Dear friends,
If you are in London, don’t forget the events coming up this week in support of our friends from South Africa: a demonstration outside the Lonmin AGM in Lincoln’s Inn Fields on Thursday morning and a public meeting at the Karibu Centre in Brixton in the evening. And on the 26 March we’re celebrating the victory of people in Cajamarca, Colombia, over large-scale gold mining.
The people with whom we work around the world often make enormous sacrifices in pursuit of justice and the defence of the planet. At present, some of our friends in the Philippines are being targeted by the Philippines government with the outrageous claim that they are ‘terrorists’. This includes long-time associate Vicki Corpuz, current UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and many others.
In England, community members in rural County Durham, and friends from elsewhere, are protecting their local area from new opencast coal plans. Several of us from LMN joined them to hand in a petition to the UK Government recently. Meanwhile, in Derbyshire, a new opencast coal project has been refused. Scotland is to get a new deep gold mine. Controversy rages in Northern Ireland over a proposed gold mine there.
Vedanta has been the target of popular resistance and judicial censure in India. Former Rio Tinto executives are locked in legal disputes in the US and Australia over alleged fraud. The management of the BHP-Vale owned Samarco iron ore mine, where the Fundao tailings dam collapsed in 2015 with such disastrous consequences, stand accused of knowing in advance that the dam was dangerous, and failing to take action. Gold mining (and former gold mining) companies in South Africa, including Anglo American, are nearing a settlement with many former workers suffering from silicosis. Whether it will be adequate remains to be seen.
Then there’s Lonmin, whose AGM is this Thursday. One of the directors of the company at the time of the August 2012 massacre of striking mine workers at the company’s Marikana platinum mine was Cyril Ramaphosa, now President of South Africa. He wants to ‘atone’ for the massacre, but it is unclear what he means by this. Dr Andy Higginbottom of the University of Kingston sees a ‘toxic collusion‘ between corporate, government and investment bodies as the cause of the massacre. South Africa’s Mining Forum wants to stop the takeover of Lonmin by the Sibanye-Stillwater company unless there are real guarantees of justice for the people of Marikana.
Finally, there is speculation that the mining industry’s relaxed attitude to Brexit means that mining multinationals stand to gain handsomely from it – but not in a way which would help affected communities.
And there is a lot more news below.
All the best,
Richard Solly, LMN Co-ordinator.
In this mailout
LMN events
Thursday 15 March, Justice for Marikana: protest the Lonmin AGM!
Thursday 15 March, London and the Marikana Massacre: from the frontlines to the Centre of Extractive Imperialism
Monday 26 March, Water, Land, Life: celebrating the true treasures of Cajamarca
Other events
Wednesday 14 March, Remember Fukushima Public Meeting
Tuesday 24 April, The Climate Emergency: building a direct action movement
Take action!
STAND with Mining Affected communities in South Africa and demand the Right to say NO!
News
1) Philippines: End the Abuse of Power and Violence to Human Rights Defenders
2) Mining and Brexit – from Cornwall to the Commonwealth
3) Coal and resistance in England
4) News about Lonmin
5) Mine workers and silicosis in South Africa
6) Brazil: BHP and Vale were pre-warned about dam disaster
7) Antofagasta’s Los Pelambres copper mine workers vote to strike
8) Rio Tinto in the news
9) News about Vedanta
10) Gabriel Resources seeks damages from Romania in international arbitration over blocking gold mine due to environmental & access to water concerns
11) New Campaign Seeks End to Ocean Mine Waste Dumping
12) Sirius seeks $2bn in government-backed debt for Britain’s biggest fertilizer mine
13) Anglo American concludes sale of three coal mines in South Africa
14) Nuclear waste mountains just go on growing
15) Scotland to have its first commercial gold mine
16) Condor Gold soars as Nicaragua project won’t relocate residents
17) Alliance of Solwara Warriors to object to exploration license
18) DRC: IndustriALL mission finds Glencore gravely mistreating workers at cobalt mines
19) About 5000 people demonstrate in province capital of Salamanca, Spain, against Retortillo uranium mine project
20) Tyrone gold mine extension based on inaccurate maps, court hears
21) Open letter to Variscan Mines Ltd and its shareholders
LMN events
Justice for Marikana: protest the Lonmin AGM!
Thursday 15 March, 9.30am-11.00am
Support South African representatives Thumeka Magwangqana from Marikana women’s organisation Sikhala Sonke, Bishop Jo Seoka from the Benchmarks Foundation and lawyer Andries Nkome who has represented striking mine workers from Marikana
The Lincoln Centre, 18 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3ED.
