London Mining NetworkLondon Mining Network | London Mining Network

NO A LA MINA! SI A LA VIDA!

Richard — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:20:50 +0000

Protest against London-listed AngloGold Ashanti’s plans to construct a hige opencast gold mine in Colombia

3pm-6pm, Friday 1 June, outside Colombian Embassy, London

Nearest Tube: Knightsbridge 3 Hans Crescent, London SW1X 0LN

Join us in solidarity with the people of Cajamarca, central Colombia, to say NO TO THE COLOSA MINE AND YES TO LIFE!

See http://www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk/events/26-upcoming-events/567-no-a-la-mina-si-a-la-vida.

Campaign Update: Bangladesh: Mining Company Renews Efforts

Richard — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:17:36 +0000

With the appointment of a new director, the London-based company GCM Resources is redoubling its efforts to install the Phulbari coal mine in Northern Bangladesh, despite calls by the UN for the project’s immediate halt. Please take action!

See http://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/campaign-update-bangladesh-mining-company-renews-efforts or http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14975:bangladesh-mining-company-renews-efforts&catid=33:central-asia-indigenous-peoples&Itemid=66

Protesters want Rio Tinto off the Olympic podium

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:21:15 +0000

A protest against London 2012 sponsor Rio Tinto, which has supplied the metal to make the Olympic and Paralympic medals, welcomed the company’s shareholders yesterday in Brisbane, Australia, where the Australian annual meeting of the company’s board was taking place.

See http://www.mining.com/2012/05/10/olympic-games-protesters-attack-rio-tinto-in-canada-and-australia/.

African Minerals condemned in Sierra Leone

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:19:42 +0000

NATURAL RESOURCE GOVERNANCE AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE (NaRGEJ) PLATFORM – SIERRA LEONE

AS CONFLICT BREWS IN BUMBUNA, CIVIL SOCIETY DEMANDS IMMEDIATE GOVERNMENT ACTION PRESS RELEASE Freetown, Wednesday, 9th May, 2012. We, the civil society organisations working on natural resources in Sierra Leone under the umbrella of the Natural Resource Governance and Economic Justice (NaRGEJ), having undertaken an in-depth investigation into the recent Bumbuna incidence, are worried over the level of and frequency of violence that is occurring in that once peaceful community. Our worries stemmed from the latest incidence, which was allegedly characterized by sporadic shooting by the armed wing of the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), resulting in the death of 24 years old Musu Conteh and leaving eleven others with serious gunshot wounds.

It may be recalled that workers of the African Minerals Limited staged a protest in the Bumbuna mine site on Monday 16 April 2012 over low wages and unfair treatment meted out by their employers. The highhanded response of the police deployed to maintain security around the site led to the dead of one person and the wounding of many others. As a consequence, the government issued a press statement indicating that His Excellency Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma wasted no time in dispatching a team of senior government officials to the area to engage all stakeholders, including the aggrieved workers, in an effort to resolve the impasse. The outcome of the meetings was a communiqué signed by all parties, in which the company (AML) agreed to adhere to most of the concerns that the workers had earlier raised.

It is worthy to note that the use of excessive force against defenseless and peaceful citizens protesting against the inhumane treatment meted out to them by mining companies operating in the country has become a disturbing phenomenon. The police are in most cases accused of doing this at the behest of the mining companies. This cannot be unconnected to the lack of transparency and inclusion in corporate governance resulting in poor regulations, procedures and mechanisms that favour largely the company leaving the citizens very vulnerable.

In 2010, at another AML mining site on the outskirts of Bumbuna, landowners were subjected to unprovoked violence and harassment as they resisted corporate abuse of their rights. Similar disturbances between affected property owners in the Koidu Holdings Limited concession in Kono District in December 2007 led to the death of two unarmed protesters and the wounding of several others. Despite official pronouncements from the government and subsequent investigations carried out, not much was done to redress the situation.

And we believe that the government has a fundamental constitutional and moral responsibility to protect lives and properties of its citizens. This does not in any way allude that we are not mindful of the government’s swift interventions in addressing conflicts emanating from workers protests and in helping to pacify the ensuing tensions. But we also equally believe that bringing the perpetrators of these inhuman and barbaric acts to justice will further enhance citizens’ confidence and peace in the mining communities.

It is in view of this that the Natural Resource Governance and Economic Justice platform is demanding that:

1. The Government of Sierra Leone sets up a Commission to inquire into the violence and conflicts that have been associated with AML resulting in the death of one Sierra Leonean and injuries to many others in order to establish the root causes of these conflicts and the best way forward;

2. The Government of Sierra Leone ensures that all parties fully comply with the Communiqué on the recent incident in Bumbuma;

3. The Government of Sierra Leone and AML adopt international best practice procedures in corporate governance by implementing the UN Business and Human Rights Principles and the ILO Convention on Labour Laws;

4. The Government of Sierra Leone immediately restore the Bargaining Certificate of the Mining and Allied Services Union (MASEU) whose withdrawal is depriving the workers of exercising and enjoying their labour rights;

5. The Government of Sierra Leone causes the AML to hold orientation sessions for their expatriate workers on the culture of Sierra Leone, particularly those aspects that are peculiar to the Tonkolili district where the operations of the company are based;

For detailed report and more information please check website www.nmjd.org or contact any of the institutions listed: Campaign for Good Governance, Conscience International, Talking Drum Studio , Sierra Leone Network on the Rights to Food (SilNORF), ACTION-AID International SL, Association of Journalists on Mining and Extractives (AJME), Green Scenery, Mining and Allied Services and Employee Union (MASEU), Network Movement for Justice and Development (NMJD) and National Advocacy Coalition on Extractives (NACE) and individuals whose contact numbers are mentioned below:

NMJD – PLATFORM CHAIRMAN +232 76 645 314, +232 76 673712 OR NACE – CO – CHAIR +232 76 602470; CJM 076-600954

Vedanta charges ahead in India

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:15:34 +0000

London-listed Vedanta Resources has yet again fallen foul of Indian law. Its Sesa Goa subsidiary is finally to be prosecuted for alleged fraud connected with iron ore trading. Meanwhile, residents in Goa itself accuse Vedanta of seeking to build a new pig iron smelter under the guise of expanding an existing, highly polluting, plant.

