In 2008, Jubilee Sekiming engaged in sustained protest action and succeeded in driving the unwanted Lonmin prospecting rigs off their land. Later that year, when Anglo Platinum began paying Section 21 companies in villages across the area to paper over the cracks in houses due to its blasting activities, the Sekiming activitists again stood up for their rights.

It was through actions like these that the Minister of Mineral Resources was finally forced to announce her intention to disband the Section 21 companies. Yet, these companies still appear to be benefitting from Anglo Platinum favours today.

The question is: How can Anglo Platinum form structures in communities in order to SOW DIVISION. How can it BULLDOZE GRAVES in Sekuruwe, DUMP DIRT ON WOMEN PROTECTING THEIR LAND, allow women, children, and men to be beaten and arrested for protecting their land across the platinum belt, and ARREST 80 year old traditional leaders and the 11 year old child of an activist? HOW IS THAT ACCEPTABLE in the new democracy? BUT WHEN Sekiming community members protect their land, and drive off the drilling machines from Lonmin to which they never consented, then stand firm in the face of Anglo Platinum buying off the people in the Section 21, 46 community members are targeted and arrested for several charges, and 16 are convicted of public violence?

CLEARLY ANGLO PLATINUM BENEFITTED FROM APARTHEID and BENEFITS EVEN MORE NOW!

Jubilee Mokopane and community members from around the Mapela and Mokopane areas will be in the Mahwelereng Magistrate’s Court on 1 September 2010 to protest this repression perpetrated by Anglo Platinum and the Police. Despite reports from Action Aid, the SA Human Rights Commission, Benchmarks Foundation, the UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and even the Limpopo Premier’s Office exposing Anglo Platinum’s wrongdoing, the communities continue to face repression with no hope in sight from the government they elected and who is supposed to protect them.
 
For more information, please contact: Phillipos Dolo, (Jubilee Mokopane Coordinator) at 073 789 2489, Mr. Sekgala (Jubilee Sekiming) 071 245 4788, or George Dor (Jubilee South Africa General Secretary) at 011 648 7000 or 076 460 9620, george@mail.ngo.za.

See http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=552&fArticleId=5615710.

Has Anglo American, the transnational miner, run short of ideas over its continuing remodeling, a process that has been underway for more than a decade? Its latest move may be a sideways one, in the appointment of Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll as chairman of 80% subsidiary Anglo Platinum, and the promotion to deputy chairman of Anglo Platinum one Valli Moosa, a somewhat controversial South African politician.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page67?oid=107532&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

Read more at http://www.firestonediamonds.com/news-item&item=432647088147366.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10146.

What is not covered in this article is the tendency to mis-diagnose cases of silicosis (incurable) as tuberculosis (curable) still prevalent in some countries and among medical authorities, including those closely associated with companies. There is more on this topic in a paper given by Dr Shula Marks at a London Mining Network organised public meeting after the Anglo American AGM on 22 April 2010.

See http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/06/the-silent-scourge-of-silicosis/.

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page67?oid=105589&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

For background see http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page38?oid=102270&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

This article also mentions Anglo American.

Her talk dealt with the toll taken on South African miners by silicosis. She spoke alongside Alpheos Blom, a former gold miner from South Africa who is one of a number of former miners taking legal action against Anglo American plc’s South African subsidiary Anglo American South Africa in a case alleging negligent failure to control dust levels in gold mines controlled by the company. His testimony can be found in the report on the Anglo American AGM, held on 22 April, at http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/04/anglo-american-challenged-at-agm-full-report/.

To download and read the text of Dr Marks’ talk, click here:  Talk by Shula Marks 22-4-10

Anglo Platinum employee accused of disrupting community meeting

The Bench Marks Foundation has expressed its concern suggesting that an employee of Anglo Platinum was instrumental in preventing a meeting of the relocated Magobading community from taking place last weekend.

The community meeting was to have happened on Saturday 22 May, in order to implement an agreement that Anglo Platinum entered into with the relocated Magobading community on the 18th February 2010.  However, the meeting was prevented from happening by a group of angry young people from surrounding villages. It is alleged that the young people were organised by an employee of Anglo Platinum, Mr Trinity Mthiyana.

Bench Marks Foundation Executive Director, John Capel, says: “During the course of the past two months, Anglo Platinum has signed an historic agreement in France emanating from the meeting of the 18th February, committing itself to talking to the community and meeting its demands. We are very concerned at reports of intimidation of the community, some of whom were threatened with injury and even death. This kind of intimidation undermines the legitimate work of the community. We therefore call on Anglo Platinum to make every effort to ensure that none of its employees are involved in any way in such disruptive and intimidatory behaviour.”

The Foundation notes that Magobading is a relocated community, and that Anglo Platinum has promised to compensate it in various ways.  This includes promises to renovate halls and homes of community members.

The community has also called for an independent fund to be set up to provide resources to capacitate the community in various ways, including job creation.

Capel added that the Foundation will be talking to its national and international allies to assess the way forward. A meeting with COSATU, SACC the NGO Coalition of Limpopo will be held soon to mobilize support for the community. In addition, a complaint has been opened up with the South African Police Forces in Limpopo against those responsible for the threats against the community.

However, he added that many in the community are worried about a backlash against them and are living in fear of their lives. There are also allegations that a hit list has been drawn up by community leaders preferred by Anglo Platinum.

“The SA Human Rights Commission has already ruled against the way Anglo Platinum engages with communities, but Anglo Platinum insists on a policy of ‘divide-and-rule’ that further exacerbates tensions that can lead to people being killed,” Capel warned.

For more information, contact John Capel
+27 (0)11 832 1743
+27 (0)82 874 2650

Nuclear weapons are not desirable; many statements of politicians state that nuclear weapons should be abolished altogether. Nuclear energy is the other use of uranium; although it is often said – and advertised by the nuclear industry – to be a “saviour” from global warming, nuclear energy CANNOT contribute anything substantial to the problem of global warming; this has been shown and proven by different scientific studies.

Approximately  70% of the world’s uranium deposits are located on / under the lands of indigenous peoples. Thus, the rights of indigenous peoples, their land rights, their human rights in terms of health, securing their livelihoods and their means of subsistence, their way of life / their culture are often at stake when dealing with uranium mining.

Uranium mines leave behind huge amounts of “tailings”, radioactive waste due to the fact that uranium is contained in the ore only at 0.1 to 1 or 2 percent.  The quantity of the tailings alone is a serious problem. The tailings, which include solid tailings as well as liquid / slurry, contain approximately 80% of the original radioactivity of the ore – a cocktail of a dozen of radioactive decay products of uranium, with half lives up to 240,000 years – dangerous forever, in human terms. These tailings are in most cases left in the open, exposed to wind and rain, and radioactive and poisonous materials are contaminating the surface water, groundwater aquifers, the soil, the air, plants and produce, livestock and wild animals, the air to breathe, and will continue to do so for thousands of years into the future.

Uranium mining companies have NOT found any means to solve these problems and to dispose of their wastes in any responsible way, and they are NOT living up to their corporate social responsibility to clean up.  (In fact, companies rather ‘invest’ in PR and other activities to promote themselves as “good corporate citizens” through sponsorships, donations etc. rather than to deal with reality.)

On the contrary, many uranium mining companies have gone bankrupt after the uranium deposits were depleted – leaving their aftermath to the states / Governments to clean up; in most cases – from the US through Canada to Niger, Namibia, South Africa and to Asian states such as Kazakhstan, the companies have NOT cleaned up or provided for ANY secure methods to deal with the wastes they created.

In addition, attempts to contain the tailings have proven to be ineffective and have been shattered by all kinds of influences, from engineering faults to unforeseen events. This shows that humankind has NOT found a safe way to deal with the wastes from uranium mining, and that it is virtually impossible to deal with them in way that will assure “safety” for thousands of years.

