Kallis outlined his vision for a $1.5 billion clean energy precinct in the outback of South Australia that would take advantage of the unique combination of geothermal, solar and wind energy resources, the intersection of major gas pipelines, and the proximity of the world’s largest mine and other major developments.

The big opportunity is, of course, to service the massive energy demands of BHP Billiton’s proposed Olympic Dam expansion – which could be more than 700MW at that site alone – as well as other mine proposals or expansions.

See http://www.climatespectator.com.au/commentary/cheap-and-green-energy-miners.

(The Olympic Dam mine is, of course, anything but clean – see http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/oz/u/roxby/BHP%20Alt%20AR%202011%20-%20Dirty%20Energy.pdf.)

photo: Jane Calliste

Protesters from the Occupy LSX demonstration marched from St Paul’s cathedral to join anti-nuclear campaigners, supporters of London Mining Network member group Colombia Solidarity Campaign and others outside yesterday’s BHP Billiton AGM. See short video at http://vimeo.com/31028821 and report at http://london.indymedia.org/articles/10589.

Inside the AGM, Julio Gomez from Colombia confronted the company over its activities in Colombia. Julio is President of the Federation of Communities Affected and Displaced by Mining Exploitation in La Guajira (FECODEMIGUA).

This Federation was constituted because of the disappearance of communities, the loss of lands and the violations of people’s rights over the last thirty years by the Cerrejon mine, one-third owned by BHP Billiton.

Julio said:

“The benefits obtained in this part of the world from coal mining in La Guajira, such as electrical power and shareholders’ dividends, are stained with blood. This is because of
· the displacement and uprooting of communities neighbouring the Cerrejon mine;
· the humiliations, threats, and persecution suffered by leaders of these communities;
· the destruction and pollution of nature;
· and the exploitation of mine workers.

Many of you may be aware of the forced eviction of the community of Tabaco ten years ago, of the situation of other communities and that of the workers. What you are probably not aware of is that many other communities were destroyed completely before BHP Billiton bought into the mine – among them indigenous and Afro-descendant communities including Manantial, Palmarito, El Descanso, Caracolí, Sarahita and others located along the railway line between the mine and the port.

BHP Billiton has not accepted responsibility for the disappearance of these communities, but it ought to do so, because it has acquired the rights and benefits generated by this business and with it the responsibility for past and future activities.

It is unfair that while you are obtaining massive profits, we suffer from high rates of respiratory illness and cancers, malnutrition, high infant mortality, violations of our rights, land rendered infertile, loss of livelihood, and descent into poverty…

Meanwhile, Cerrejon Coal is carrying out publicity campaigns trying to show how generous it is. It uses the slogan ‘responsible mining’, which is completely inaccurate. Cerrejon seems to spend substantial amounts of money on publicity about social responsibility, but not enough on social responsibility itself.

My question, therefore, is, how long do we, the communities affected by Cerrejon, have to wait for BHP Billiton to take action and demand that its subsidiary Cerrejon Coal act with justice, respect and equity towards us, and that it have an effective and honest department of social responsibility?”

BHP Billiton Chairman Jac Nasser replied that some of the issues raised by Julio were of long standing but that others were new and alarming. He said that not everything the company did was perfect but that they had good intent and that he believed the company was making good progress and contributing to the local and national economy through taxes and social investment. He said that he would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Julio to discuss the issues with Julio in more detail. (Julio took him at his word, conversing with him after the AGM – though they were unable to ‘sit down’ for lack of available seating.) Julio made clear that if Cerrejon Coal’s activities were so beneficial to the communities in La Guajira, he would not have come from Colombia to raise these issues at the company’s AGM.

Representatives of LMN member groups PIPLinks and Down to Earth challenged the Board about BHP Billiton’s plans for uranium mining at Yeelirrie in Western Australia, the massive expansion of its enormous Olympic Dam uranium mine in South Australia, its plans for coal mining in forested areas of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, and its refusal to accept Indigenous Peoples’ right to Free, Prior Informed Consent under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Statements were presented from Aboriginal Elders in the areas of BHP Billiton’s uranium projects in Australia.

19th October 2011: To BHP Billiton’s London Shareholders and the Parliament of Great Britain

In 2010 and again in 2011 we instructed our representative body- the Central Desert Native Title Services (CDNTS) Ltd that we, the Traditional Custodians of Yeelirrie, are strongly opposed to the development of uranium mine at Yeelirrie in Western Australia. Yeelirrie is currently under occupation from BHP Billiton who is pursuing a uranium mine application with the State of WA.
After extensive discussion at the meetings between the Traditional Custodians and the CDNTS in 2010 and 2011 the group arrived at the decision to oppose the development. In 2011 this decision was unanimous among the group.

Traditional Custodians have strong concerns about the safety and management of radiation and the effects that mining Yeelirrie will have on the well-being of our country and our people.

The place Yeelirrie, in our language, means the place of death. We are custodians of that place; it is our responsibility to keep that poison, the uranium, where it is. If that uranium leaves our country and does damage to someone, that’s our responsibility and we take that very seriously.

We have been to the BHP Billiton Annual General Meetings two years in a row, in Brisbane and in Perth and will go again this year to Melbourne to tell the company and their shareholders that we don’t want uranium mining on our country. Despite our position they continue to pursue the uranium mine and avoid engaging with us. We have been very clear about our position.