Yet another group of government workers has taken umbrage at the prospect of a deal with Vedanta – this time in Orissa. Last month, staff at child nutrition centres in Karnataka revolted against a move to place the UK company in charge of a government feeding programme. Now, employees at state-run Nalco are protesting against the prospective sale of their alumina to Vedanta’s Jharsaguda smelter. The workers maintain that Nalco “will not only lose precious foreign exchange leading to fall in its profit, it would also pave the way for Nalco’s privatisation. We will not allow this to happen”.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/11674.

See also Vedanta pollution: 22 died of TB in a village, allege tribals, http://www.cgnetswara.org/index.php?id=10774.

London Calling muses on the future of Mining’s Giants

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:11:55 +0000

Two of the world’s three biggest mining companies – BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto – are currently “dialing down their risks and the pace of their previous dash for growth”. This is in order that they can “adjust to the evolving near to medium-term environment and…focus their spending on the projects with the strongest medium-term returns.” At least that’s the view of Stephen Bartholomeusz, one of the most astute commentators on the mineral industry.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/11679.

No to CoAL!

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:09:59 +0000

Video from Water Open Day

The London-listed mining corporation Coal of Africa Ltd (CoAL) continues to push forward with plans to open a coking coal mine in the Venda region of South Africa.

A recent meeting between the the company and the community was termed a ‘Water Open Day’ and was part of Coal of Africa Ltd’s public participation programme regarding the proposed Makhado Coal Mine. The mining company is currently awaiting approval of a Water Licence application for the mine: a mine that will demand a huge amount of water from an already drought prone region. This short video shows precisely why the community are so opposed to it, and why they need your support…

See http://www.gaiafoundation.org/news/no-to-coal-video-from-water-open-day.

Rio returns to PNG

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:08:26 +0000

RIO Tinto has joined the growing ranks of major miners lured to Papua New Guinea. It did not make any grand announcements on the matter but has picked up at least three tenements.

See http://www.pngindustrynews.net/storyview.asp?storyid=8682927&sectionsource=s0…
Read more

Indigenous and Afro-Colombians of Jiguamiandó – Rights are Upheld

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:06:42 +0000

The Colombian Constitutional Court has once again reaffirmed the suspension order made on Muriel Mining Corporation’s Mandé Norte Project in Chocó. Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest mining corporations (and registered on the London Stock Exchange), has an 80% option on exploitation and has been the major contributor to bankrolling the exploration phase of the Mandé Norte Mining Project.

See http://www.abcolombia.org.uk/subpage.asp?subid=463&mainid=23.

Qatar plonks $4 billion on Xstrata and hands Glasenberg another victory

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:05:09 +0000

The Financial Times reports that the oil and natural gas rich nation of Qatar has plans to up its stake in Xstrata, currently negotiating a $90 billion merger with Glencore International, to over 10%, which would make the country’s sovereign wealth fund the diversified miner’s second largest shareholder.

See http://www.mining.com/2012/05/10/qatar-plonks-4-billion-on-xstrata-and-hands-glasenberg-another-victory/.

Glencore threatens to pull out of countries that want too much

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:04:03 +0000

Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg told a conference in Switzerland that mining companies will fight resource nationalism by pulling out of countries where they feel demands are too onerous.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=150864&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

Philippines: Miners and military create refugees

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:03:01 +0000

Displaced indigenous peoples’ leaders and human rights activists from Mindanao have been in Manila to condemn the military actions that forced them from their homes. As their testimony noted, many were driven out to make way for large-scale developments, including mining. Sharon Liguyon, wife of slain indigenous leader, Jimmy Liguyon, lamented: “Our lands are being taken away from us. Mining companies and the military brought fear and havoc in our communities … we want peace in our communities, and we demand justice.”

Also in Mindanao, a fact-finding mission travelled to Tampakan at the invitation of the indigenous B’laan, who recently erected barricades against the entry of the mining company controlled by Xstrata.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11678&l=1.

U.N. to rule on carbon offsets from coal plants

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:01:36 +0000

The main U.N.-appointed panel that regulates supply of global carbon offsets could this week decide whether to approve rules that would lead to the award of millions of CO2 credits to coal-fired power stations in developing countries, according to meeting agenda notes on the UNFCCC website.

See http://reut.rs/KYnEEK.

European Slump Leads Utilities To Burn More Coal

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 17:00:44 +0000

Europe’s economic slump is allowing utilities in some countries to burn increasing amounts of cheap, highly polluting coal for electricity generation and still meet legally binding targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions, Reuters research shows.

See http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-energy-power-co-idUSBRE8470JZ20120508.

Xstrata parody leaves mining giant fuming yet again

Richard — Fri, 11 May 2012 16:59:49 +0000

EFFORTS by coal giant Xstrata to purge a parody mining commercial from video site YouTube have backfired, reigniting interest in the months-old clip. The commercial, created as part of a union campaign by former Chaser member Charles Firth, was deleted from the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union’s YouTube account in early December after a complaint from Xstrata.

However, a different YouTube user has uploaded the video to YouTube again.

See http://www.smh.com.au/business/xstrata-parody-leaves-mining-giant-fuming-yet-again-20120423-1xhac.html#ixzz1uZXb2UY2.

Watch the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FA7EucYwcwI.