Based on the track record of companies, as well as on the factual difficulties / impossibility to ‘contain’ uranium mining wastes safely for thousands if years, uranium mining is not – and will never be – a ‘sustainable development’.

The health effects from uranium mining to miners, people living in the vicinity of the mines, are also detrimental, as reports form mines in Namibia and Niger are showing, and reports from former uranium mines confirm the deadly impact (7,000 cases of lung cancer in Germany due to former uranium mines).

The low-level radiation material spilled / emitted  by uranium mines will affect many generations to come through damage to the DNA which is passed on from generation to generation. Thus, uranium mining is not – and will never be – a ‘sustainable development’.

At present, uranium mining is pushing ahead with  companies targeting countries in Africa – explicitly and for the simple reason that laws and regulations in countries like Australia are considered to be “too sophisticated” for them to operate. Thus, countries on the African continent are “preferred” targets – some do not have any radiation protection laws at all (e.g. Namibia) or they do not have the capacity to monitor (e.g Malawi, Niger) the mines and enforce their laws and regulations.

Uranium mining is by no means a “sustainable development”, but rather subject to  “hit and run” policies which has been controlled  by uranium mining companies all over the world for many years (as is shown by the many abandoned and un-reclaimed tailings dams evident in all  parts of the world).

Finally, in places such as Tanzania, Mali, mining activities are literally destroying existing sustainable economies:

In the Bahi region of Tanzania, referred to as “Bahi swamp”, in reality a rice-growing area, local farmers are effectively growing rice; their fields could potentially be taken over  by uranium mining companies and turned into open-pit mines for uranium – thus, destroying the livelihood of people in a country which is  struggling for food security. A few more examples of the impact of uranium mining especially on indigenous peoples:
In Namibia, the Topnaar-Nama people living in / near the Namib-Naukluft desert see their livelihood threatened by uranium mining which uses huge amounts of water pumped from the underground aquifers, bringing down the water level so that grass does not grow anymore, trees die, and their livelihood / means of subsistence is being destroyed. In Tanzania, The Wasandawi people, living as hunters and gatherers,  in the central part of the country; open-cast uranium mining will destroy their traditionally used lands, uproot their society and destroy their way of life. In Niger, uranium mining has already contaminated the groundwater (the  level of uranium in the drinking water 10 – 110 times higher than WHO standard), fossil water aquifers, non-renewable resources, have been depleted and will NEVER BE REPLENISHED.  AREVA  a French mining company, announced officially that their planned new mine (Imouraren) will have depleted the local fossil water aquifer about the same time that the uranium deposit will be exhausted – leaving local Touareg people with nothing to survive on. In Malawi, the newly opened Kayelekera Uranium Mine (Paladin Resources, Australia) has claimed the lives of  two workers even before the mine opened; the mine and its tailings pose a serious threat to Lake Malawi which is  a critical huge freshwater resource in South-East Africa, on which some 3 million people depend; the state / Government of Malawi pointed out that they do NOT have the capacity to monitor the mine, its effluents etc. independently and “trusts” the company to basically monitor itself.  The list of the short AND long-term negative impacts of uranium mining could be continued ad infinitum.

The negative and long-term impacts with NO way to resolve them at present, clearly demonstrates that uranium mining is by NO MEANS a sustainable activity. It needs to stop.

As far as South Africa is concerned, we have experienced Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) and the failure to find a solution to acidic and radiotoxic uranium mine tailings impacts that demonstrate that uranium mining can never be sustainable.

More importantly, we find the end-use of uranium — namely, nuclear weapons and depleted uranium ordnance — morally reprehensible and cannot support an industry where the long-term destruction of human life is its overriding purpose. The subsequent cover-up of an overly expensive and dirty civilian nuclear power industry is an equally unacceptable by-product of the weapons industry, when so many healthier and cheaper alternatives to electricity conservation and generation exist.

We conclude that only a global ban on uranium mining, with the uranium and nuclear industry obligated to clean up affected sites, pay compensation to the victims of their activities, and the constant monitoring of the sites in question, help improve, diminish and eliminate the current crises suffered by people and the environment.

AFRICAN URANIUM ALLIANCE
c/o Citizens For Justice-(CFJ) Friends of the Earth, Malawi,
Off Lilongwe-Blantyre Highway, Falls Estate, Plot # 57431, Post Dot Net, Box X100, Crossroads, Lilongwe, Malawi.  Phone: +2651727822 and +2651727828, Fax: +2651727826 Email: reinm@cfjmalawi.org

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page37?oid=103749&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

Outside the AGM, War on Want staged a protest – see report and photo at http://www.waronwant.org/news/events/previous-events/16883-war-on-war-protests-against-anglo-shame. For the information handed to shareholders as they entered the meeting, see the end of this report.

Report on the Anglo American AGM, 22 April 2010

Introduction

This was the first AGM chaired by Sir John Parker, who became Chairman of the company in September 2009.

The presentations given by Sir John Parker and Chief Executive Officer Cynthia Carroll are reproduced in full at http://www.angloamerican.co.uk/aa/media/releases/2010pr/agm2010/agm2010.pdf.

Below are some extracts from their speeches, with comments.

Sir John Parker was obviously worried about the impact of protests against the company’s joint venture with Northern Dynasty around Bristol Bay, Alaska, from Indigenous communities and commercial and sport fishing organisations. A critical article had appeared in British newspaper The Observer the previous Sunday (See http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/18/anglo-american-alaska-salmon-protest) and a large advertisement criticising the project in the Financial Times the morning of the AGM. (However, a delegation from Alaska had been unable to travel to London because of the eruption of the volcano in Iceland which had led to flight cancellations, and in fact only one Indigenous representative from Alaska, already in Europe before the eruption, had been able to come to the AGM.) Sir John Parker finished his opening remarks with the following comment.

“Finally, to any visitors from Alaska… … Your concerns involve a very early-stage project in which Anglo American has an interest. I’m sure there will be questions that you will wish to pose, but I would like to say now that, although I have not yet had the chance personally to visit the project, I do understand the concerns and interests that the Pebble project arouses and appreciate the different points of view presented. We have made it clear that the project will work on the basis of world class scientific and engineering skills and that we will use inclusive and innovative stakeholder engagement. Our bottom line remains that, if the project cannot be designed in a way that provides the proper protections for Alaska’s fisheries and wildlife, or to the livelihoods of Alaskan communities, then it shouldn’t be built. It is on that basis that we will continue to evaluate the project in full compliance with the prescribed regulatory processes in Alaska and the United States.”

[NB Rio Tinto is a minority shareholder in Northern Dynasty Minerals.]

Cynthia Carroll boasted of success in cost-cutting, including cutting the company’s total work-force by 23,400, which will not be good news to those workers or their families.

She also said: “The strategic review also identified businesses no longer core to our future: we will divest our zinc assets, Scaw Metals, and phosphates and niobium businesses, together with Tarmac. …The target we set was $2 billion of savings by 2011. We are on track for that, and have in fact restated our target upwards. We will now deliver that $2 billion just from our core portfolio – so it doesn’t take into account any contribution from businesses to be divested. In 2009, we generated more than $1.6 billion of savings, ahead of expectations.”

But she also spoke of new investment: “We’ve provided strong support to the re-capitalisation of both Anglo Platinum and De Beers in recent months. … We will invest $4.2 billion in new projects this year, out of a total planned capital expenditure for 2010 of $6.0 billion. To mention just two of these: the Barro Alto project in Brazil will produce around 40,000 tonnes per year of nickel, starting in the first quarter of 2011. It’s on budget, and it’s on schedule. Life of mine production costs will be around $3.70 / lb, and that compares to today’s nickel price of close to $12 / lb. In Chile, the Los Bronces copper expansion project is also on track and on budget and will start production in the fourth quarter of 2011. It will produce 370,000 tonnes per year of copper at the outset, and the cost per pound will be 80 cents over the life of mine – compared to a current copper price of over $3.50 / lb.”