London and the Marikana Massacre: from the frontlines to the Centre of Extractive Imperialism
Thursday 15 March, 7.00pm-9.00pm
Hear from South African representatives Thumeka Magwangqana from Marikana women’s organisation Sikhala Sonke, Bishop Jo Seoka from the Benchmarks Foundation and lawyer Andries Nkome who has represented striking mine workers from Marikana
This event will NOT now be at Black Cultural Archives because demand was too high. It will now be at Karibu Education Centre, 7 Gresham Road, SW97PH London, United Kingdom
Water, Land, Life: celebrating the true treasures of Cajamarca
Monday 26 March, 7.00pm-10.00pm
Join inspiring visitors from Colombia to celebrate the courage and creativity of Cajamarca- the Colombian municipality that stopped a mega mine and is pioneering alternatives to extractivism- with a night of storytelling, music and food!
Balabam Bar and Restaurant, 56-60 High Road, London N15 6JU.
Other events
Remember Fukushima Public Meeting
Wednesday 14 March, 7.00pm-9.00pm
Portcullis House, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London
Parliamentary public meeting to commemorate the Fukushima disaster, hosted by Catherine West MP.
The Climate Emergency: building a direct action movement
with Roger Hallam of Rising Up.
Tuesday 24 April, 6.00pm, London Catholic Worker, 49 Mattison Road, Haringay, London N4 1BG.
Take action!
STAND with Mining Affected communities in South Africa and demand the Right to say NO!
Mining-affected communities are repeatedly denied what is known as the right to free prior and informed consent (FPIC) when it comes to mining developments in their backyard. You can help them fight for a Right to say NO to mining developments that do not address their interests.
News
1) Philippines: End the Abuse of Power and Violence to Human Rights Defenders
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact’s Call to Repeal the Petition Declaring the former Secretary-General of AIPP, Joan Carling, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Corpuz-Tauli, and other indigenous leaders and human rights defenders as Terrorists and Outlaws. See also Urgent Appeal for Activists, Human Rights Defenders and Political Dissenters in the Philippines Tagged in Duterte’s Terror List.
2) Mining and Brexit – from Cornwall to the Commonwealth
Whilst other businesses worry about Brexit, well-placed mining companies and politicians with ideas of ‘Empire 2.0’ seem to be gearing up to exploit it – with worrying repercussions for communities.
3) Coal and resistance in England
Hilltop opencast refused!
The planning inspectorate has refused planning permission to Provectus who applied to mine at Hilltop, very close to homes at Old Tupton, Claycross and Holmgate!
Join the Pont Valley Protection Camp!
On Friday 2nd March the Pont Valley Protection Camp was set up almost opposite Brooms church, on the A692 near the junction with the A693. This is an active camp against Banks Groups’ intended opencast coal extraction. Please come and visit for a cup of tea, a day or come and stay.
Public outcry at imminent new opencast coal mines amid ‘coal phase-out’
Residents of County Durham brought a 86,000 signature petition to Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, to demand that he uses his powers under the Town and Country Planning Act to revoke permission for a new opencast coal mine, ‘Bradley’ in Dipton near Consett, due to start work within weeks.
Protesters scale trees in sub-zero temperatures in bid to stop new opencast coal mine
Thirteen people staged a tree-climbing protest in sub-zero temperatures at a contested opencast coal mine site near Dipton and Leadgate, County Durham. They blocked access to the site following the felling of trees and 200 year-old hedges two days before.
UK Coal Phaseout to be introduced with dangerous loopholes and delays
Biofuelwatch briefing about the UK Government’s coal phaseout decision announced in January 2018.
4) News about Lonmin
Lonmin’s final AGM faces protests by families of Marikana massacre victims
Embattled platinum miner Lonmin faces a fresh wave of protests ahead of its 109th and final AGM in London this week. Relatives of mine workers killed in the Marikana massacre of 2012 will picket the meeting on Thursday to demand the company pay compensation and improve workers’ accommodation.
Mining Forum wants to stop Sibanye-Stillwater takeover of Lonmin
Mining Forum of South Africa is planning to stop Sibanye-Stillwater‘s proposed R5.1 Billion takeover of global platinum giant Lonmin. The forum accuses Lonmin of not meeting its obligations to communities.
Froneman warns Lonmin deal is off should it fail cost out targets
Neal Froneman warned Ben Magara’s Lonmin that failing to deliver on the platinum firm’s restructuring plans would see the withdrawal of Sibanye-Stillwater’s R5.1bn all share offer, the company of which he is CEO.
Battle to keep Lonmin platinum deal alive hinges on the rand
To keep the deal alive, Lonmin should avoid burning cash by the time of shareholder votes on the purchase later this year, according to Sibanye.
