“The battle lines will be drawn indelibly between the people and the Corporates and it is anybody’s guess as to who will win.” So comments human rights activisit, M C Raj, as he reviews the …
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Vedanta: is Nyamgiri ruling a “revolutionary” moment for India’s poor?
India: Nyamgiri ruling “a great victory for indigenous rights”
In one of the longest-running – and certainly the most widely-publicised – of Indian struggles to halt a threatened mining venture, the community seems to have won. On Thursday, 18 April 2013, the country’s Supreme …
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Protest at Vedanta HQ as Supreme Court decision announced
Indian Supreme Court judges yesterday handed the final decision on Vedanta’s Niyamgiri mine to the Dongria Kond tribe and farmers living around the mountain. Two Gram Sabha’s (village councils) or local self-government within 10km of …
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New Zealand PM: Rio Tinto’s alumininum smelter “must stand on its own two feet”
Is it finally time to call Rio Tinto’s bluff?
There’s been a fifty year-long battle at bringing Rio Tinto to account (literally) for its exploitation of hydro power, to feed its Tiwai Point smelter on …
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Eskom must honour power deals – BHP
BHP Billiton expects South African power utility Eskom to honour deals that are letting the mining giant buy electricity for its smelters at just over half the cost of production, the company said on Wednesday. …
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Glencore delays closing of Xstrata merger, faces claims of aiding Iran nuclear programme
Glencore and Xstrata announced last Friday that they have, once again, extended the deadline for closing their long-awaited $80 billion merger, scrapping March 15 as a target due to continuing discussion with Chinese authorities.
For …
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Mining causes poverty through the logic of the Resource Curse
By Felix Padel and Samarendra Das
An answer to Venky Vembu’s article ‘Jairam is wrong: It isn’t mining that causes poverty’ written after Jairam Ramesh’s januray visit to Niyamgiri mountain.
The mainstream belief that mining-based …
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Vedanta: Inside report from the Supreme Court Niyamgiri case
This report comes from Foil Vedanta’s friend in the court room as the Niyamgiri case continues…
http://www.foilvedanta.org/news/inside-report-from-the-supreme-court-niyamgiri-case/…
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UK investigation launched as MoEF repeats no to Niyamgiri mine
Dongria Kond and farmers protest on Niyamgiri (Photo: Foil Vedanta)
Yesterday the Indian Supreme Court held its latest hearing on Vedanta’s planned mega-mine which threatens the Dongria Kond tribe who live in the Niyamgiri hills. …
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Rio Tinto boss Tom Albanese resigns over $14bn write-down
The chief executive of mining giant Rio Tinto has resigned after the company announced a $14bn (£8.7bn) write-down. The write-down relates to the company’s aluminium and coal-mining businesses. Chief executive Tom Albanese stepped down by …
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Indian Ministers support Indigenous Peoples against Vedanta
India Tribal affairs minister against diluting Forest Peoples’ Rights
Tribal affairs minister Kishore Chandra Deo has warned against dilution of the Forest Rights Act for faster approval to projects and has asked environment minister Jaynathi …
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Mozambique smelting profits should not fill foreign coffers, say campaigners: BHP Billiton accused
To attract foreign investors, the Mozambique government exempted the Mozal smelter from taxes on profit and VAT, levying only a 1% turnover tax, while allowing all profit from the smelter to be taken offshore. BHP …
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