The Big and the Small
Millions of workers around the world depend on income from small-scale mining. Three new reports examine how their economic survival can be promoted, but they come from different perspectives. The industry body, ICMM, regards these workers as “stakeholders” in corporate enterprises, without requiring a radical change to the nature of commercial mining. See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=9890. Earthworks [...]
Killings of smallscale miners in Colombia
FEDEAGROMISBOL is the Federacion de Agromineros del Sur de Bolivar (Federation of Smallscale Miners of the South of Bolivar) in Colombia. The Federation sees a link between the assassinations and the interest of AngloGold Ashanti (a South African company with a listing on the London Stock Exchange) in the area. The original Spanish text is [...]
Conflicts over mining: the illusory boundary between “legal” and “illegal”
It’s widely believed that “illegal” mining is only undertaken by small groups of entrepreneurs or artisanal operators. If, and when, the state cracks down on their operations, the culprits are removed (sometimes with considerable violence, as in Brazil and Indonesia) to be replaced by registered and “more responsible” companies. But the reality is often more [...]
African descent community faces eviction by Anglo Gold Ashanti in Colombia
URGENT ACTION! From the human rights team of the Process of Black Communities and other organisations: 6th August is the date fixed for the eviction of the black community in La Toma, in the Suárez municipality in north Cauca, Colombia. La Toma´s Afro-descendant inhabitants have been declared ´squatters in bad faith´ in a legal possession [...]
