"I pointed the machete at their faces. I told them: 'If you scratch this land, heads will fly, we will defend this land to the death'," said 42-year-old villager Royani, recounting a recent encounter with some of the miners.

The dig site is part of a huge rush by domestic and foreign enterprises to mine the critical component used in electric vehicle batteries.  Indonesia is the world’s largest nickel producer.

Residents and rights groups told AFP the boom threatens farmers' land rights and harms the environment in areas like Wawonii in the resource-rich Sulawesi region, which is home to black macaques, maleo birds and tarsier primates.

'We were destroyed'

Facing the prospect of losing their land and livelihood, around a dozen Wawonii villagers take turns keeping watch from a hut surrounded by clove trees, waiting for trespassers as machinery roars below.

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