On worker safety, she said: “In 2009 we achieved a 55% reduction in fatalities compared to the start of 2007. And we reduced our lost time injury frequency rate by 52% over the same period. In the first quarter of 2010, fatalities were 67% lower than the same period last year. We shall work to reduce accidents still further and we are relentless in striving to achieve our goal of zero harm. This is a priority in Anglo American. …

She stated that the company is “committed to environmental stewardship and minimising the environmental impact of our operations. Our sustainable development agenda progressed on several fronts during the year. One of the key elements of our strategy is the management of water: we have to find ways of using water more effectively in the communities and catchment areas where we operate. Effective water management systems are now in place across all of our operations. … Last March, we launched the Anglo Environment Way (AEW). It sets out a consistent approach to responsible environmental management, supporting our vision for minimising harm to the environment by designing and operating all of our operations in an environmentally responsible manner.”

Finally, on worker health, she said: “As for health, we’ve been dedicated to the issue of fighting HIV and AIDS since the 1990s – over 80% of permanent workers in South Africa now regularly test for HIV each year – and in 2008 we extended our policy commitment to include the dependants of our employees.”

Commitment to the health of workers and their families is to be expected as a minimum rather than applauded as a particular gesture of good will on the part of the company. But the commitment does not appear to extend to the health of former workers who have developed silicosis or tuberculosis as a result of their work and as a result are no longer working for the company. This issue arose in the first of the questions on the annual report.

Silicosis and tuberculosis among former gold miners in South Africa

The first question was from former gold miner Alpheos Blom, from South Africa. Speaking through his interpreter, he presented the following statement.

“My name is Alpheos Blom. I arrived in London at 5am this morning. This is the first time I have been out of South Africa. It was my first trip on a plane. I am 48 years old. I am a former gold miner. I worked at Anglo’s President Steyn mine in the Free State for 17 years from 1984 to 2001. I worked as a loader and a loco driver. I loaded freshly blasted rocks onto a machine and drive them through the mines. I have a very serious form of silicosis called Massive Fibrosis. I also contracted TB because of this. I developed this disease because of breathing too much dust from the mine.

“Silicosis is an incurable lung disease. I feel breathless all the time, I get tired easily and am in pain.

“The gold mining industry knew that thousands of gold miners were contracting silicosis each year. They knew that there was too much dust. Myself and the other miners I worked with were never given masks despite asking. Instead we would make our own by stealing bandages, these obviously did not work. We should have been able to wash our overalls every night and use showers in order to reduce the amount of dust we inhaled. But although white miners were given access to onsite showers and change rooms black miners were not provided with either of these things.

“As a result of my bad health I am unable to work and yet I have received no help from Anglo American South Africa, a company you own and for which I worked for 17 years. I am one of thousands of former miners in the same situation. Black miners were exposed to much higher levels of dust and therefore have a much higher risk of contracting silicosis. It is estimated that 25% of black miners from President Steyn mine contracted silicosis; this percentage applies to black miners in other gold mines. The industry employed half a million South African miners. This might give you some idea of the scope of this disaster.

“Miners who have silicosis also have a much higher risk of contracting TB because their lungs are damaged. Many miners have returned to their homes in places such as Eastern Cape and Lesotho where there are no clinics to diagnose and treat silicosis. They become very sick and many have died. Communities in these areas have been devastated. The industry knew about this for decades but simply washed its hands of ex-miners.

“I am part of a group of former miners who are suing Anglo American South Africa for failing to advise its gold mines on how to protect miners against excessive dust exposure. If our claim is successful it could lead to thousands more people coming forward. This case could help my quality of life however I worry that I may die before it is over. I would like to see a compensation scheme put into place now for silicosis victims, I would also like to see your company put into place a system for monitoring silicosis and TB and treating it promptly. Will you help us?”

Sir John Parker thanked Alpheos’ interpreter, mistaking her for his wife and referring to her as “Mrs Blom”. He said that the company is very sympathetic to the plight of the former miners but that as there is a case against Anglo American South Africa the proper place for comment is in the court in South Africa. He said that Anglo American is working with unions, government and industry to find practical solutions to the problems former miners in rural areas find in accessing medical care.

Sir John Parker did not comment on why it was that so many decades have passed since the mining industry has been fully aware of these problems, without effectively addressing them, or why it is that a company able to pay its executives and managers so generously is unable to compensate the miners whose work has created its enormous wealth and whose health has been wrecked in the process.

Anglo American has lost its way

A Mr Franklin, who said that he had been a shareholder for 44 years, said that the company had lost its way, unable to pay a dividend to shareholders while other big mining companies had been able to do so. It had slipped from number two on the list of world mining companies to number four.

Anglo American’s withdrawal from the Philippines

Andy Whitmore, of LMN member group PIPLinks, congratulated the company on quitting the Kalayaan project in the Philippines, partly as a result of community resistance. But he said that the company still appeared to be proceeding with the Connor Apoyo Project, despite community opposition. Two Philippine representatives had attended the 2007 AGM to voice this opposition. The company had agreed to an open meeting with the community but nothing had happened since.

Sir John Parker said that criticism had indeed been voiced in previous AGMs, that the company was currently not involved in any exploration activity in the Philippines and that it was in the process of exiting all its projects there. He asked Hugh Elliott, International Government Relations Manager, to confirm this, and Hugh Elliott confirmed that the company was in the process of exiting all its projects there.

Free Prior Informed Consent of Indigenous Peoples

Andy Whitmore asked a further question about Indigenous rights. He welcomed the fact that company policy recognises the special status of Indigenous Peoples but pointed out that the bottom line established by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC). He offered to arrange a meeting between the company and representatives of Indigenous Peoples to discuss making FPIC operational. Sir John Parker thanked him for the “civil request” and invited him to speak to Hugh Elliott about it.

“The unacceptable face of capitalism”

A shareholder said that Anglo American represented the “unacceptable face of capitalism” because its CEO had received a significant bonus while shareholders had received no dividend. He noted that page 85 of the company’s annual report stated that Cynthia Carroll’s bonus had increased to £372,000 and her total compensation package had increased to £1.6 million. She was also able to keep her earnings as a non-executive director of BP. This, he said, was different from Legal and General [which in August 2009 was the second biggest investor in Anglo American], which had cut but not abolished its dividend, and where no executive had received a bonus in the past year. Sir John Parker defended Anglo American’s levels of executive pay as being necessary to retain the services of effective people. He said it was important to “reward executives on a proper basis”. The company was committed to restoring the dividend as soon as possible. The company had not asked shareholders for more money, as other companies had done, and which had enabled them to hand part of it back as a dividend.

Communities and workers around the world affected by Anglo American’s operations might perhaps take the view that if Anglo American is “the unacceptable face of capitalism” it may primarily be for reasons other than the current lack of a dividend for shareholders, or even the level of executive pay and bonuses.

Share buybacks

A representative of the UK Shareholders’ Association said that share buybacks had been illegal until 1987, with good reason. He criticised the company’s continuing willingness to use them. He also attacked the company’s expenditure on electronic voting devices at its AGMs while it served only water and fruit juice to shareholders after the meetings. It is interesting that, while shareholders had made no response to Alpheos Blom’s harrowing account of suffering as a worker, there was applause at the suggestion that shareholders should receive better drinks after company AGMs. Sir John Parker defended the use of electronic voting devices as an aid to transparency.

Metallurgical coal in Australia

Another shareholder asked if the company would buy the McArthur Coal Mine in Australia. Sir John Parker said at present it would not. He said that metallurgical coal is core to the company’s activities and that it would develop a number of other coal projects in Australia.

De Beers

The same shareholder asked whether De Beers would be made a non-core part of Anglo American’s operations. Sir John Parker replied that it would not.

Merger with Xstrata

The same shareholder referred to Xstrata’s proposed merger with Anglo American. Sir John Parker said that the board was very wary of big mergers, which were as likely to destroy value as to create it.

