copyright: Gaia Foundation

Gaia Foundation press release, Thursday 15th December 2011

Yesterday in Central London a silent protest took place outside the General Meeting of Shareholders of Australian mining company, Coal of Africa Ltd (CoAL). The protest was held in solidarity with the communities of the Limpopo Province, South Africa, who face untold ecological, social and economic damage to their ancestral homes should the mine go ahead.

The CoAL project which will affect this region is known as the Makhado Project. It is in addition to one other mine owned by the company in Limpopo Province, known as Vele, and a further two in the neighbouring Mpumalanga province. Yesterday’s meeting preceded CoAL’s Conditional Placing of Shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc, which is set to take place today.

Liz Hosken, founding director of The Gaia Foundation, took part in the protest: “We are here in support of the local communities and especially the Makadzhis - the guardians of the sacred sites and sacred lands of Venda in Limpopo Province. These are the spiritual leaders of the people whose responsibility it is to protect their ancestral homeland, which these coal-mining projects will destroy if  they go ahead. The company haven’t even carried out proper studies, but the one thing that they have admitted is that the underground water will be finished within two years. So there isn’t even enough water for their own projects; let alone for life itself. If there is no water, there is no life. This is truly Ecocide.”

Earlier this week twelve civil society groups and community members from the Limpopo Province sent a letter to over fifty shareholders and potential investors of Coal of Africa (CoAL) demanding that they reconsider their plans to support the company – and specifically the Makhado Project.

The letter set out a number of grave concerns relating to CoAL’s handling of the Makhado project and their neighbouring Vele mine. These included a flawed public participation process; failure to provide adequate answers to questions raised by the community; no water licence; and an insufficient Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan.

The letter states: “We have a responsibility to our ancestors and to our children to stop the destruction of our ancestral lands. You would do the same if someone wanted to mine your home. Please think about that”.

Notes to Editors:
Watch a 2-minute film about yesterday’s protest and what the mine will mean for the lives of the communities of Limpopo here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZG0Sc9NTRY&feature=youtu.be

For further information please contact Rowan Phillimore at The Gaia Foundation, London on +44 207 428 0054 or rowan@gaianet.org
or A.M. Mudau, Dzomo la Mupo, South Africa email: azwihangwisimosesm@yahoo.com or +27 79 412 2666

Image: Silent protest outside CoAL’s General Meeting of Shareholders which took place in Central London yesterday (Wednesday 14th December). Copyright, The Gaia Foundation.

Representatives from The Gaia Foundation, the London Mining Network and the general public took part in the peaceful protest.
The letter which was sent to CoAL shareholders and investors earlier this week has been based on evidence and analysis drawn from a research report commissioned by an alliance of groups, to look into the impacts of coal mining. The report Mine Not – Waste Not: A preliminary critique of aspects of the CoAL Makhado Colliery Project EIA and EMP is available on the following websites: The Gaia Foundation http://www.gaiafoundation.org and London Mining Network www.londonminingnetwork.org.

Coal of Africa’s website states today that, ‘subject to obtaining shareholder approval to issue the Conditional Placing Shares, the Company will apply for admission of the Conditional Placing Shares to trading or quotation and listing of the Conditional Placing Shares on the AIM market of London Stock Exchange plc (“AIM”) on 15 December 2011 and on the Main Board of JSE Limited (“JSE”) on 20 December 2011. Accordingly, the anticipated settlement date for the Conditional Placing Shares on AIM is 15 December 2011’. www.coalofafrica.com

The letter, which is endorsed by 12 local groups, has been sent to shareholders and potential investors including M & G Investments (part of Prudential), JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and ArcelorMittal, in advance of Coal of Africa’s General Meeting of Shareholders, which takes place in central London this Wednesday, 14th December.

The text of the letter is below.

For full Gaia Foundation press release, see http://www.gaiafoundation.org/content/mine-not-waste-not

The report Mine Not – Waste Not: A preliminary critique of aspects of the CoAL Makhado Colliery Project EIA and EMP is available at http://www.gaiafoundation.org/sites/default/files/MineNotWasteNot_december2011_0.pdf.

Open letter to Shareholders and Potential Investors of Coal of Africa Ltd (CoAL)

12th December 2011

We represent 12 local groups from Limpopo Province, South Africa, where Coal of Africa Ltd (CoAL) has two of its four coal mining projects, one being the Makhado Project.

