issued on 17 July 2014 by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik, who in 2016 was jailed for corruption.

The Supreme Court ruling was not enforced until Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan issued a decree on 23 March 2017, formally revoking the permit.

Yang Yonjian complained the revocation was a violation of a "Peace Deed" signed between PT MMP and a representative of the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on 15 June 2016.

Yang accused some government administrative agencies of conspiring with criminal syndicates to mix up judicial authority, resulting in what he claimed was the wrongful revocation of his company's production permit.

The meeting resulted in the issuance of a document formally rejecting PT MMP's efforts to re-activate its production permit.

PT MMP, which had invested $105 million in developing its iron ore production facility, responded by demanding sanctions against the state officials who attended the meeting.