Kado Muir – Chairperson of the West Australia Nuclear Free Alliance and Ngalia Traditional Custodian
Richard Evans – Koara Tribal elder

I, Kevin Buzzacott, Arabunna elder from Lake Eyre, make the following statement to the BHP Billiton AGM and shareholders:

We never did want Olympic Dam to develop in the first place under Western Mining.
The same thing applies to you. We don’t want you to continue with Olympic Dam.
In fact we want you to shut up shop immediately and leave that area.
By your influence, the State and Federal Governments have sold us out.

For over 40,000 years we’ve been able to maintain and look after our country.
Under the ancient culture and law, digging up and destroying sacred sites is prohibited.
The desert to us is just as important as the cities.

Because of the lack of consultation and understanding in the first place, and because of greed and selfishness, it seems easy to you people who are foreign to this land to destroy the ancient structure.

We have no alternative but to continue to expose you as wrongdoers. It is a criminal offence  that you people are committing, and you are already branded as criminals.

We are telling you to reverse the decision to expand and make an open cut mine, and cease this operation at Olympic Dam immediately.

Find a good use to spend your money. You will feel better as human beings.
I hope this message gets through to you.

I am inviting you to come and talk to reach a better understanding of the ancient dreamtime structure.

Kevin  Buzzacott.  19 October 2011

Meanwhile, there were protests in Adelaide, South Australia…

MEDIA RELEASE, 20 October 2011

A giant radioactive waste barrel has just been erected on Grenfell Street opposite City Cross Arcade to mark the introduction of the new Roxby Downs Indenture Agreement into SA Parliament.

“This barrel can be used to conceptualise the volume of radioactive tailings that will leak from the tailings dams of the newly approved Olympic Dam open-pit uranium mine” said Riley Ashton of Protest BHP Adelaide.

“This leak will contaminate the aquifer with radioactive isotopes and heavy metals, and threaten groundwater dependent ecosystems for thousands of years” said Mr Ashton.

“BHP Billiton’s Environmental Impact Statement states that the maximum rate of seepage from the radioactive tailings dams in the first decade will be 8 million litres per day.  That’s over 90 of these barrels each day, amounting to over 33 000 of these barrels each year (approximately 2922 million litres per year), and equivalent to more than 7.5 barrels every 2 hours,” said Mr Ashton.

“At 40 years of operation, the new tailings dams at Olympic Dam will have leaked well over 47.5 billion litres of radioactive waste into the underlying rock and groundwater, approximately 540 000 of these barrels” said Mr Ashton.

“This is absolutely unacceptable,” continued Mr Ashton.

This coincides with a community rally at BHP Billiton’s Adelaide office, protesting the recent approval of the Olympic Dam Mine.

For comment, more information or photos contact:
Riley Ashton:  0421 593 902
Nectaria Calan: 0432 388 665

and in Perth, Western Australia…

Peaceful protest calls for an end to big exemptions for the Big Australian

More than 40 people from all over Perth gathered at BHP Billiton’s city offices on 20 October to protest the proposed Olympic Dam uranium mine expansion and remind the mining giant that there is no social license to mine uranium in Western Australia.

Despite BHP sending dire warnings of protestor violence to its Perth-based employees, the event took on a carnival atmosphere with a cheeky BHPeep Show featuring doubles of BHP CEO Marius Kloppers and Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke.

Part of a national day of action timed to coincide with the BHP Billiton Annual General Meeting being held in London, the protest followed Minister Burke approving the expansion of South Australia’s Olympic Dam uranium mine last week. The multinational mining giant is also pursuing a uranium mine at Yeelirrie, 70kms South West of Wiluna in central WA.

See http://ccwa.org.au/media/peaceful-protest-calls-end-big-exemptions-big-australian.

See also http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/bhp-warning-is-ridiculous-protest-group-20111020-1m96y.html
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/10502297/bhp-warns-staff-of-protest-fear/
and http://www.smh.com.au/wa-news/bhp-warning-is-ridiculous-protest-group-20111020-1m96y.html.

Greens tying up Olympic Dam with new parliamentary inquiry, $30 billion project faces delays

News reports from Australia say BHP Billiton may face delays in getting approvals for its $30 billion Olympic Dam expansion, as Greens and other minor parties holding the balance of power in the South Australian Parliament push for an inquiry into the project. See http://www.mining.com/2011/10/18/greens-tying-up-olympic-dam-with-new-parliamentary-inquiry-30-billion-project-faces-delays/.

Back in Britain, Julio Gomez accompanied his visit to the BHP Billiton AGM with meetings with Coal Action Scotland in Edinburgh, UNISON North East in Newcastle, Latin American community groups, workers’ organisations and solidarity campaigns in London and the South East, officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, Peers and Members of Parliament, and the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group. He spoke at a well-attended public meeting in the Houses of Parliament the evening before the BHP Billiton AGM. His visit to Britain was organised by London Mining Network and the Colombia Solidarity Campaign.

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

The Federal and South Australian Governments are currently considering the final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed expansion of the Olympic Dam mine. This is the last stage of the approval process, with South Australia premier Mike Rann’s recent comments emphasising his commitment to approving the project before his retirement indicating that approval may be fast-tracked at the state level, sacrificing what should be a thorough consideration of the implications of the project to the ambitions of a retiring politician.

BHP Billiton plans to supplement the existing underground copper and uranium mine near Roxby Downs with a massive open-cut mine. The open pit will be 4 kilometres long by 3.5 kilometres wide and 1 kilometre deep. Export of uranium is expected to increase from an average of 4,000 tonnes per year to 19,000 tonnes per year, and the production of copper, gold and silver is also expected to increase.