Our alliance ranges from communities to farmers and ranchers of all cultures and incomes, representing thousands of people whose lives are at stake due to these projects in our province.

This letter outlines the reasons why we ask you NOT to invest in Coal of Africa Ltd (CoAL), or any of their projects, including Makhado Project. Investing in CoAL would create a social, ecological and economic disaster for those of us whose homes and livelihoods would be destroyed if these projects were to go ahead.  It is a flawed investment and totally unjust.

Our analysis is based on the research we commissioned from an international expert in the impacts of coal mining. The report, “Mine Not – Waste Not: A preliminary critique of aspects of the CoAL Makhado Colliery Project EIA and EMP” is widely available  together with two of the letters written by community groups to South African government ministries, clarifying their concerns and grievances regarding the Makhado Project.

These are some of the most critical reasons why you should NOT invest in Coal of Africa Makhado Project:

1. Refusal to provide vital information to affected parties – CoAL has refused to give affected parties the Environmental Management Programme or their prospecting permit. This is unlawful as this information must be available to the public.

2. Flawed public participation process – This process has been chaotic, ad hoc and inadequate, resulting in an incomplete application process.

3. Failure to give answers to vital questions – The concerns raised by the many affected parties have not been addressed, which is building growing discontent amongst the local communities and affected parties towards CoAL.

4. No water licence and not enough water in the area – The water studies for the project are incomplete, the water licence has not been granted and, by the company’s own admission, the underground water will be decimated by 2014. This is without taking into account the other mining project’s considerable water needs or the needs of the ecosystem and the communities who depend on it for their lives.  There is not enough water for one of CoAL’s projects, let alone the others. This defies logic.

5. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Management Plan (EMP) incomplete and should therefore be rejected – By the company’s own admission, these fundamental documents are incomplete and CoAL needs more time to finalise them, for “a project of this magnitude and complexity”. None of the concerns raised by affected parties have been addressed or included in these documents. The required studies have not been completed and there are omissions of vital information and many speculative statements. Thus these documents should be rejected.  Anyway, the company has now run over the stipulated date for completion.

6. The Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) deficient – This analysis makes unsubstantiated assumptions and does not take the severe ecological or socio- economic implications into account. Thus it completely underestimates the liabilities of the project.

7. A Bad Investment – Firstly, the communities and local groups are determined to stop this project because it will destroy their lives and livelihoods. Local resistance against the project is growing as more people come to terms with the impact that this will have upon them and their environment. Secondly, as is evident from the catalogue of omissions, CoAL is a young, inexperienced company, lacking in ability to deal with people, meet the necessary legal requirements or carry out the required research to assess the viability of a project.  This makes them a high-risk investment.

We pledge to stop the Makhado CoAL Project from going ahead. We alert you to the fact that what you might consider to be a profitable investment will cause the permanent destruction of our ancestral homes, ecosystems, livelihoods and the future options for our children. Without water there is no life. Without land we have no livelihoods.

We have a responsibility to our ancestors and to our children to stop the destruction of our ancestral lands. You would do the same if someone wanted to mine your home.  Please think about that.

Yours Sincerely

Signed by the following local groups from Limpopo Province:
Dzomo la Mupo
Mupo Foundation
Mudzi wa Vhurereli ha Vhavenda
Ndima Community Services
Thikho ya Mvelele
Vhembe Traditional Healers Forum
Cultural Biodiversity Group
Vhufa ha Vhangona
Vhembe Traditional Healers
Vhangona National Cultural Movement
Soutpansberg District Agricultural Union
Makhado Action Group
Replies to: A.M. Mudau, Dzomo la Mupo , email:azwihangwisimosesm@yahoo.com

Saami areas in Sweden are currently experiencing an explosion in mining developments by both Scandinavian and foreign companies. Ironically, while these companies commonly market themselves to investors based on principles of Corporate Social Responsibility, many of them risk breaching human rights conventions, because they all too often fail to see the connection between the impacts of their activities and Saami rights.