Commodity prices

Another shareholder suggested that volatile commodity prices were unhelpful. Sir John Parker agreed. Cynthia Carroll said commodity prices were being largely driven by Chinese demand, and gave a long talk noting that the company was very optimistic about prices in the short and mid-term.

Pebble Project, Alaska

Verner Wilson III, from Bristol Bay, Alaska, said that Bristol Bay is the world’s largest remaining wild salmon fishery. He thanked Cynthia Carroll for coming to visit Alaska. He said that Anglo American is partnering in the proposed Pebble Project in the headwaters of salmon streams feeding the bay. The fishery is worth about $400 million and there is tourism as well. Verner Wilson said that his people depend on the fishery for income, food and the maintenance of a tradition dating back seven thousand years. He said that his people have concerns about the project. Pebble has already violated water permits during exploration. It is a very risky project. The fact that the company has violated permits during the exploration phase means that people cannot trust the company’s assurances about the future. Verner said that his people would fight to protect this resource. The UK is the largest importer of canned wild salmon from Bristol Bay. Cynthia Carroll had made a promise last year that if local people did not want the project, the company would not go ahead with it. 80% of people in the area are opposed to the project and 100,000 Americans have signed a petition against it. The fight against it will be national. Verner urged Anglo American to divest from the project.

Sir John Parker said that he was sorry that rest of the Alaska delegation was unable to join Verner in London. He said that the Pebble project is a 50/50 partnership with Northern Dynasty Minerals. The partnership was formed in 2007 and is based in Anchorage, Alaska. The deposit is primarily copper, but other minerals are present. There is no operating mine. The project is at pre-permitting stage. It is not expected to apply for operating permits for some time. It is not located in a protected area (although, he said, from the statements of the project’s opponents one could be forgiven for believing that it was). It lies on state land designated by democratic processes for mineral exploration and development. Alaska has designated land for mining and there have been two referenda about it. There are 174 million acres of protected area in Alaska. Bristol Bay covers 40,000 square miles, and the Pebble project would cover one twentieth of one per cent of this. But it does, he said, lie on land on which there is no current industrial activity. The Chief Executive of the Pebble partnership understands the significance of water and salmon. So over the past six years Anglo American and Northern Dynasty have invested $130 million in environmental and social studies, building up the largest database of facts on any project in Alaska’s history. The permitting process will take three years and during this time local people will be able to check the facts and make their objections known, should they have any. It is not just a decision for Anglo American but also for the Alaskan authorities. The permitting process involves eleven different federal and state bodies. There is a huge process before a decision cane be made to mine or not to mine. People need to decide on facts, he said, not on rhetoric or misinformation. The Chief Executive John Shively is committed to working with local people, and not all local people are opposed to the project. Alaska has a huge and proud mining record. There are already three major mining operations in the state, and they have never had a major environmental incident. Anglo American is looking at the leaching risks of every tailings dam it owns across the world, and it has an excellent record. He said that both he and Cynthia Carroll intend to visit Alaska.

(See also the report in the Independent at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/anglo-american-confronted-by-alaskan-protest-1950489.html.)

Corporate governance

One shareholder questioned the independence of two “independent” directors, who had been on the board for fully nine years each, the maximum permitted by the combined code of corporate governance. Sir John Parker pointed out that they were both retiring at this AGM. The shareholder said that the combined code said that where there were departures from recommended practice, they should be explained in writing to the shareholders. Although this matter had been explained at AGMs, there was no explanation in the annual report. Sir John Parker agreed that this was the case.

Expenditure on the Pebble Project

Another shareholder questioned why, if there was not a strong chance of the Pebble Project going ahead, $130 million had been spent on preliminary studies and asked the value of the deposit. Sir John Parker assured him that the company believed that the value of the deposit justified the expenditure and noted that it was not unusual to spend significant sums in advance when several billions may be invested in a project. This was simply part of doing business.

The Cerrejon Coal Mine in Colombia

Richard Solly, from LMN member group Colombia Solidarity Campaign, said that he was concerned that Cerrejon Coal, in which Anglo American has a one-third share along with BHP Billiton and Xstrata, had developed a kind of institutional ‘rigor mortis’ with regard to community relocations. An Independent Panel of Inquiry into Cerrejon Coal’s operations had made a number of recommendations, accepted by the company, about the treatment of communities required to move as the mine expands. Company officials continually assured critics of the company’s good intentions, but community members continued to complain that the company was not negotiating with them in good faith. Planned meetings would be cancelled at short notice; some community members would be informed, others not, causing anger and divisions within the communities. Timetables for relocation would be published on the company’s website without consultation with the communities. There was disagreement about the quantity of land and the design of houses in the relocated settlements. Cerrejon Coal was not even fulfilling the basic requirements of the World Bank’s Operational Guidelines on Involuntary Relocation, which established that where small farming communities were relocated they should be provided with agricultural land of equal or greater value from that which they were being required to leave. What would Anglo American do to ensure that Cerrejon Coal lived up to its responsibilities to the communities facing relocation?

Sir John Parker noted that Richard had rightly referred to a third party investigation, which was commissioned partly because of the complaints that Richard had brought to the AGM. The third party panel had not found any evidence of direct abuses, but had made a number of recommendations to Anglo American as one-third shareholders in the project. The company had taken on board these points and would actively pursue the issues as it wanted to move forward on this as quickly as it can. As to more specific points he then linked up over the telephone with the operational manager responsible, speaking from the United States. The connection was a poor one, but as far as could be heard, he noted that the company shared the frustration at the slow pace of relocations. However, they were working as fast as they could while striving to maintain community relations. They had bolstered management to speed things up and to get it right on community relations. The obligations are being met in the main, and issues are either under discussion or in progress. Anglo American is committed to the process and working on relocations.

Richard responded that people were losing their livelihoods while these delays continued, including as a result of the recent impoundment and death of cattle within the mine lease area. Sir John Parker expressed concern about this matter.

Anglo Platinum in South Africa

Nick Hildyard of LMN member group The Cornerhouse said that it was right to stress the importance of good community relationships in developing growth, citing the Annual Report. He said that his question concerned Anglo Platinum in South Africa and that he understood that nine people in the community of Sekuruwe were in the process of suing Anglo Platinum, among others, challenging the alleged consent that was supposedly granted by the community for a lease agreement between Anglo Platinum and the Minister of Land & Rural Development for the Blinkwater Farm. This land was used for ploughing fields, grazing and burial sites for the Sekuruwe community and others. This is apparently the same land where graves were removed and reburied without proper consent. He said that he had been told that the South African Heritage Resources Agency is currently investigating the way graves were removed and the lack of remains in some of the new graves. Nick asked how the company, collectively, had allowed this conflict to spiral out of control in this way. How much confidence could people have that the company would get it right at Pebble Bay, as executives were claiming that they would? Rather than addressing the issues in this case, Anglo Platinum is suing the lawyer, Richard Spoor, who is representing communities in an attempt to get redress. This lawsuit, for defamation, is rooted in the company disputing some of the facts that Richard Spoor relies on. Will the company rely on lawsuits to attack those in Alaska with whom it disagrees on facts? Is it in the company’s best interests to have a three week, high profile lawsuit in South Africa in which the facts are disputed? Has the company heard of the McDonald’s libel lawsuit against campaigners in London?

At one stage, Sir John Parker invited Nick Hildyard to make his point more quickly, but Nick declined, saying that he preferred to go at his own pace.