WEAPONS  
19,000 tonnes of uranium per year is sufficient to fuel 95 power reactors which will produce 28.5 tonnes of high-level nuclear waste per year (in the form of spent nuclear fuel). That amount of spent fuel contains 28.5 tonnes of plutonium – enough for 2,850 nuclear weapons each year. BHP Billiton sells uranium to nuclear weapons states, states refusing to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban treaty, states blocking progress on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, states with a history of secret nuclear weapons research, and states stockpiling “civil” plutonium.

RADIOACTIVE WASTE       
Under the mine expansion plan, the production of radioactive tailings, stored above ground, will increase from the current 10 million tonnes per year, to 68 million tonnes per year. The tailings contain a toxic acidic soup of radionuclides and heavy metals. It is estimated that by the mines closure, these tailings will total nearly nine billion tonnes, equivalent to nine times the volume of Sydney Harbour, which BHP intends to leave on the surface of the land, forever.

As with the current tailings dams, the proposed new dams are designed to leak radioactive waste into the underlying rock. BHP estimates that 8 million litres of liquid radioactive waste will seep from the tailings dams every day for the first decade of the new mine, then 3 million litres per day for the next 30 years.  BHP acknowledges that seepage from the tailings dams could result in elevated concentrations of contaminants, including uranium, in the groundwater.

RADIOACTIVE RACISM      
The mine operates under the Roxby Downs Indenture Act, which provides exemptions from the South Australia Aboriginal Heritage Act, the key legislative instrument providing for the protection of Aboriginal heritage in South Australia. BHP Billiton is in a legal position to determine what consultation occurs with Traditional Owners, who is consulted, and the nature of any consultation. The company decides the level of protection that Aboriginal Heritage sites receive and which sites are recognised. It is a clear conflict of interest to have a corporation with a commercial interest in a piece of land also making decisions regarding whether this same land has competing non-commercial values.

“Many of our food sources, traditional plants and trees are gone because of this mine. We worry for our water: it’s our main source of life. The mine causes many safety risks to our roads – transporting the uranium from the mine. It has stopped us from accessing our sacred sites and destroyed others. These can never be replaced. BHP never consulted me or my families, they select who they consult with. Many of our people have not had a voice. We want the mine stopped now, because it’s not good for anything.” – Eileen Wingfield, Kokatha elder

THE ROXBY DOWNS INDENTURE ACT   
The Roxby Downs Indenture Act allows wide-ranging exemptions from key South Australian laws, such as the SA Environmental Protection Act (1993), Freedom of Information Act (1991), and the Natural Resources Management Act (2004), which encompasses water management. These legal privileges allow the mine to operate without the same level of scrutiny and legal accountability as other corporations.

BHP is currently seeking amendments to the Act to extend these legal privileges to the new mine. If these amendments are passed, SA will host the largest uranium mine in the world, operated by a mining giant with a questionable international social and environmental record, which will be shrouded in secrecy and exempt from key laws designed to regulate the environmental practices of exactly these types of developments.

WATER CONSUMPTION  
BHP Billiton proposes to increase its water consumption by an additional 200 million litres per day. Water intake from the Great Artesian Basin will increase from 35 million litres per day to up to 42 million litres per day, with the remainder to come from a proposed coastal desalination plant at Point Lowly. That’s over 100,000 litres every minute – in the driest state on the driest continent on earth. The water intake from the Great Artesian Basin has already had adverse impacts on the unique Mound Springs found near Lake Eyre, which are fed by the underlying Artesian Basin, and are sacred to the Arabunna people, the traditional owners of the area. Under the Indenture Act, BHP Billiton pays nothing for its massive water intake for the Olympic Dam mine, despite recording a total net profit of US$23. 95 billion in 2011, nearly double its 2010 figure of US$13.01 billion.

The proposed desalination plant has been inappropriately sited in the ecologically sensitive Upper Spencer Gulf. The highly saline brine output of the plant has the potential to damage the marine ecosystem, threatening the prawn and scale fish fisheries. The reef habitat near the proposed site hosts the only known breeding aggregation of the Giant Australian Cuttlefish in the world. There is potential for the brine to impact the hatching rates of cuttlefish eggs, where it disperses into the breeding ground. Certain characteristics of the Upper Spencer Gulf marine environment, such as dodge tides, which are distinguished by limited tidal movement, mean that BHP cannot guarantee that such dispersal will not occur. Cuttlefish lay their eggs and die shortly after. If their eggs do not hatch they do not return to breed again.

ENERGY USE  
Open pit mining is energy intensive. BHP’s proposal to dig the largest open-pit mine in the world will blow out South Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 12 per cent, undermining any efforts by South Australia to reduce emissions. By 2020, when the mine could reach full operation, it would use about 20 per cent of the state’s electricity supply. Diesel use will rise from 26 million litres a year to 372 million litres a year for the five year construction period, peaking at a total of 516 million litres a year at full production (including transport). The diesel needed just to dig the world’s largest open pit to access the ore body will create emissions equal to the total emissions of the underground mine.

MORE INFORMATION   
Peter Burdon, ‘Above the law? Roxby Downs and BHP Billiton’s Legal Privileges’,
http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/oz/u/roxby/indenture/indenture/

It’s currently one of the most successful companies anywhere, with a market capitalisation that puts it among the world’s top five corporations.