The Saami Council, the National Swedish Saami Association, and individual Saami communities are in dialogue with several mining companies and their investors, including Scandinavian Resources and Beowulf Mining, to name just two. “These companies claim to respect the rights of Indigenous peoples, yet they seem to have no problem with performing intrusive exploration and mining activities in sensitive Saami reindeer herding areas”, says Mattias Åhrén, Head of Human Rights, at the Saami Council.

Many Saami communities are at a crisis point. “Reindeer herding, and our Saami culture, simply cannot tolerate any more industrial activities. We have very little lands left and the last of them are being taken by private mining companies”, says Mats Berg, on behalf of the Saami delegation to London, representing the Saami communities of Girjas, Laevas, Sirges and Lainiovuoma.

Saami organisations are also critical of Sweden’s failure to protect Saami rights.  “Sweden’s mining legislation does not provide any protection of Saami rights and the Swedish government has been critiqued numerous times by the UN for its failure to take action”, says Jörgen Jonsson, Chairman of the National Swedish Saami Association.

See Saami media release at http://saamiresources.org/2011/12/06/saami-communities-protest-in-london-over-mining/

On the eve of the 17th UNFCCC, the world’s climate summit, the UK Tar Sands Network will serve papers to Shell UK executives on behalf of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN). ACFN plans to sue Shell for failure to meet contractual agreements made between Shell and the First Nations regarding existing tar sands projects within ACFN traditional territory and Canada’s pristine Athabasca, a UNESCO heritage site. Chief Allan Adam along with the entire council of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) will rally outside Shell Canada corporate headquarters in downtown Calgary later today and hold a press conference.

After years of agreements with Shell Oil, the Athabasca Chipewyan people have decided to risk everything by challenging Shell’s practices and filing suit.  “We’re drawing the line, and taking a strong stand against Shell. ACFN wants no further developments until Shell is brought to justice and our broader concerns about the cumulative impacts in the region are addressed,” stated Chief Adam.

The agreements in question were meant to ensure Shell would provide a number of measures to lessen the impact of tar sands mines on ACFN. In addition to the lawsuit against Shell, ACFN also plans to oppose all future tar sands projects by Shell. “Tar sands have been widely recognized as the most destructive project on earth because of the serious impacts on treaty and aboriginal rights, ecological destruction and global green house gas emissions (GHG),” commented Suzanne Dhaliwal from the UK Tar Sands Network. “Shell is one of the largest players in the tar sands producing close to 20% of overall production and it needs to be held accountable for the mass destruction it is causing to communities and the environment.”

Shell Canada recently submitted proposals to expand its current tar sands operations which, if approved, would more then double their production. This would translate into further encroachment of open pit mines on ACFN traditional lands, and into the pristine wilderness of the Pierre River, a previously untouched area.

Chief Adam stated, “Shell has failed to meet past commitments and governments have done nothing to mitigate the issue. Current government monitoring is inadequate, and Shell cannot be trusted to monitor itself.” ACFN is rightfully concerned these projects will further impact the First Nation’s ability to exercise treaty rights in a meaningful way into the future. “We don’t want our community to become the next Niger Delta, where Shell’s unregulated actions have left communities devastated and resulted in the need for a 30-year clean-up estimated to cost $1 billion USD. The fate of our communities and our river is at stake and we are in the crosshairs of Shell’s plans to aggressively expand tar sands in our traditional territory. We ask the public to support ACFN’s efforts to stop Shell from permanently destroying our lands and community.”

An international coalition of Indigenous and environmental groups, including Keepers of the Athabasca, Greenpeace, Indigenous Environmental Network, Sierra Club Prairie, AWA, Pembina, Council of Canadians, International Indigenous Treaty Council, AFN Regional Office (NWT), Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, Dene Nation, Platform, London Mining Network, UK Tar Sands Network and People & Planet endorsed today’s action echoing the call on Shell Oil Canada and Shell Oil International to halt any further tar sand extraction in the Athabasca region until proper environmental safeguards are put into place in accordance with the treaties between Canada and First Nations government.

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/get-the-shell-out-of-the-tar-sands/
***Photo Opportunity 11:00 am  Shell Centre, London SE1 7NA***
Eriel Deranger (Canada) – 001 780-903-6598
Suzanne Dhaliwal (UK)  – 07967758641

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=137155&sn=Detail&pid=92730 and
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/10/bhpbilliton-idUSL3E7LA0FA20111010.