Sir John Parker said that he would not comment on the defamation case. He said that if the company believes that someone has “engaged in defamatory behaviour” it is the company’s duty to tackle it. He said that resettlement is difficult and that the company is committed to correcting any mistakes it has made. He said that the vast majority of people whom Anglo Platinum needs to relocate have moved to new villages. Only 64 families out of over 900 have refused to move. The company is working with the South African authorities to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

Mary-Jane Morifi, responsible for Anglo Platinum’s community relations in South Africa, commented via a telephone link on the legal case brought by the Sekuruwe community. She spoke extremely rapidly, making accurate note-taking impossible. Anglo American has discontinued the practice of making transcripts of its AGMs available on its website, possibly because of the volume of criticism that it has attracted during those meetings. Readers are sadly thus deprived of the possibility of reading Anglo Platinum’s defence of its relocation programme and its response to the legal case brought by members of the Sekuruwe community. It is interesting to note that although Sir John Parker was unwilling to comment on two of the three legal cases on which he was directly asked to comment, the Anglo Platinum spokesperson was happy to comment at some length on the third such case.

Shareholders entering the meeting were handed the following information by activists from London Mining Network.

Anglo American plc

Responsibility
Reputation
Returns….

Reality

Anglo American’s wholly owned subsidiary Anglo American South Africa Ltd is being sued in South Africa by former gold miners suffering from silicosis, on the grounds that the company negligently advised its gold mines with respect to protection of miners against excessive dust exposure.

Silicosis is lung disease caused by dust. South African miners were exposed to high dust without respirators. Black miners were exposed to higher dust levels than white miners. Between 250,000 and  500,000 miners were employed in South African gold mines during the 20th century. During apartheid mines relied on “migrant labour” from South Africa (e.g. Eastern Cape and Free State), Lesotho and neighbouring states e.g. Botswana and Malawi. The test case claimants are from the Free State, Eastern Cape & Lesotho.

A 2008 study focused specifically on former miners from Lesotho who had worked at the President Steyn mine found a rate of silicosis of 24 percent. The rate of TB was also very high. This was consistent with previous studies on black gold miners, which found rates of around 25 percent. Experts estimate that tens of thousands of miners contracted silicosis in South African gold mines. Miners with silicosis also have a much increased risk of contracting TB for the rest of their lives. This additional risk has been recognised for decades. Silicosis can take from 10-30 years to develop after exposure. A large proportion of miners only develop silicosis and TB after they have left the mines and returned to their communities. Because of rudimentary or non-existent medical services in rural areas, ex-miners frequently contract silicosis and TB which is undiagnosed and untreated, resulting in serious lung damage and death in numerous cases. Ex-miners in Eastern Cape and Lesotho, for instance, have been decimated by dust-related lung disease from gold mining.

The industry has been well aware of this for many years but washes its hand of ex-miners, and makes no medical or financial provision for them. Anglo American was the largest gold mining group. Anglo American PLC was formed in 1999, whereupon it acquired the Anglo gold mining business formerly headed by Anglo American South Africa Ltd. The claim alleges that Anglo American South Africa Ltd negligently failed to advise the mines properly to take measures to protect miners against excessive dust exposure.

The primary object of the test cases is to establish the legal principles on which miners should be compensated for silicosis and silico-tuberculosis. A further objective is that the industry should establish a medical monitoring scheme to ensure that ex-miners are diagnosed and treated for TB speedily and effectively. This could be achieved by injection of resources into the existing state system.

If Anglo American plc is committed to corporate social responsibility, it should (a) establish a compensation scheme for silicosis victims; (b)co-operate in alleviating further suffering by ensuring that ex-miners are monitored for silicosis and TB and treated promptly.

Elsewhere in South Africa….

·    Anglo American is benefitting from ’sweetheart’ deals with power generator Eskom which threaten to cause hardship for low-income citizens. (1)
·    Despite the company’s efforts to reduce worker deaths, especially at its South African deep mines, it still has a high rate of work related fatalities. (2)
·    Communities in Limpopo are in conflict with Anglo American over its subsidiary Anglo Platinum’s programme of removal of villages for mine expansion. Conflicts include complaints over loss of agricultural livelihood through inadequate access to good quality farmland without creation of sufficient mining jobs to compensate, and allegations of desecration of ancestral graves. Lawyer Richard Spoor, who has represented some of the communities involved, is being sued for defamation by Anglo Platinum. (3)

Elsewhere in the world …

·    Anglo American has a 50% stake in the Pebble Mine copper gold and molybdenum project in Alaska, which is opposed by a coalition of Native communities and commercial and sports fishing organisations. (4)
·    Anglo American’s De Beers subsidiary has been criticised for the level of influence it has over government and economy in Botswana, its environmental record and its attitude to Indigenous Bushmen communities. (5)
·    Since 2000, Anglo American has been involved in the massive opencast Cerrejon coal mine in northern Colombia. Since early 2002, Anglo American has been a one-third owner of the mine (along with London-listed BHP Billiton and Xstrata). The mine has a history of forced relocation of communities. The current owners have pledged to address this legacy and improve the handling of involuntary relocations. But an agreement made in December 2008 with residents of one destroyed village, Tabaco, remains stalled, and negotiations with other communities facing relocation drag on while communities suffer loss of livelihood and complain of health problems caused by coal dust. Community leaders allege that the company is not even fulfilling the basic guidelines laid down by the World Bank and that its critics have received death threats from persons unknown. Workers at the mine complain that the Cerrejon Coal company avoids paying adequate social security contributions to compensate for the dangerous nature of their work and that subcontracted workers are denied basic union rights. (6)

For further information, contact:

London Mining Network: http://londonminingnetwork.org, LMN@gn.apc.org, 07929 023214

War on Want: http://www.waronwant.org, mailroom@waronwant.org, 020 7549 0555

Notes

(1) See http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/04/black-and-white-unite-against-dirty-south-african-coal/.
(2) See http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/01/miners%E2%80%99-efforts-fail-to-cut-death-toll/
(3) See http://londonminingnetwork.org/tag/anglo-platinum/
(4) See http://ourbristolbay.com/index.html
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/02/pebble-project-among-most-important-north-american-mining-opportunities/
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2009/10/major-us-conservation-group-joins-alaska-anti-mine-campaign/
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2009/10/class-ring-makers-join-boycott-against-pebble-mine/
(5) See http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/02/benchmarks-report-on-de-beers/.
(6) See
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2010/01/union-contract-workers-continue-fight-for-work-rights-at-cerrejon-in-colombia/
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2009/10/community-representatives-in-london-to-challenge-world%E2%80%99s-biggest-mining-multinational/ (notes involvement of BHP Billiton, owner of another one-third of Cerrejon Coal, but applies equally to Anglo American)
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2009/07/colombia-attack-on-labour-rights-by-contracting-agency-for-el-cerrejon-mine/
http://londonminingnetwork.org/2009/01/colombia-seven-year-long-peoples-struggle-achieves-a-victory/

References corresponding to numbered notes in the text are listed at the end of the article.

Introduction

Mining giant Rio Tinto promotes itself as a responsible and ethical employer and good neighbour, as well as a protector of the environment.  According to The Way We Work, the company’s global code of business conduct, Rio Tinto’s “focus on sustainable development – on economic prosperity, social wellbeing, environmental stewardship and strong governance and integrity systems – provides the framework in which our business operates…”  (1)

Rio Tinto maintains that “respect is central to a harmonious workplace, where the rights of employees are upheld and where their dignity is affirmed, free of intimidation, discrimination or coercion of any kind.”(2)  With regard to human rights, the company professes to “…set out to build enduring relationships with our neighbours that demonstrate mutual respect, active partnership, and long term commitment.”(3)   Finally, with regard to the environment, the company proclaims that “excellence in environmental performance and product stewardship is essential to our business success…Wherever possible we prevent, or else minimise, reduce and remedy the disturbance of the environment.” (4)

It sounds good. But the reality is that Rio Tinto’s current operations are more in line with their past apparent collusion with fascist and racist regimes than their stated policies of respect for communities, workers and the environment. Despite the company’s claims, there are countless examples of alleged human and labour rights violations and environmental devastation perpetrated by Rio Tinto around the world and over decades.   From Papua New Guinea to Namibia, from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the U.S. to Madagascar, and from Cameroon to Indonesia, Rio Tinto has a long and shameful record.  We set out below summaries of some of the previous and ongoing allegations against Rio Tinto, gathered from information in the public domain.  Please follow the links for further details of these allegations.