But, as London-listed BHP Billiton looks forward to presenting shareholders with its annual results in October, many questions remain unanswered. Will it proceed with a massive expansion of its Olympic dam uranium-copper mine, or a major coal project in rainforested Kalimantan? How will it account for the impacts of a US$1.3 billion expansion of Colombia’s Cerrejon coal mine – where it’s partnered with Anglo American and Xstrata? Why has the company recently invested to heavily in shale gas extraction, using so-called “fracking” – a process which heavily-criticised  for its potential chemical pollution?

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11141&l=1.

Kazakstan remains the most significant uranium producing country – by far (thanks to mines owned by the state nuclear company, Kazatomprom, and from smaller mines operated in joint ventures with Cameco, Areva and Uranium One).

ARMZ (the Russian state-owned nuclear conglomerate) – credited with supplying 8% of global uranium requirements last year, is also 100% state owned – and is currently the 51% shareholder in Uranium One, itself the 6th largest uranium producer in 2010. Uranium One has a main listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and has a secondary listing on the  Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Its assets are located in Kazakhstan, the United States and Australia and it is now the operator of the Mkuju River Project in Tanzania.

(Commentary by Nostromo Research)

See the global uranium summary in ARMZ and the man at http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11115&l=1.

“There hasn’t been a [nuclear] plant in the world built without the relevant government assuming much of the construction, operating and financing risk. There is not a single insurer, banker or construction company in the world that is willing to assume that risk.” That’s the conclusion reached by an Australian analyst earlier this month.

Does this mean there will soon be a severe contraction in demand for the country’s uranium? Time will tell. But meanwhile, BHP Billiton looks like delaying expansion of output from its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia – host to the world’s largest uranium deposit.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=11096

See also: Outgoing politician to keep negotiating for Olympic Dam expansion

Despite pressure to step down as soon as possible, outgoing S. Australian premier, Mike Rann has vowed to stay on until October 20th in an effort to help finalise the expansion of BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=133036&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page36?oid=127249&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

The move is seen as one of the surest signs to date that BHP Billiton will proceed with the expansion, which the company has only referred to in vague terms since acquiring the mine in 2006.

See http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/BHPs-Olympic-Dam-expansion-takes-key-step-forward-pd20110330-FF7WL?opendocument&src=rss.

The presiding Judge concluded that: “The native title in the land of the traditional owners in preventing mining are significant and genuine. The Kokatha people’s genuine, longstanding and consistently voiced opposition to mining weighed against approval.”

This is a significant judgment, not only for the Kokatha in the Lake Torrens region, but also – by implication – for some of their Aboriginal kinsfolk, 75 kilometres away.

Here, BHP Billiton operates its massive Olympic Dam (aka Roxby Downs) mine, which purportedly hosts the world’s fourth largest remaining copper deposit, its fifth largest gold lode and its largest cache of uranium.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10661.

The company’s annual report, available on its corporate website, paints a very positive picture of the company’s operations. Many of the company’s critics have produced an alternative report, putting the other side of the picture. Read the alternative report at http://www.piplinks.org/system/files/BHP+Billiton+Alternative+Report.pdf.

“While you are getting a good standard of life … we Wayuu are eating food contaminated with coal … Why, when you have money in your bank accounts, why are our people living in worse conditions?”
- Karmen Ramirez, Wayuu from Colombia

A number of community activists and shareholders raised issues around the environment and human rights at today’s London AGM of BHP Billiton plc. Many of these focussed on the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples.

The issue of the Cerrejon Coal Company in Colombia (one-third owned by BHP Billiton) took centre stage. Representatives of communities in Colombia being removed to make way for expansion of one of the world’s biggest opencast coal mines asked the company for fairness in the negotiations, and made requests to ensure this would happen. They also raised the issue of health problems from the dust caused by the current mine operations, and fears for their own security in a country where raising legitimate concerns against companies can make people targets of human rights violations. Yoe Arregoces and Wilman Palmesano made a special appeal to the company to take measures to guarantee the security of the communities and their leaders.

Karmen Ramirez, who works with Wayuu communities affected by the mining, made an impassioned plea to the company and shareholders to respect the rights of the local people. “All we want to ask the company is to respect our rights. Please review all agreements that the company has been making without any type of consultation.”

The issues of BHP Billiton’s activities in the Philippines and Australia were both raised. In Australia, there was a call to gain the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous Peoples with regard to the massive expansion of the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia. The words of Arabunna Elder, Uncle Kevin Buzzacot, were read out: ”Do not expand this mine. We don’t want an open cut mine. We do not want any more water taken out of the Great Artesian Basin.”

Shareholders were handed copies of an Alternative Shareholders Report. The report, which can be downloaded from here, catalogues abuses of human rights, particularly of affected communities, issues of worker health and safety, livelihood and food security, and environmental problems. It also raises issues around climate change and BHP Billiton’s commitment to increased extraction and promotion of both coal and uranium for power production. Marius Kloppers, CEO of BHP Billiton, said that he would review the contents of the report.

Although BHP Billiton is not a household name in Britain, the activities of the BHP Billiton group have a massive impact on communities all around the world. Those are part-funded by high street banks and pension funds investing money provided by millions of working people in the UK.

The company in all cases noted they worked to the highest standards, defended their record and promised to look further into some of the issues raised.

For more information
contact Richard Solly, London Mining Network, 07929 023214.

Notes to editors:

1. Colombian Community Representatives

Karmen Ramirez works with Wayuu Indigenous women’s groups Cabildo Wayuu Nouna de Campamento and Sutsuin Jiyeyu Wayuu – Fuerza de Mujeres Wayuu (SJW-FMW). The Wayuu People live between the mine and the coal export port of Puerto Bolivar. They are affected by the transportation of coal from the mine and the militarisation of the area to protect the company’s interests.