Australian Nuclear Free Alliance calls for a moratorium on uranium mining

MEDIA RELEASE,  11th October 2011

In the wake of the approval of the Olympic Dam expansion, the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) is calling for a moratorium on uranium mining due to the long term impacts associated with the nuclear industry.

Uncle Kevin Buzzacott, Arabunna elder from Lake Eyre and President of ANFA, addressed a rally at Parliament House in Adelaide yesterday held in response to the approvals announced by the State and Federal government:

“Today is a very sad day, but it’s not over yet. We are not going to rest until the government reverses its decision. We want BHP Billiton out of the desert. If we have to bring this town to a standstill, then so be it.”

South Australian Minister for Mineral Resources Development Tom Koutsantonis said yesterday that the mine will be subject to the most “stringent environmental conditions.”

“If 8 million litres of radioactive waste per day leaking into the underground rock and aquifer, and almost 9 billion tonnes of radioactive waste left in the desert at the mines closure, is acceptable under these conditions, then the South Australian government is setting the bar extremely low,” said ANFA Committee member Nectaria Calan.

“The radioactive waste will remain on Kokatha and Arabunna Country long after the former ‘Big Australian,’ now 76 per cent foreign owned, packs up its business and moves on.”

The expansion means an increase in shipments of uranium oxide and copper concentrate railed through the Northern Territory and shipped out from East Arm wharf on Larrakia land.

Donna Jackson, ANFA co-chair and Larrakia woman said, “the transport and export of these goods puts additional pressures on our emergency services, if we increase the volume, we increase the chance of an accident happening.”

“We stand by the Kokatha and Arabunna who oppose this expansion and we repeat our opposition and distress to the approved increase of two trains a day transporting radioactive materials through the NT and out from our Darwin Harbour.”

For comment contact:
SA: Kevin Buzzacott   0431 157 747, Nectaria Calan     0432 388 665
NT: Donna Jackson     0427 847 186

THE LIZARD’S REVENGE

Invitation/Press Release

DLF  – Desert Liberation Front

Response to the government’s decision to expand Olympic Dam mine.

Sleeping underneath the ground there is an old lizard, Kalta the sleepy lizard. The lizard ain’t so sleepy anymore.

BHP is mining right into that Lizards body. The government has just approved an expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine, making it the biggest uranium mine in the world.

Kalta is angry and wants revenge. Arabana elder Kevin Buzzacot is calling the people of the world to help the lizard shut down the mine. He is calling for people to come and heal the land in the name of peace and justice for the next 10,000 generations to come.

The land is being irreversibly poisoned in and around Roxby Downs by the tailings dam causing dust and ground water contamination, and contamination of its workers.

The uranium is taken all over the world and used to kill the land and all its creatures. It’s destroying lives not only in Fukashima, with the reactor meltdown, but in the depleted uranium shells that children play with in the streets of Iraq and Kosovo.

With the governments numerous attempts to put a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty in the Northern Territory there is a danger that radioactive waste will be brought back, opening Australia up to accepting nuclear waste from all over the world. Lets stop the deadly cycle where it starts.

The land the lizard and the creatures of this earth are summoning everybody who gives a shit to the gates of Roxby Downs on the 14th of july 2012 for The Lizards Revenge – This is an open invitation to all people and a special call out to artists, musicians and activist community groups and media to get involved in the creation of this autonomous zone for the peace and healing of this land.

Party in a Dangerous Planet with Theatre, Cabaret and Art installations. Over 20 musical acts. Solar Powered sound system extravaganza and wind powered cinema. More to be announced…

Stand up and boogie down at the Gates of Olympic Dam 14th July 2012.

For more info email- izzybrown@live.com

Ongoing attempts by UK-based mining company Vedanta Resources to overturn an Indian government decision blocking a proposed bauxite mine and expansion of an alumina refinery in Orissa should not be allowed to succeed, new report by Amnesty International says.

The report, Generalisations, Omissions, Assumptions, reveals that the company has failed to adequately consider the human impact of its proposed projects with an investment of US$ 1,7 billion in Orissa.

See http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/india-vedanta-orissa-projects-ban-must-be-upheld-2011-07-24.

Vedanta Aluminium challenged the Ministry of Environment and Forest’s decision in the high court on November 2010.