A Record of Consorting with Repressive Regimes

In 1930s Spain, under the rule of fascist General Francisco Franco, left-wing miners who had expressed discontent with Rio Tinto’s mines by striking were called to order by Franco’s troops.  At the company’s 1937 annual general meeting, Sir Auckland Geddes reported “since the mining region was occupied by General Franco’s forces, there have been no further labour problems… Miners found guilty of troublemaking are court-martialed and shot.”(5)  Under Franco’s influence, Rio Tinto also provided ore for Nazi Germany’s re-armament programme.(6)

In Apartheid-era South Africa, Rio Tinto’s Palabora copper mine underpaid its migrant black labour force, failing to reach even the minimum wage set by the South African Institute of Race Relations.(7)  In neighbouring Namibia, black workers constructing the Rossing uranium mine lived in appalling conditions in temporary camps, which researchers found “akin to slavery.”(8)   While Rio Tinto continues to this day to profess its code of ethics and principles it seems the company’s drive for corporate profit is its top priority.

Borax Mine, Boron, California, USA

In the tiny Mojave Desert town of Boron, California, Rio Tinto recently locked out 570 miners from its borates mine.  Since January 31, 2010, these families have been struggling to make ends meet without a paycheque from Rio Tinto.  The company took this action in retaliation for the miners’ refusal to agree to a contract that threatened to turn decent, family and community-supporting jobs into part-time, temporary or contracted jobs.

Rio Tinto has brought in replacement workers to do the jobs of long-time, experienced miners, some of whom have worked at the mine and processing plant for 30 to 40 years.  It is unclear if the replacement workers have the ability to produce the same quality product with the same reliability as the experienced Boron miners Rio Tinto has locked out. It seems that Rio Tinto is simply using the replacement workers to help the company starve out the locked-out families.

The families of Boron have paid a heavy price for their courageous decision to stand up to Rio Tinto, a multi-billion-dollar, global bully that is used to pushing people around and getting its own way.  They worry about making mortgage payments, paying for health insurance and putting food on the table. But with the support of the Boron community and of families and workers throughout California, the U.S. and the world, they are standing strong and committed to winning a fair contract at the mine in Boron.

Panguna Mine, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

On the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, the people fought and won a 10-year war against Rio Tinto and its Panguna copper and gold mine during the 1990s.  Resistance to the mine was so intense, the company was forced to close it in 1989 and, since that time, the mine has not been operational.  Though the people of Bougainville were ultimately successful in their battle with Rio Tinto, they paid a heavy price – both for the mine’s development and for their opposition to it.

A class action complaint on behalf of the people of Bougainville now in U.S. federal court alleges that Rio Tinto committed crimes against humanity, war crimes and racial discrimination, as well as violations of international environmental rights, among other atrocities, in its efforts to establish and operate the Panguna mine.

Specifically, the complaint alleges that:

§    In constructing its huge copper mine in Bougainville, Rio Tinto used chemical defoliants and bulldozers to destroy the rainforest that had been a key source of subsistence to local residents; the company then, allegedly, sluiced off the hillside.(9)

§    During the years of the mine’s operations, billions of tons of toxic mine waste was generated and dumped onto the land and into pristine waters, filling major rivers with tailings, polluting a major bay dozens of miles away, and the Pacific Ocean as well.” The pollution reportedly was so extensive residents of the island were exposed to toxic chemicals that have caused death and/or illness.(10)

§    Air and water pollution has caused serious health problems among the villagers, including upper respiratory infections, TB and asthma. In addition, because they could no longer farm, fish or hunt, villagers’ traditional diet was replaced with processed foods, leading to an increase in the incidence of obesity.(11)

§     Rio Tinto “viewed the people of Bougainville as inferior due to their colour and culture and, therefore, intentionally violated their rights.”(12)  As part of its discriminatory treatment of the local people, the company allegedly paid “slave wages” to black workers.(13)

§    The company’s behaviour sparked an uprising among the Bougainvillian people that resulted in the closing of the mine. In response, the Papua New Guinea government brought in troops to reopen it. Rio Tinto allegedly provided vehicles and helicopters to transport troops and played a role in instituting a military blockade that lasted for almost 10 years, causing the deaths of 10,000 people between 1990 and 1997.

Rio Tinto has been fighting the class action for a decade, seeking to have the complaint dismissed. Recently, however, the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice refused to side with the company in its legal argument, thereby paving the way for the suit, which could cost Rio Tinto millions in reparations, to proceed in the U.S. court system.

Grasberg Mine, West Papua, Indonesia

The Grasberg mine in West Papua is another example of a Rio Tinto mining project gone terribly wrong. A joint venture between Rio Tinto (40% of joint venture production (14)) and Freeport-McMoRan, a U.S. corporation headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, the Grasberg Mine is one of the world’s largest single producers of both copper and gold, and contains the largest recoverable reserves of copper and the largest single gold reserve in the world, according to Freeport McMoRan.(15)

§    The mine reportedly has caused “massive environmental destruction” in West Papua due to the dumping of waste, including toxic metals, into Indonesia’s river system.(16)   According to WALHI, a leading Indonesian environmental group, the mine has already disposed of one billion tons of tailings into the local river system, resulting in copper concentrations in local rivers that are double the Indonesian legal fresh water limit. Over the life of the project, the mine reportedly will dump up to 3.5 billion metric tons of waste, despite the fact that riverine disposal is expressly prohibited under Indonesia’s water quality control regulation.(17)

§    In 1996, local people rioted, destroying $3 million in equipment and shutting the facility down for three days.  Shortly thereafter, Freeport-McMoRan, Rio Tinto’s partner, reportedly started providing significant support to the Indonesian government and military to ensure the protection of the mine.(18)   The company reportedly made an initial investment of $35 million in military infrastructure and vehicles and paid at least $20 million to military and police in Papua between 1998 and 2004.(19)

§    Serious human rights violations have reportedly occurred near the Grasberg Mine and Rio Tinto and Freeport-McMoRan have been accused of complicity due to their reliance on the military and police for security at the mine.  According to Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights, “in the mid-1990s the Indonesian security forces indulged in indiscriminate killings, torture and disappearances of local people in their safeguarding of the mine operations and their campaigns against West Papuan secessionists.” (20)

§    In 2008, Norway eliminated Rio Tinto from its Government Pension Fund due to concerns about the way the Grasberg mine was being operated.  The holdings the Fund divested itself were valued at $850 million. (21)

Kelian Gold Mine, Indonesia

Kelian Equatorial Mining (PT KEM), which closed in 2005, was a mining company jointly owned and operated by Rio Tinto (90%) and PT Harita Jayaraya Inc. (10%), an Indonesian company in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province.(22)  As at the Panguna mine in Bougainville and the Grasberg mine in West Papua, local opposition to the mine and the human rights violations and environmental degradation associated with it was very strong.

§    Hundreds of indigenous villagers were forcibly evicted from their land and 4,000 more reportedly had assets destroyed in the construction of the mine in the 1980s.(23)

§    According to the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights, protestors of the mine were arrested and detained on numerous occasions during the 1990s and some Kelian staff reportedly raped local community members.  Local people also reported that mine security guards shot at and attacked them and local police ran a terror campaign intended to squelch protests. (24)

§    In its 13 years of production the mine reportedly dumped 100 million metric tons of waste rock into the environment, much of which was contaminated.(25)   Rio Tinto acknowledged that there was “acid mine drainage” from the mine site; further, the company’s own environmental report said that in 1996 almost 1,100 kilogrammes of cyanide were discharged from the mine into the Kelian River.(26)

§    Due to the pollution of the river local residents reportedly lost their source of clean water for drinking and bathing and began to suffer from skin rashes and eye infections; in addition, the river fish virtually disappeared, depriving residents of an important source of food.(27,28)

Kennecott Eagle Mine, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA

California is not the only location in the U.S. where Rio Tinto is involved in controversy.  There are at least two environmental battles underway in the Great Lakes states of Michigan and neighbouring Wisconsin.  Both involve Rio Tinto subsidiary, Kennecott.