The Marikana Massacre in South Africa: the Results of Toxic Collusion
This article by Dr Andy Higginbottom reflects on Marikana five years after the massacre and after the state convened Farlam Commission.
South Africa: Ramaphosa’s “atonement” for Marikana massacre
In “atoning” for the Marikana massacre, South Arica’s new president Cyril Ramaphosa says he’ll address the role he himself played in “the darkest moment” of post-apartheid life, as a director of the British mining company Lonmin.
South Africa hit by Ramaphosa’s new liberalism
“Ramaphosa’s 2017 apology … was dismissed by victims’ families as posturing, not genuine. His legally-binding commitment – as board head of Lonmin’s Transformation Committee in 2010-13 – to build 5500 houses for mineworkers was never met; during his reign only three were built, leaving the shack settlements of Wonderkop and Nkaneng without basic sanitation and electricity notwithstanding vast pylons overhead providing power to the platinum smelter a few hundred meters away”.
South Africa – away with Zuma, in with Ramaphosa
Will ordinary South African citizens be more justly served by Cyril Ramaphosa as head of the ANC, than they were by Zuma and his clique?
5) Mine workers and silicosis in South Africa
S.Africa gold miners’ silicosis lawsuit settlement expected within six weeks
South African gold producers will likely reach a settlement within six weeks in a lawsuit over a fatal lung disease that companies have set aside 5 billion rand ($420 million) in provisions for, a lawyer and industry group said on Sunday. The six companies involved are Harmony Gold, Gold Fields, African Rainbow Minerals, Sibanye-Stillwater, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American. Anglo American no longer has gold assets but historically was a bullion producer.
Will mineworkers with silicosis and tuberculosis finally achieve justice?
The campaign for justice for Southern African ex-mineworkers with silicosis and tuberculosis may be coming to an end. But the mining companies involved have proved that they cannot be trusted.
Silicosis sufferers in South Africa are unlikely to obtain genuine justice
There is likely to be a settlement of the silicosis and tuberculosis (TB) class action litigation, which was initiated in 2012 by lawyers acting on behalf of Southern African ex-gold mineworkers. Yet it remains to be seen if the settlement is truly comprehensive and fair.
6) Brazil: BHP and Vale were pre-warned about dam disaster
Unreported documents show mining company was aware of threat before country’s worst environmental disaster but took no action, prosecutors allege
7) Antofagasta’s Los Pelambres copper mine workers vote to strike
Unionized workers at Antofagasta’s Los Pelambres copper mine in Chile voted to strike Friday after rejecting the company’s latest offer for a collective labour agreement.
8) Rio Tinto in the news
Rio Tinto speeds up driverless fleet expansion in Australia
Mining giant Rio Tinto is expanding its driverless trucks fleet in Australia by introducing 15 autonomous vehicles to a new mine in the Pilbara region.
Rio Tinto faces $84bn shareholder revolt over membership of Minerals Council
Global shareholders file motion calling for rethink on membership of coal lobby groups
Church of England Pensions Board part of global coalition filing resolution at Rio Tinto
The Church of England Pensions Board, together with investors with assets totalling nearly £50bn, has filed a shareholder resolution at Rio Tinto calling on the company to review and fully disclose its relationships with industry bodies including the Minerals Council of Australia that block progress on Australian and global climate and energy frameworks.
Rio Tinto’s last two coal mines set to attract bids over $2.5 billion
The Anglo-Australian mining company made a strategic decision in 2017 to exit coal and focus on growth in iron ore, copper and its aluminium division.
Rio Tinto, former executives once again move to have SEC case dismissed
Rio Tinto and two former top executives have filed a motion requesting a U.S. regulator’s lawsuit accusing them of fraud for overstating the value of Mozambique coal assets to be dismissed.
Australia takes Rio Tinto to court over Mozambique coal deal
Australia’s corporate watchdog is taking Rio Tinto’s former chief executive Tom Albanese and chief financial officer Guy Elliott to court for allegedly misleading investors in relation to the miner’s botched coal investment in Mozambique.
Bougainville: Moratorium re-confirmed on Panguna mine
The long-lasting, intense, debate over a re-opening of the ill-fated Panguna copper-gold mine (formerly owned by Rio Tinto) in Bougainville, seems to have reached an interim resolution. PNG Industry News has now confirmed that: “The doors to Bougainville Copper Mines (BCL) and RTG Mining – both anxious to redevelop the mine which has been closed since 1989 – have now been firmly shut by President John Momis”.
9) News about Vedanta
India’s bauxite baron grabs more Orissa mines
A bluff, grinning, Anil Agarwal chose the recent World Economic Forum to announce that his majority-owned Vedanta Resources plc had now cracked its problem of accessing Orissa’s bauxite resources.