See http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/orissa-high-court-rejects-vedanta-refinery-expansion-2011-07-19.

See also: Court rejects Vedanta plea for alumina refinery expansion, http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=108901.

20 July 2011

Legal proceedings by 33 Peruvians against UK-based Monterrico Metals PLC have been settled by compensation payments, without admitting liability. The London High Court trial was scheduled for 10 weeks from October with about 80 claimant witnesses. Claimants alleged torture by the Peruvian Police after protesting at Monterrico’s Rio Blanco copper mine (near Ecuador) in August 05.  The mine is owned by Monterrico Peruvian subsidiary, Rio Blanco Copper SA (“RBC”). RBC is owned (through two Cayman companies) by Monterrico.

See http://www.leighday.co.uk/news/news-archive-2011/peruvian-torture-victims-compensated-by-uk-miner.

Press Release from Jack Parker and Associates Inc, Toivola, Michigan 49965, USA
June 30, 2011

Contacts:

Jack Parker (Jack Parker and Associates; jprockdoctor@gmail.com)
Laura Gauger (00 1 218-724-3004; kettu2010@callta.com)
Attorney General Is Asked to Honor His Pledge

LANSING, Michigan – Michigan’s new Attorney General, Bill Schuette, formerly senior counsel at Warner, Norcross and Judd (the Michigan law firm providing legal counsel to Kennecott Minerals), has announced on his web page his top priorities.  Probably the most exciting is his Public Integrity Unit, which is already in business.

The pledge of the Unit is “To uncover and prosecute crimes at all levels of state and local government.”

“Yikes! A dream come true,” said Laura Gauger, a conservationist who recently met with EPA officials to discuss the Eagle Project, a new mine proposed by Kennecott Minerals for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

On June 15th a small group of individuals mailed to Schuette’s office a letter and a document within which was assembled clear evidence that mining experts hired to evaluate the 2006 application for permits to mine at the Kennecott Eagle project agreed that the document was incomplete and inadequate, and constituted endangerment of life, property and environment.

“It should, therefore, have been rejected by the regulating agency, MDEQ. There is no doubt,” said Jack Parker, the mining engineer who authored the report sent to Schuette.

Dr. David Sainsbury, hired by the DEQ to evaluate the application, characterized the analysis of mine stability in the application as “technically antiquated, sloppy and equivalent to high school level work” and “not considered to be defensible.” But, as Parker pointed out, “MDEQ ignored the conclusions and recommendations of their own expert and those of other experts, and accepted the application. They went on to issue all permits demanded by Kennecott, regardless of protests by public and by experts. Kennecott has been conducting construction activities ever since, illegally but with the consent of MDEQ.”

He added, “Federal Agencies claim that they have no jurisdiction over permitting activities because they are covered by state law, mainly Part 632. So they stand by, mute.”

Said Gauger, “MDEQ, the regulating agency, has failed to administer Michigan law and has aided and abetted Kennecott in their activities – therefore the matter goes up to the Attorney General.”

The letter and document ask the AG to investigate and to uncover the criminal activities and prosecute them, beginning with revocation of all permits and agreements. Schuette wrote the pledge that appears on his web page. Citizens are simply asking him to honor it.

To date (June 30th) there has been no response – zero.   “Even common courtesy seems to have fallen by the wayside,” said Gauger. “Will some responsible person downstate please nudge the AG’s elbow and show him his pledge? A gentle reminder …”

Said Parker, “We await the Attorney General’s response.  Delay means that Kennecott gets the green light to continue showing contempt for the law.”

27 June 2011

Brussels – Europe’s future strategy on access to raw materials – due to be voted on in the Parliament on Thursday 30 June – is being shaped by MEPs with vested interests in related industry sectors, a new report from Corporate Europe Observatory, published today, reveals [1].

Europe’s resource grab highlights how key MEPs working on the EU raw materials initiative have pushed for big business to obtain unbridled access to exploit other countries’ natural resources, while trying to block measures to protect the environment and workers’ rights. A number of the MEPs have close links to related industry, including paid jobs and board positions.

Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) says the report reveals how vested interests are undermining the Parliament’s ability to act in the public interest and is calling on the Buzek working group – which is currently developing a new code of conduct for MEPs – to act to tackle conflicts of interest, including through MEP-industry groups [2].