§    Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Eagle Minerals Co. is seeking to develop a nickel and copper mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; the mine is expected to yield 250 to 300 million pounds of nickel and about 200 million pounds of copper.(29)

§    Opponents of the mine have filed a lawsuit, seeking to overturn the state permit granted Kennecott; they contend the project does not meet legal requirements for protecting the environment and cite concerns including the mine’s potential to harm local rivers and groundwater. In addition, opponents say they fear the mine’s ceiling could collapse beneath the Salmon Trout River, which is home to the coaster brook trout.(30)

§    A lawyer for the National Wildlife Federation, one of the parties in the lawsuit, said the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) (since renamed the Department of Natural Resources and Environment), which approved the project, “has not required adequate applications, much less that there be adequate protections.”(31)

§    Kennecott also reportedly must obtain a permit from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in order to discharge treated wastewater.(32)  In addition to concerns about damage to the environment, local residents note that Eagle Rock, a traditional site of worship for the indigenous Anishinabe (Ojibwe) people, will be blasted through to construct the mine.(33)

§    ”Last year a judge recommended that Eagle Rock be protected as a place of worship. However, the director of the DEQ, ignored this recommendation and approved Kennecott’s mining permit alleging that Eagle Rock is not legally a place of worship because it does not consist of any built structures.(34)

Flambeau Mine, Ladysmith, Wisconsin, USA

Opponents of the Eagle Mine in Michigan cite environmental problems at the Flambeau Mine in Wisconsin as part of their argument against the development of the project.

§    Flambeau Mining Co., a subsidiary of Kennecott Minerals Co.,(35)   (wholly owned by Rio Tinto)(36)  operated the mine between 1993 and 1997, producing 181,000 tons of copper, as well as gold and silver.(37)  Although the Flambeau mine site has been “reclaimed” since it was closed, local residents and environmental groups assert that it continues to contaminate local water.

§    A conservation organization in Wisconsin announced in 2009 its intention to sue the Flambeau Mining Company, as well as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The notice of intent to sue submitted by the plaintiffs’ attorney notes that an independent analysis of the company’s own monitoring data “shows that the partially reclaimed mine is causing both surface water pollution and groundwater pollution.” According to the study, monitoring data prove that some groundwater does not meet the Flambeau Mine Permit standards or current Wisconsin groundwater quality standards.(38)

§    The notice of intent also cites a second independent analysis of the company’s data, which concluded, among other things, that “statistically significant increased copper concentrations in crayfish (whole-body specimens), walleye (liver tissue) and sediment … have been observed downstream from the Mine, raising the possibility of a causal relationship.”(39)  The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources also confirmed that water samples from the site taken during regular monitoring had shown elevated levels of copper, sulfate, manganese and iron.(40)

§    In 2007, when an agreement was reached stating the mine site was suitable for wildlife habitat and recreation, additional monitoring of a 32-acre portion of the site was mandated for five years to ensure no contamination of water or soil, etc. An attorney for the National Wildlife Federation said at that time “Despite Kennecott’s numerous attempts to clean up the source, it continues to pollute.” She added, “They (Kennecott) have publicly admitted through their actions that the Flambeau Mine is polluting. Kennecott has broken its promise to Wisconsin’s citizens not to pollute.”(41)

QMM Mine, Fort-Dauphin, Madagascar

The island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean provides yet another example of Rio Tinto’s apparent disregard for the communities and environment in which it operates.

§    Rio Tinto operates an ilmenite(42) mine on the east coast of the island. The entity on the ground, QIT Madagascar Minerals S.A. (QMM), is a joint venture between Rio Tinto’s wholly owned Canadian subsidiary QIT Fer et Titane (80%) and the government of Madagascar (20%). The project, which began construction in 2006, has received funding from the World Bank and infrastructure support from the government, including a new port. (The World Bank contributed $35 million to the port and QMM $110 million).(43,44)   The mine reportedly contains at least 75 million tons of ilmenite deposits, which are found in mineral sands, and could be operational for up to 40 years.(45)

§    Thousands of local people reportedly were displaced by the mine development and many received either inadequate compensation or no compensation at all for their customary land rights. People also allegedly have lost access to the food, firewood and medicines they had relied upon from the forest, which has affected both their livelihoods and their local culture and customs. Reportedly grave sites also were destroyed in the mine’s construction.(46)

§    Local people report that Rio Tinto has not hired as many workers from among the local population, depriving them of jobs and income they desperately need; in addition, the influx of workers from elsewhere has increased demand for food and housing, driving prices up beyond what local residents can afford.(47)

§    The mine reportedly has attracted opposition from conservationists since its inception because the mine site is located within the last remaining fragments of coastal forest in Madagascar; since this forest type is unique to the country – for example, QMM has reported 64 species of endemic flora found nowhere else – its fate is considered of global importance.(48)

§    Rio Tinto reportedly plans to  restore the natural environment once the dredging of the sand is complete and has established two conservation areas to protect forest biodiversity; however, experts have said these areas are too small to sustain the numbers of species currently found in the forest, which will result in a reduction of species diversity.(49,50) ,

Lom-Panger Dam, Cameroon

In the West African nation of Cameroon, Rio Tinto Alcan is working with the government to accelerate the construction of the huge Lom-Pangar Dam, a project that reportedly will displace an estimated 28,000 people.(51)  The government apparently is backing the dam because the country is in desperate need of new energy supplies and heavily dependent on hydroelectric power. Rio Tinto Alcan, the company’s aluminium group, wants the power for a new smelter project;(52) Rio Tinto Alcan already partners with the government in Alucam, an aluminium facility.(53,54)

§    The Bank Information Center (BIC), an NGO that partners with civil society in developing and transition countries to influence the World Bank and other international financial institutions, has voiced concern that the dam would have “significant environmental and social impacts,” including “flooding over 30,000 hectares of tropical hardwood forest, threatening the Deng Deng reserve and its biodiversity, and submerging a portion of the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline.”(55)

§    In addition, the BIC noted that the dam project “appears to respond to the energy demands of the expanding aluminium sector rather than the energy needs of the majority of the country’s population lacking access to electricity.”(56) Reportedly the Alucam smelter already consumes about half of Cameroon’s electricity and is seeking to more than double its production while receiving favorable electricity rates far below what residential users pay.(57)

§    According to the World Bank, the draft Environmental Assessment for the dam “states that the project will have significant environmental impact, particularly on natural habitats and physical cultural heritage, as well as health impacts (spread of malaria and other diseases). There also could be short-term adverse economic impact on local activities (agriculture, fishing, tourism, forestry and artisanal commerce,” according to the agency.(58)

Rössing Uranium Mine, Namibia

The Namib Desert in Namibia is home to the Rössing Uranium Ltd. mine, one of the world’s largest open pit uranium mines.  Rio Tinto owns about 69% of the mine, which produced more than 9 million pounds of uranium in 2009(59) and is expected to remain in operation until at least 2023.(60)  Like so many of Rio Tinto’s operations, the mine has a history of controversy.