Yoe Arregoces and Wilman Palmesano represent the Afrocolombian communities of Roche and Chancleta, which face relocation as the Cerrejon coal mine expands and which, despite company protestations of goodwill, are being deprived of means of making a living while negotiations on relocation continue.

2. London Mining Network (LMN) is an alliance of human rights, development and environmental groups. Members include ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa), CATAPA (Comite Academico Tecnico de Asesoramiento a Problemas Ambientales), Colombia Solidarity Campaign, The Corner House, Down to Earth (the ecological campaign for Indonesia), Forest Peoples Programme, LAMMP (Latin American Mining Monitoring Programme), Partizans (People Against Rio Tinto and its Subsidiaries), PIPLinks (Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links), TAPOL (the Indonesia human rights campaign) and the Society of St Columban.

LMN exists to expose the role of companies, funders and government in the promotion of controversial and unacceptable mining projects. It does this by publishing reports, participating as “dissident” shareholders in company meetings, holding educational events and, where appropriate, advocacy with investment institutions, politicians and NGOs.

3. London is the centre of world mining finance
Most of the world’s biggest mining companies, and many smaller (‘junior’) mining companies, are listed on the London Stock Exchange, including its Alternative Investment Market (AIM). London is the world’s biggest centre for investment in the minerals industry: British high street and investment banks, churches and boroughs invest hundreds of millions of pounds a year in scores of mining projects across the globe. The mining industry’s key lobbying organisation, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) is based in London. So are the world’s most important metals price fixing mechanism, the London Metal Exchange, the leading precious metals trader, the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the World Gold Council.

4. Mining is one of the most polluting industries in the world. It has a disproportionately negative impact on marine-dependent and land-based communities, especially Indigenous Peoples, and is frequently associated with forced evictions, militarisation, conflict and human rights abuses including extra-judicial killings. Use of coal in energy generation is a major contributor to destructive climate change; use of uranium produces a radioactive legacy which threatens the wellbeing of thousands of generations to come.

BHP Billiton is the largest mining company in the world. Jointly listed on the London and Australian Stock Exchanges, it has a market capitalization of 180 billion US dollars, more than twice the size of its nearest rival, Brazil’s Vale Inco. In the financial year 2008 its earnings before net finance costs and taxation were over 24 billion dollars and its attributable profit (excluding exceptional items) over 15 billion dollars. It produces and markets aluminium, coal, cobalt, copper, diamonds, iron ore, lead, manganese, nickel, petroleum, potash, silver, titanium and zinc.

The company likes to claim a good reputation for corporate social responsibility. But is it justified?

1 Communities and the environment

The company’s 2008 Annual Report (2.9 Sustainable Development – Health, Safety, Environment and Community) says:

One of our strategic drivers, ‘Licence to operate’, recognises the intrinsic link between sound sustainability performance and long-term business viability. We aspire to Zero Harm for our people, our host communities and the environment, and strive to achieve leading industry practice. Sound principles to govern safety, business conduct, social, environmental and economic activities are integral to the way we do business. As a global company, operating in many different countries, we are subject to extensive regulation surrounding health and safety of our people and the environment. We make every effort to comply with the regulations and, where less stringent than our standards, exceed applicable legal and other requirements. We have a number of systems and supporting documents to implement our commitment to sustainable development. The Sustainability Committee of the Board continues to oversee the Group’s sustainability strategy, policy, initiatives and activities. Management holds responsibility for our Health, Safety, Environment and Community performance and for driving our commitment to Zero Harm.

How well does the company live up to its principles? Let’s investigate some examples…

1.1 Chile: excessive water use at Minera Escondida

The Escondida copper mines (57.5% owned by BHP Billiton) in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile are in desperate need of water. Plans to draw large quantities of groundwater from areas near the mine were turned down by regulatory authorities after massive opposition from local communities who feared for the survival of their settlements and farms if so much scarce water were diverted to the mines. The company now plans to expand its desalination operations on the coast and pipe the water to the mines.

But communities over the border in Argentina fear that the company may be seeking to transport water over the Andes from the Argentinian province of Salta. This would be cheaper than relying entirely on desalination. According to Salta’s El Tribuno newspaper (16 April 2008), an Argentinian company began drilling at the end of last year, without approval or even an environmental impact study.

According to the newspaper, ‘details emerged about a project that BHP Billiton had developed in early 2000 in Santiago, Chile. There, in the offices of a company named “Inversiones El Alamo SA” (El Alamo Investments, Inc.), consultants working with Minera Escondida began creating a “technical and economic feasibility study for the production and distribution of industrial water for mining projects from the province of Salta (Argentina) and the II Region of Chile.” ….  A team of journalists from the Salta newspaper El Tribuno has revealed that holes are being drilled near Capie and the Socompa and Llullaillaco volcanoes, which are only ten kilometres from the Chilean border and the region of Antofagasta. The team verified that at least five wells have been drilled and are ready to be connected to an aqueduct that will carry the freshwater to Monturaquí, the Trans-Andean settlement located some 25 kilometres from Socompa and 75 kilometres from La Escondida.’

Local communities in Salta are concerned about the possible diversion of water and the Secretary of Mining of the province is apparently opposed to it. The company should abandon the plan.