CEO says MEPs should be banned from holding additional paid jobs which create a conflict of interest. One in seven MEPs are thought to have a second job, often involving lobbying or influencing work [3]. The Buzek working group is expected to finalise the draft code of conduct this week.

CEO researcher and report author Pia Eberhardt said:

“Our research found that some MEPs are blatantly pushing their own vested interests and the interests of big business in promoting an EU resource grab around the world. They have argued that business must be able to access other countries’ natural resources, regardless of the rights of sovereign peoples, or measures to protect the environment and advance economic development.”

The EU’s raw materials initiative, published in February, has been discussed in six parliamentary committees and will be voted on in the lead committee on industry, energy and research (ITRE) on 30 June.

The report highlights how the Austrian MEP Paul Rübig, who has financial interests in companies which depend on access to raw materials and close links to lobby groups representing related industry sectors, is taking a key role on the issue, having set up an MEP working group on raw materials, which will work closely with a parallel industry group.

Rübig, who is known to some as Brussels’ Mr Raw Materials, has called for unhampered access to raw materials within Europe, including in protected areas, as well as the use of trade measures to secure access to resources overseas.

German MEP Elmar Brok, who led the raw materials work on the foreign affairs committee (AFET), urged the use of military means to secure access to raw materials. Brok is a senior figure in the Bertelsmann group, which owns companies with interests in the defence sector.

A number of Nordic MEPs, some with interests in the shipping industry, are also highlighted for pushing for access to natural resources in the Arctic.

Pia Eberhardt continued:

“The raw materials initiative as it stands represents a neo-colonial push to grab natural resources from around the world, risking military conflict through resource wars. EU member states are signatories to UN conventions which recognise the rights of people to determine how their natural resources should be used. The EU must also recognise those sovereign rights – and develop a strategy based on sustainable resource use, reduced demand and greater re-use and recycling of raw materials.”

The need for a different approach has indeed been endorsed by some MEPs involved in the initiative, who have called for a strategy to help resource-rich countries diversify their economies and reduce dependency on raw materials to protect exhaustible natural resources.

The Irish MEP Paul Murphy told CEO that the current proposals were solely in the interests of big business and as such were likely to have a damaging effect on people [4].

Contact:

Pia Eberhardt, pia@corporateeurope.org, +32 2 893 093 0, mobile: +32 4 892 816 93

–

Notes:

[1] Europe’s resource grab – vested interests at work in the European Parliament, Corporate Europe Observatory, June 2011, see: www.corporateeurope.org

[2] The ad hoc working group led by Parliamentary President Jerzy Buzek was set up to develop a code of conduct for MEPs and improve transparency around relations between MEPs and lobbyists, after three MEPs were caught in a newspaper sting operation accepting well-paid second jobs in return for tabling amendments. The group is expected to finalise a draft code of conduct this week. Corporate Europe Observatory is calling on the group to include:

- A ban on all second paid jobs for MEPs where lobbying is involved or which require them to represent others. Such paid jobs include lawyers, accountants, company board members and consultants.

- The introduction of a detailed financial declaration by MEPs which requires them to list all outside earnings and other private interests.

- Mandatory requirements that all cross-party groups register with the parliamentary authorities and declare their membership and income.

[3] Corporate Europe Observatory (2011) MEPs and second jobs – time to regulate: http://www.corporateeurope.org/lobbycracy/content/2011/05/meps-and-second-jobs-time-regulate-1

[4] MEP: Raw Materials Initiative only in the interest of big business, http://www.corporateeurope.org/global-europe/content/2011/06/mep-resource-policy-big-business

Pia Eberhardt
Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO)
phone: 0032 – (0) 2 89 30 930
mobile: 0032 – (0) 4 89 28 16 93
www.corporateeurope.org

27 June 2011

Today, Bryce Bird, Director of the Utah Division of Air Quality (DAQ) signed a modified approval order for Kennecott Utah Copper’s Bingham Canyon Mine.  The clean air activist community, including Utah Moms for Clean Air and the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, denounce DAQ’s move to further pave the way for Kennecott’s expansion despite strong public opposition.