Vedanta indicted over copper plant pollution – villagers demand its closure
Villagers, sorely impacted by London-listed Vedanta’s Tuticorin copper smelter in Tamil Nadu, have commenced an “indefinite fast” against its pollution of their water resources and air.
Thoothukudi residents resist Sterlite expansion
Up to 500 people declared a hunger strike and indefinite protest against the planned expansion of Vedanta subsidiary Sterlite’s copper smelter in Thoothukudi (Tuticorin), Tamil Nadu.
India’s Supreme Court nixes all Goa’s iron mining leases
London-listed Vedanta Resources will be most impacted by the ruling. Vedanta stands to lose about $165 million, or about Rs 1000 crore, in revenue from the Supreme Court’s decision, while its net profit fell 8.62% to Rs 2959 crore on 22.05% growth in total income to Rs 24,934 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016.
10) Gabriel Resources seeks damages from Romania in international arbitration over blocking gold mine due to environmental & access to water concerns
In July 2015, London-linked Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources Ltd initiated a claim against the Romanian state before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), alleging breach of obligations in its bilateral investment treaties and demanding $4.4 billion in damages for losses related to its stalled Rosia Montana gold mine project. Rosia Montana was supposed to become the biggest gold mine in Europe by means of open cast mining using cyanide. The government withdrew its support for the project in 2014.
11) New Campaign Seeks End to Ocean Mine Waste Dumping
Ditch Ocean Dumping coalition calls on Citigroup to divest from mines tied to the practice
12) Sirius seeks $2bn in government-backed debt for Britain’s biggest fertilizer mine
British company Sirius Minerals, the company building a huge polyhalite mine beneath a national park, is looking to raise up to $2 billion in government-backed debt to finish building its fertilizer project in North Yorkshire.
13) Anglo American concludes sale of three coal mines in South Africa
Anglo American has completed the sale of three Eskom-tied thermal coal operations in South Africa to Seriti Resources, a group of black-controlled companies for R2.3 billion (about $164 million).
14) Nuclear waste mountains just go on growing
Nuclear waste has been an intractable problem since nuclear power was invented more than 50 years ago, and for many countries it is becoming an ever more expensive and politically embarrassing issue.
15) Scotland to have its first commercial gold mine
Scotland will soon have its first commercial gold and silver mine after authorities unanimously approved Tuesday Scotgold Resources’ (LON: SGZ) application for the development of its Cononish project.
16) Condor Gold soars as Nicaragua project won’t relocate residents
Shares in London-listed Condor Gold jumped more than 5% in London on Monday after the Nicaragua-focused miner submitted an amended Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for a processing plant at its India gold project, which eliminates the need to resettle about 1,100 people. The change in the company’s plans is likely due to massive community opposition to relocation. See An entire Nicaraguan community is standing up to mining giant Condor Gold.
17) Alliance of Solwara Warriors to object to exploration license
The Alliance of Solwara Warriors, a growing group of communities and supporters from Madang, New Ireland, East New Britain, Manus and Milne Bay Provinces in Papua New Guinea, are submitting an objection to the Mineral Resources Authority today against another Nautilus exploration license in the Bismarck Sea. This is also supported by churches throughout PNG including His Eminence, Cardinal John Ribat, who stand with these coastal communities as the “custodians of the sea”. This is in conjunction with some powerful organising along the central west coast of New Ireland province with the villages that are living closest to Solwara 1 and the proposed new exploration licence. Warden hearings for the new exploration license will take place 20 & 21 March in three villages on the central west coast of New Ireland Province.
18) DRC: IndustriALL mission finds Glencore gravely mistreating workers at cobalt mines
An IndustriALL Global Union fact-finding mission to Glencore’s copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has uncovered alarming mistreatment of workers directly contradicting Glencore’s claims.
19) About 5000 people demonstrate in province capital of Salamanca, Spain, against Retortillo uranium mine project
The project is being pursued by Australian company Berkeley Energia, which trades on London’s Alternative Investment Market.
20) Tyrone gold mine extension based on inaccurate maps, court hears
Resident appeals failure to halt underground work at Omagh Minerals site
21) Open letter to Variscan Mines Ltd and its shareholders
Recently, London Mining Network was contacted by the Collectif Douar Didoull in Brittany (France). The Collectif reported on the efforts of Australian mining company Variscan to begin mining in their area, and informed us that Variscan had suggested that it may seek a listing on the London Stock Exchange. The Collectif Douar Didoull has written an open letter to Variscan and its shareholders in the hope that the company will not go ahead with its proposals in Brittany.