Source: Latin America Editor, Mines and Communities (www.minesandcommunities.org)

1.2 Colombia: community removals round the Cerrejon Coal mine

BHP Billiton was part of a consortium of three multinational companies which in late 2000 bought the Colombian Government’s 50% share of the massive opencast Cerrejon coal mine in northern Colombia. The mine, operated by Exxon subsidiary Intercor (which owned the other 50% share) had a history of forced relocations of communities, with inadequate or non-existent compensation, to make way for mine expansion.

In August 2001, the small farming village of Tabaco, inhabited mainly by Colombians of African descent, was bulldozed by the mining company in a brutal operation accompanied by hundreds of armed soldiers and security personnel. In February 2002, the consortium of which BHP Billiton was a part bought the remaining 50% of the Cerrejon mine from Intercor. BHP Billiton now owns 33.33% of Cerrejon Coal, the mine’s operator.

In response to a sustained campaign of community opposition, supported by dissident shareholders in BHP Billiton plc and others around the world, last year BHP Billiton and the other two multinational companies involved in Cerrejon Coal (Anglo American and Xstrata) commissioned an Independent Panel of Investigation to look into Cerrejon Coal’s social programmes and its general impacts on local communities. The Panel found substance in much of the criticism that had been levelled at the company. It made a number of recommendations, particularly concerning a just settlement for the people of Tabaco. The Panel recommended, among other things, that Cerrejon Coal work with the Tabaco Relocation Committee as well as with other former residents of the village to ensure just compensation, buy collective land for agriculture and help construct a church and community centre for common use by former residents. The Panel also recommended that in future open, transparent negotiations take place with communities badly affected by the proximity of the mine, leading to collective relocation with community consent.

The company has broadly accepted the Panel’s recommendations. Negotiations with the Tabaco Relocation Committee and with communities facing imminent relocation have begun. Some progress has been made towards the relocation of Tabaco but Cerrejon Coal and its multinational owners still refuse to accept the full legal and moral implications of their purchase of a company which had treated communities with such brutal lack of respect. Too much is being left to the good will of the Colombian State, which has over the years demonstrated its complete lack of interest in a just settlement.

Difficulties also remain for communities currently facing displacement. There are disagreements over the quantities of replacement land needed for communities to continue their agricultural activities and worries that while the relocation process is under way – a process which may take two years – people will have no means of supporting themselves.

At the same time, Cerrejon mine workers who are members of the SINTRACARBON trade union are concerned about the inferior working conditions of non-unionised contract workers at the mine. SINTRACARBON is also worried about exposure to coal dust. The union says that coal dust is a hazardous substance under Colombian law and that because of this the company is legally bound to pay higher social security contributions than it is currently paying, in order to facilitate earlier retirement for mine workers.

The Panel’s report can be found on the Cerrejon Coal website at http://www.cerrejoncoal.com/formas/425/Cerrejon%20Panel%20Final%20e%20v%20%20260208%20(2).pdf and the company’s detailed response at http://www.cerrejoncoal.com/formas/441/Response%20to%20the%20independent.pdf

Source: Colombia Solidarity Campaign, based on information from various community contacts

1.3 Guatemala: nickel production threatens pristine lake, local livelihoods

BHP Billiton is exploring for nickel in Guatemala and is believed to hold a number of leases in the Lake Izabal region, where there has been strong community opposition to any activities which run the risk of polluting the lake. Opposition has been based on the destructive history of nickel mining and processing in the area, which left areas of land without vegetation and contaminated ground water. A proposed ore processing and smelting plant, taking material from several planned mines, would inevitably affect the lake.

Over 1,000 fisherpeople and their families depend on the 40 species of fish and other aquatic resources of Lake Izabal, the largest of Guatemala’s four lakes. The lake is part of a major national reserve. All the communities surrounding the lake will be affected by the proposals, particularly the largest town, El Estor. ASALI (the Association of Friends of Lake Izabal) has campaigned to defend the fishing culture of the communities and the unique natural resources of the Department of El Estor, especially the river systems associated with the lake. Members of ASALI have been harassed and threatened by local supporters of mining.

Eco-tourism and solar energy projects are considered priorities for the region and are incompatible with large-scale resource extraction. Opposition to the plans comes not only from fisherpeople but from doctors, community workers and officials in the Guatemalan environment agency.

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer, a Liberal Democrat spokesperson in the British House of Lords and member of the All Party Parliamentary Groups on Central America and Latin America, visited the Lake Izabal area in February 2008. Baroness Miller doubts that the companies proposing mining and mineral processing in the area will be able to carry out adequate Environmental Impact Assessments or valid community consultation. She says: ‘The trouble is that it depends on the EIA being in a country which has the infrastructure, resources and will to make community consultation a reality. Given the problems Guatemala is still facing, not so many years after a bitter and terrible civil war, in governance and judicial probity, the companies proposing mining activity there must be aware that it is a very different matter from operating, say, in Australia.’

Sources: ASALI; Ken Luckhardt, Board Member, Mining Watch Canada; Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer.

1.4 Papua: Gag Island nickel project threatens forests, coral, communities

BHP Billiton’s planned nickel mine on Gag Island in Indonesian-controlled West Papua will tap one of the world’s richest nickel deposits – bringing profits for shareholders and revenues for the Indonesian and Papuan governments. But the US$4.5 billion plus plan, which includes a smelter on Halmahera in the neighbouring Moluccas, could very well also destroy livelihoods, forests, and the world’s richest marine environment.

The project has been highly controversial since exploration work was started in the mid-1990s. The company secured a government-issued Contract of Work covering the tiny Gag Island (12 km by 8 km) in February 1998, during the turbulent last months of President Suharto’s brutal and corrupt 32-year rule.