Thanks to ongoing public pressure, the permit does strengthen requirements on Kennecott to control dust emissions and monitor for air quality in two locations, as well as, establish new emission caps for the facility, but Utah Moms for Clean Air believes this still falls far short of what is required to protect public health.

“DAQ’s declared mission is to ‘safeguard human health and quality of life by protecting and enhancing the environment’ says Utah Moms for Clean Air President, Cherise Udell,  “Nowhere does DEQ’s mission state ‘and safeguard the needs of Utah’s industrial polluters’ and yet that appears to be their priority.”

Utah’s air pollution is at times the worst in the nation – and every year between 1,000 and 2,000 Utahns die prematurely due to chronic air pollution exposure. Since, Kennecott creates about 30% of our local air pollution, logic suggests they are also responsible for 30% of these premature deaths – and DAQ is continuing to approve the permit necessary to expand by 30%?  Clearly, not enough is being done to clean-up Utah’s air and safeguard public health. We call upon DAQ, Bryce Byrd and Amanda Smith to prove through their actions that protecting public health is their number one priority – and stop approving permits for Kennecott’s expansion until substantial air pollution mitigation investments are agreed upon. Kennecott is a division of Rio Tinto.

For a full list of our demands, please contact Cherise Udell at nomadicmuse@yahoo.com.

Contact: Cherise Udell, President, Utah Moms for Clean Air: 510-306-6963 or nomadicmuse@yahoo.com

See http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/india-toxic-sludge-leak-vedantas-red-mud-pond-threatens-rural-communities-2011-06-0

See also urgent action at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA20/021/2011/en/0e3a63c4-60b0-46a6-99dc-eabfb487b0d9/asa200212011en.html.

“The added value of mining projects for development is highly debatable” says Thijs Berman (S&D) who presented the letter in the European Parliament today. “Due to favourable tax regimes, low labour standards and a significant environmental impact, it is rarely the hosting country or its population benefiting from these mining projects. It is rather the international mining companies that make the profit and I don’t see why they would need public financial support for that. At least not until standards and regulations are in place that can guarantee a positive outcome for those who need it: poor countries and their population.”

The letter refers to previous successful processes in other sectors such as the World Commission on Dams or the World Bank’s Extractive Industries Review as worth following.

It singles out Glencore’s operations in Zambia for particular critcism.

See http://www.eurodad.org/whatsnew/articles.aspx?id=4521

Protesters from Britain, Indonesia and the USA send a message to Rio Tinto

On 14 April 2011, London-based Rio Tinto plc held its AGM (annual shareholders’ meeting) in London.

14 April also marked the thirtieth anniversary of the first concerted intervention by “dissident shareholders” in what is now the world’s third most powerful mining company.

In 1981, these shareholders launched the “People against Rio Tinto” (Partizans) campaign. And some of them have attended every AGM since then, bringing with them community representatives and trade unionists from almost every country where the company operates. Collectively they constitute the most consistent corporate lobby of its kind, anywhere in the world. In 2007, Partizans was key to setting up London Mining Network, which co-ordinated activities around this year’s Rio Tinto AGM.    

As in previous years, the company’s highly questionable environmental and social record came under concerted attack from campaigners around the world.
 
Chalid Muhammad, a prominent Green activist from Indonesia, demanded to know why the company had not fulfilled its undertakings to fully compensate local people for human rights abuses and loss of their land at Rio Tinto’s now-closed Kelian gold mine in Kalimantan – all responsibility for which Rio Tinto will relinquish in 2013.

Meg Townsend, who works for a prominent New York law firm, declared the company had failed to observe the religious rights of Native Americans at one of its prospective mine sites in Michigan, USA.

Toxic impacts

Also from North America, Cherise Udell representing “Utah Moms for Clean Air” pointed out that residents of Salt Lake City, and in particular young children, were grievously suffering from toxic emissions at the company’s massive Bingham Canyon copper mine.

Patricia Feeney, director of Oxford-based Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) raised urgent questions about the impacts on water quality of the company’s proposed Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia.

Other questions related to the company’s position on the rights of Indigenous Peoples to withhold their consent for mining projects, including at the Pebble project in Alaska. The issue was also spotlighted in a letter by a leader of the Aboriginal Mirrar people in Australia, who fear for the consequences of the company’s  uranium extraction on their territory – extraction which, they believe, may have helped fuel the Fukushima disaster.

