THE long-awaited hearing in which 10 former Anglo miners with silicosis and silico-tuberculosis are seeking compensation began on Friday with an application to compel Anglo American to provide more details of its defence. The Legal …
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Sick miners ask Anglo American for details of defence
Vedanta: is Nyamgiri ruling a “revolutionary” moment for India’s poor?
“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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US Supreme Court “vacates” anti-Rio Tinto Bougainville case, but lawyer vows to continue battle
The US Supreme Court has “vacated” (i.e. relinquished) an earlier decision by another court, to hear a case against Rio Tinto, alleging its responsibility for war crimes (et al) on the island of Bougainville. Steve Berman, …
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New South Wales, Australia: Bulga wins battle against Rio Tinto over mine
The tiny Hunter Valley town has won a three-year battle against mining giant Rio Tinto, after a court ruling overturned a state-government endorsed decision to dig an open-cut coal mine next to the town. A …
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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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Vedanta faces India’s Green Tribunal over smelter disaster
India’s Supreme Court has fined Vedanta’s Sterlite subsidiary US$18.4 million for polluting water, soil, and air around its Tuticorin copper smelter in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, on 23 March 2013. However, as might …
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It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice: lessons from the Anglo American AGM
Read a report on Anglo American’s AGM on 19 April – including concerns raised by community representatives from Alaska, Colombia and South Africa, and the company’s responses.
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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Bougainville: War of words continues over mine re-opening: Rio Tinto accused of complicity in earlier human rights atrocities
Citizens of Bougainville, involved in the horrendous military conflict waged on the island for a decade, have been expressing views about the prospective re-opening of the Panguna mine. In early February 2013, Rio Tinto – …
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Canadian Aboriginal communities sue Rio Tinto for C$900m
Two Canadian aboriginal communities have filed a C$900 million (US$877 million) lawsuit against a Rio Tinto subsidiary, the Iron Ore Company of Canada (ICO), claiming that more than a half century of mining has disrupted …
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Mining giant faces probe over Olympics hospitality
Australia’s Fairfax Media reported that the US Department of Justice and the Australian Federal Police were investigating allegations that BHP provided inducements, hospitality and gifts to Chinese and other foreign officials.
The US Justice Department …
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Rio Tinto: difficulties in Mongolia bring back memories of nightmare in Bougainville
Bougainville: Rio Tinto faces war crimes allegations in bid to reopen mine
British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto is seriously contemplating reopening its Bougainville copper and gold mine, Reuters reported on February 7. Situated on Papua …
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