But the Gag project was put on hold after the island’s forests were classified as ‘protection forest’ and a 1999 Forestry Law made open-pit mining in such forests illegal. The mining industry launched a high pressure counter-campaign to overturn the ban, and thirteen projects eventually got the go-ahead in 2004 – one of them Gag.

Meanwhile, in 2002, a study by international conservation organisations had revealed that the Raja Ampat Islands, which include Gag, contain the richest coral reefs – 64% of all known coral species, with the highest marine biodiversity – in the world.

Raja Ampat is considered so important to protect, that it is first on the list of proposed UNESCO marine World Heritage Sites. When Indonesian parliamentarians were deliberating whether or not to permit mining in protected forests, UNESCO wrote to them to point this out. The letter said:

‘While media reports of decimated and degraded marine ecosystems in western and central Indonesia are common, this survey shows that there is still a chance to conserve globally significant, high quality island and reef ecosystems in Indonesia and to ensure future sustainable income sources for the local communities.’ (UNESCO Office, Jakarta letter to Akbar Tandjung, Speaker of Indonesian Parliament, 25 June 2003)

Local Papuan civil society organisations are today still calling for the sustainable development of eco-tourism and fisheries to improve local people’s lives. They want all mining in the area to be stopped immediately.

If BHP Billiton’s planned project goes ahead (it is a 50-50 deal with Indonesia’s state-owned company Aneka Tambang), it will be a giant among around 16 other nickel projects in Raja Ampat, a few of them already in production. According to local reports, mining is already muddying the clear coastal waters of other Raja Ampat islands, leaving islanders with the impacts while the nickel is shipped to Australia and China.

The groups are concerned that large-scale mining will have irreversible impacts on land, in the forests and in the surrounding waters, ruining prospects of sustainable, marine-based development.

There are also serious social and human rights concerns: an influx of workers or people looking for work from other parts of Indonesia could lead to tension or conflict with the island’s existing population, and competition for jobs.

On the wider political level, Indonesia’s security forces are quick to put down any expression of the Papuan desire for political self-determination – a right that has been denied ever since the sham ‘Act of Free Choice’ in 1969 was orchestrated by Jakarta in order to hang on to resource-rich Papua. But brutality against Papuan independence activists only fuels resentment against Indonesia profiting from Papuan resources. One scenario, which has already been played out at the notorious Freeport-Rio Tinto Grasberg mine on Papua’s mainland, is that the ‘separatist threat’ will be used as a justification for repression – courtesy of the Indonesian security forces. At Grasberg and in other parts of Indonesia, this has led to well-documented human rights atrocities committed against local people.

For more background on BHP and mining in Indonesia see Down to Earth’s website at http://dte.gn.apc.org/news.htm.  Source: Down to Earth

1.5 Peru: a legacy of injustice at Tintaya

Until 2006, BHP Billiton owned and operated the Tintaya copper mine in southern Peru. There was widespread opposition to the mine on health and environmental grounds. In 2005, after two days of public demonstrations, some protesters broke into the company’s offices, causing damage to company property. The company pressed for widespread prosecutions, and the legal process continues to this day. The State prosecutor is calling for harsh prison sentences of up to seven years against anti-mining activists who were not involved in any violence. BHP Billiton, sensing reputational damage, pulled out. The mine is now controlled by London-listed Xstrata plc.

Source: Latin American Mining Monitoring Programme

1.6 Philippines: violence and community conflict

BHP Billiton is involved in several controversial existing and planned nickel projects in the Philippines, with serious potential social and environmental impacts.

Islanders on Sibuyan in the Central Philippines have been protesting against an agreement between BHP Billiton and Pelican Resources of Australia, which is seeking to develop a massive nickel mine. During a peaceful protest on 3 October 2007, local councillor Armin Marin was shot dead by the head of the security guards employed by Pelican’s Philippine subsidiary Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corporation Ltd (SNPDC). Local people allege intimidation by the company in its efforts to silence opponents.

Sibuyan is a small (46,000-hectare) island in the province of Romblon. One-third of it is a protected area. Having been separated from the mainland as far back as the last Ice Age, Sibuyan has been dubbed the “Galapagos island of Asia.” Home to one of the densest forests in the world, the local people are well aware of the value of their unique ecology.

The 3 October 2007 protest was part of a continuing campaign by islanders to show their rejection of plans to develop mining on their island. BHP Billiton had an agreement to purchase 500,000 tonnes of nickel from SNPDC, in exchange for a loan of US$250,000 for exploration activities. BHP Billiton was therefore providing financing and incentives to drive the project forward despite strong local opposition.

Councillor Marin, who was married with five children, is a former employee of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Philippines. As a result of his killing, BHP Billiton has withheld funds under the ore-supply agreement, pending the outcome of an investigation. The company needs to ensure that its partners, suppliers and contractors adhere to the highest of standards.

At the same time, according to Catholic development agency CAFOD, ‘people living in Macambol on the island of Mindanao claim BHP Billiton’s joint venture partner, AMCOR, and Philippine government officials, have offered members of the community bribes in return for supporting the proposed mine and to silence opposition. One community leader was allegedly offered as much as one million Philippine pesos (around £12,000) by an AMCOR representative and a government official to support the project, in an area where the average family income is around £1 a day. BHP Billiton’s £13 billion project, which is in an area of outstanding natural beauty, home to rare and endangered species including the Philippine eagle and sea cow, is not due to start production until 2014 but  has already deeply divided this close-knit community. Some people living in Macambol are in favour of the mine while others think the potential risks to their livelihoods and the environment are too great. Many say they haven’t been properly consulted and some are afraid to speak out. At times, this tension has threatened to spill over into violent conflict.’