Rio’s empty promises

The question and answer session lasted  two hours – one of the longest since Rio Tinto first became a  “battle ground” between communities and the company in 1981.

Asked for his assessment of who had “won”, and who had “lost” at this year’s AGM, co-founder of Partizans, Roger Moody, said:

“It’s not a case of winning or losing. On the one hand, Rio Tinto has certainly made some concessions to its opponents – for example selling some of its more dubious coal mines.

“On the other hand, the gap between its promises and actual performance is as wide as ever.

“For example, the company says it’s in contact with aggrieved Indonesian communities still suffering from lack of compensation for the impacts of its closed-down Kelian gold mine. But, as Chalid Muhammad pointed out today, their grievances have remained unaddressed for the past couple of years.

“The company says it’s always ready to dialogue with its ‘stakeholders’.  And, one of these stakeholders, Cherise Udell, made a passionate plea on behalf of thousands of children affected by toxic emissions from the company’s Salt Lake copper mine.

“But, when she simply asked for a citizens’ round table meeting with Rio Tinto CEO, Tom Albanese, he ignored her plea.”

“Will it take another thirty years before Rio Tinto is doing what it says it will do?”

Colourful protest

Outside the AGM, Utah Moms for Clean Air led protests against the company. Colourful balloons were burst, each representing a premature death because of air pollution caused by the company’s operations at Salt Lake City. Air pollution in the area causes between 1000 and 2000 premature deaths per year, and Rio Tinto’s Kennecott subsidiary is blamed for 30% of this pollution.

For photographs of the protests and the AGM, see http://londonminingnetwork.org/2011/03/london-events-around-the-rio-tinto-agm/.

For further details and to arrange interviews with visitors from Indonesia and the USA, phone LMN Co-ordinator Richard Solly, 07929 023214.

Reflection on Rio Tinto AGM by a dissident shareholder
http://mohark-mohark.blogspot.com

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

London Olympic Medal Provider slammed for abuses

Gold, silver and bronze medals for the London 2012 Games will be sourced from Rio Tinto mines including the Kennecott Utah Copper mine in the USA, and the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. Protestors from both mines, as well as representatives from other Rio Tinto mines refute Rio Tinto’s claims of respect for human and environmental rights, and will demonstrate at the firm’s AGM in London.

WHAT? Campaigners with banners will protest over alleged human rights abuses by London-based mining company and Olympic Medal provider Rio Tinto. Protestors from Utah in the US, challenging the firm over air pollution from its mining and smelting operations at Salt Lake City, will perform colourful street theatre as part of their demonstration.

WHEN? 10.00-11.00 am GMT, Thursday 14 April 2011

WHERE? Queen Elizabeth II conference centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE

Protestors against mining giant Rio Tinto’s alleged human rights abuses will demonstrate with banners tomorrow (Thursday, 14 April) outside the London-based company’s annual meeting.

Claims of rape, torture and expulsion have been made against Rio Tinto, the world’s third largest publicly traded mining company.

The abuses have occurred at its Kelian gold mine in Indonesia.

The mine has been closed since 2004, but campaigners say abuses continue, and outstanding allegations have not been addressed by the firm.

Chalid Muhammad, chairman of the Indonesian Green Institute, who has acted as witness in negotiations between Rio Tinto and communities around the Kelian mine and will attend the meeting, said: “Rio Tinto needs to address allegations of abuse – of rape, torture and dispossession. These issues don’t simply disappear by closing the mine. Rio Tinto is not what it seems. It claims to be socially responsible, but it is not.”

Muhammad, from Indonesia , and visitors from Michigan in the US , will attend the protest and the AGM to confront the company with the impacts of its activities on their communities.

Meg Townsend works in a New York City law firm handling high-profile environmental litigation and represents Michigan groups concerned about water pollution and violations of Indigenous rights at the Eagle mine.

Cherise Udell from Utah Moms for Clean Air, will lead the Utah delegation.

London Mining Network, coordinating the visits, is an alliance of solidarity, human rights, development and environmental groups.

It is calling Rio Tinto to account for its human rights and environmental abuses.

And LMN plans to raise concerns at the annual meeting.

CONTACT: Richard Solly, LMN Co-ordinator, on 07929 023214 for further details and to arrange interviews.