CAFOD will launch a report on this project at the same time as the BHP Billiton London AGM on Thursday 23 October. The agency is calling for ‘a new, independently-monitored consent process to be carried out and for the Macambol community to be given sufficient information about the mine and all its potential impacts so that they can make an informed decision about whether it should go ahead or not. CAFOD, which has been supporting the Philippine people’s struggle for justice for nearly 40 years, also believes that if the risks to the environment are too great, the project should not continue.’ (CAFOD’s report has been produced separately from London Mining Network.)

For further details of the CAFOD report, see www.cafod.org.uk/inthedark.

Sources: PIPLinks, CAFOD

2 Impacts of the proposed merger with Rio Tinto

BHP Billiton is eager to merge with rival Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto. Whether the merger is practical in the current financial climate is questionable. But is it wise, given Rio Tinto’s own track record? At its April 2008 AGM in London, Rio Tinto came under heavy fire for its involvement in projects in Alaska, Argentina, Bougainville, Madagascar, Michigan and Papua. In each case, communities affected or potentially affected by the company’s operations were opposing its activities because they believe they are causing or will cause significant damage to communities’ lives and livelihoods.

On 9 September, the Norwegian Government announced its decision to exclude Rio Tinto from its massive State pension fund ‘due to a risk of contributing to severe environmental damage’ at the Grasberg copper and gold mine in West Papua, in which the company is heavily involved. BHP Billliton is on record as admitting the damage caused by the riverine tailings disposal method which it used at Ok Tedi in Papua New Guinea. This is precisely the method used at the Grasberg mine. If it succeeds in its takeover bid for Rio Tinto, how could BHP Billiton reconcile its admission of the damage done at Ok Tedi with involvement at Grasberg?

3 Climate Change and radioactive wastes

On page 23 of the company’s Concise Annual Report for 2008, the company says:
‘Our challenge is to meet the growing global demand for resources while addressing the challenges of climate change…. Our new five-year targets … reflect out intent to further reduce the energy and greenhouse gas intensity of our business. We are also working with others to find technological solutions to manage our emissions and to address the impact of our products in relation to climate change.’

But the same Concise Annual Report announces (page 2) the ‘Commissioning of six major growth projects and other volume growth in our high-margin oil and gas, iron ore and manganese businesses expected in FY2009’ and (page 7) ‘We expect volume growth from our petroleum business to continue at around 10 per cent a year…’ And the Annual Report (section 2.2.2 Petroleum Customer Sector Group) boasts that ‘Our total oil and gas production in FY2008 was 129.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, an increase of 13 per cent over our total production of 115.05 million barrels of oil equivalent from continuing operations in FY2007.’

According to the Carbon Disclosure Project Leadership Index 2008, BHP Billiton’s ‘scope 3 emissions’ (‘indirect emissions that you cause but that are not from emission sources that you own’, which would include emissions attributable to the use of its products*) were 330,165,000 tonnes. According to the British Government’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) the UK emitted 557 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from all sources during 2006**.
* See http://www.puretrust.org.uk/Business/EmissionsScope.aspx)
**See http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/statistics/globatmos/gagccukem.htm.)

Then there is the company’s planned massive increase in uranium production. The mining, transport and processing of uranium are themselves important contributors to climate change, as documented by Germany’s Oeko-Institut in 2007 in a report prepared for the German Environment Ministry. (See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=1695; German language report available at http://www.bmu.de/files/pdfs/allgemein/application/pdf/hintergrund_atomco2.pdf). The mining and use of uranium also leave a legacy of radioactive wastes remaining deadly for hundreds of thousands of years.

The company’s Olympic Dam mine in South Australia contains the largest uranium ore body in the world. The company plans to expand the mine, creating a hole three kilometres across and one and a half kilometres deep. The mine already creates large quantities of deadly waste. About 35% of the uranium remains in this waste. The waste (‘tailings’) is put into a pit lined with plastic to prevent leakage, then covered with a layer of earth and then water. According to documentary film maker David Bradbury in his film A Hard Rain, the liners used in these tailings dams will last around 30 years. According to journalist Ty Pedersen, writing in Australian publication Green Left Weekly on 26 January 2008 (see http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/737/38157), three billion litres of this radioactive water leaked into the ground in 1994, under the mine’s former owners WMC. Pedersen also points out that in 1982 the South Australia Government signed the Roxby Downs (Indenture Ratification) Act, exempting BHP Billiton from the Aboriginal Heritage Act, the Development Act, Environmental Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and Natural Resources Act.

Pedersen encapsulates the mine’s double impact on radioactive waste production and climate change: ‘Olympic Dam also releases deadly radon gas from the uranium. Even the smallest doses of radon gas can cause cancer and birth defects. It is seven times heavier than air so it remains close to the ground and is odourless and tasteless. A Hard Rain explains that the radon gas has a half life of 3.8 days, which would be enough time to be blown to the nearby service town of Roxby Downs, the 550km to Adelaide or even as far as Melbourne and Sydney. Olympic Dam is already responsible for 10% of South Australia’s total power consumption. The proposed expansion would increase this to 25%, adding to the massive greenhouse gas emissions of the site — everything is taken in and out of Roxby by truck; every chemical, kilo of food, litre of diesel and all the minerals that are produced that head back out.’
Further information

For much more information about BHP Billiton, see www.minesandcommunities.org.