§    In 1970 the company received a licence to mine uranium at Rössing, but the licence apparently was illegal because it was given by the then-Apartheid regime in South Africa, an investor in the mine, which at that time was occupying Namibia; Rio Tinto reportedly mined at Rössing in defiance of the United Nations and findings of the International Court of Justice.(61)

§    Iran, which has had an ownership stake (15%) in the mine since it opened in 1976,(62)  is another controversial investor in the mine. The U.S. and other countries have expressed concern that Namibia may provide Iran with uranium for its nuclear programme.(63)

§    Rio Tinto’s labour rights record at the Rössing mine has been abysmal.  According to the United Nations Council for Namibia, in the 1970s uranium was being mined “by virtual slave labour under brutal conditions.” As recently as 2000 the company reportedly continued to discriminate against black workers, paying them much lower wages than white miners.(64) The company also reportedly maintained a well-armed “private army” to handle labour or civil unrest at the mine and civilians were killed by the military, which was assisted by the mine’s security forces.(65)

§    Reports show that the Rössing workforce has suffered malignant diseases at higher rates than the general population or are at a much higher risk of ill-health and cancer because of past radiation exposures.(66)  Former workers at the mine and family members have pursued legal remedies for serious illnesses suffered related to their work at the mine, which they allege was caused by exposure to uranium, a radioactive and toxic heavy metal, and silica dust – both known health hazards if inhaled. According to one former miner, workers were not offered facemasks to prevent inhalation, nor did they ever receive information about health hazards at the operation.(67)

§    Environmental concerns at the Rössing facility also are abundant.  The mine produces 20 million tons of crushed, sulphuric-acid-soaked, slightly radioactive rock on an annual basis.  In addition, the plant consumes millions of cubic metres of fresh water annually in a region where rainfall totals only about 3 centimetres per year.(68)

Tainted Past is Affecting Rio Tinto’s Future

As is the case at many of its operations around the globe, Rio Tinto also is facing opposition to projects it would like to get up and running. For example, in the U.S. state of Arizona, the company is pursuing a land swap with the U.S. government which will allow it to develop a copper mine on what is now federal land.  However, the land deal is being stalled in the U.S. Congress based largely on concerns about Rio Tinto’s horrendous human rights record.(69)

In the Bristol Bay area of Alaska, there is heavy opposition to the development of the Pebble Open Pit Gold and Copper Mine in which Rio Tinto is a minority partner.  The project would include what would reportedly be the largest dam in the world, which would be used to contain toxic waste produced in the mining operation.  Native groups, commercial and sport fishermen and environmental groups are concerned about the threats the mine poses to salmon fisheries, moose, bear, caribou and other animals, and to the ecosystem as a whole.(70)

In March 2010, the  Colombian Constitutional Court ordered a halt to the country’s largest copper mining project, Muriel Mining’s Mandé Norte project, citing lack of proper consultation with local Indigenous and Afrocolombian communities over the mine’s potential environmental and cultural impact.  “Adequate action was not taken to ensure the communities were aware of the nature of the Mandé Norte project and subsequently able to make a decision with full awareness and understanding,” the court said in a ruling. Because Muriel’s project will inevitably alter the area’s ecological balance, the company must comply with its obligation to consult with the communities that inhabit that region and that will be affected by the mining activity, the judges said.(71)  Rio Tinto reportedly has a partnership stake in the project.(72)

For more information:

International Longshore and Warehouse Union
1188 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 USA
Craig Merrilees, +1 (0) 415-775-0533, x113; craig@ilwu.org
Amy Willis, +1 (0) 415-775-0533, x147; amy.willis@ilwu.org

To send messages of support to the locked-out miners, contact boronfamilies@gmail.com.

Notes

1  December 2009. The Way We Work, p. 5; http://www.riotinto.com/documents/The_way_we_work.pdf
2  December 2009. The Way We Work, p. 12; http://www.riotinto.com/documents/The_way_we_work.pdf
3  December 2009. The Way We Work, p. 14; http://www.riotinto.com/documents/The_way_we_work.pdf
4  December 2009. The Way We Work, p. 16; http://www.riotinto.com/documents/The_way_we_work.pdf
5  Partizans, March, 1991. Plunder!, p. 3.
6  Partizans, March, 1991. Plunder!, p. 4.
7  Partizans, March, 1991. Plunder!, p. 7.
8  Partizans, March, 1991. Plunder!, p. 8.
9  Sarei. v. Rio Tinto, p. 31.
10 Sarei et. al. v. Rio Tinto, p.  3.
11  Sarei et. al. v. Rio Tinto, p.35.
12 Sarei et. al. v. Rio Tinto, p.54.
13 Sarei et. al. v. Rio Tinto, p.40.
14 Rio Tinto, 2009 Annual Report, p. 40.
15 Freeport McMoRan company website, http://www.fcx.com/operations/asia.htm
16 Curtis, Mark, November 2007. Fanning the Flames: The Role of British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights, War on Want, p. 25.
17 Curtis, Mark, November 2007. Fanning the Flames: The Role of British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights, War on Want, p. 25, citing The environmental impacts of Freeport-Rio Tinto’s copper and gold mining operation in Papua, WALHI, Jakarta, 2006.
18 Perlez, Jane and Raymond Bonner, December 28, 2005. Freeport-Rio Tinto: Gold’s Other Price, The New York Times.
19 Perlez, Jane and Raymond Bonner, December 28, 2005. Freeport-Rio Tinto: Gold’s Other Price, The New York Times.
20 Curtis, Mark. Fanning the Flames: The Role of the British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights, War on Want, p. 25.
21 Acher, John, September 9, 2008. Norway fund drops Rio Tinto on ethical grounds, Reuters; http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USL872852220080909
22 Nyompe, Pius Erick, Executive Secretary, LKMTL, April 15, 2003. Indonesia Case Study, The Closure of the Kelian Gold Mine and the Role of the Business Partnership for Development/World Bank.  Presentation to the EIR’s Eminent Person and participants at the meeting on Indigenous Peoples, Extractive Industries and the World Bank Oxford, England; http://dte.gn.apc.org/Ckl03.htm
23 Curtis, Mark, November 2007. Fanning the Flames: The Role of British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights, War on Want, p. 25.
24 Curtis, Mark, November 2007. Fanning the Flames: The Role of British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights, War on Want, p. 25.
25 Curtis, Mark, November 2007. Fanning the Flames: The Role of British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights, War on Want, p. 26, citing The closure of the Kelian gold mine and the role of the Business Partnership for
Development/World Bank, Forest Peoples Programme, April 2003; Undermining Indonesia: Adverse social and environmental impacts of Rio Tinto’s mining operations in Indonesia,WALHI, Jakarta, 2003
26 International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, 1997. Rio Tinto Tainted Titan, The Stakeholders Report, p. 48; http://www.cfmeu.com.au/storage/documents/rio/RT.pdf
27 Curtis, Mark, November 2007. Fanning the Flames: The Role of British Mining Companies in Conflict and the Violation of Human Rights, War on Want, p. 25.
28 International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, 1997. Rio Tinto Tainted Titan, The Stakeholders Report, p. 48; http://www.cfmeu.com.au/storage/documents/rio/RT.pdf
29 Flesher, John, March 15, 2010. Opponents Ask Court to Overturn U.P. Mining Permit, Salon.com; http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2010/03/15/D9EFC65O0_mi_kennecott_mine/index.html
30 Flesher, John, March 15, 2010. Opponents Ask Court to Overturn U.P. Mining Permit, Salon.com; http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2010/03/15/D9EFC65O0_mi_kennecott_mine/index.html
31 Flesher, John, March 15, 2010. Opponents Ask Court to Overturn U.P. Mining Permit, Salon.com; http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2010/03/15/D9EFC65O0_mi_kennecott_mine/index.html
32 Flesher, John, March 15, 2010. Opponents Ask Court to Overturn U.P. Mining Permit, Salon.com; http://www.salon.com/wires/allwires/2010/03/15/D9EFC65O0_mi_kennecott_mine/index.html
33 Caplett, Gabriel, February 17, 2010.  New U.P. Mine is a Bad Deal (editorial), The Detroit News, p. A12.
34 Koski, Jessica L., April 11, 2020. UP mine threatens sacred tribal rights, Detroit Free Press (opinion); http://www.freep.com/article/20100411/OPINION05/4110426/1322/UP-mine-threatens-sacred-tribal-rights
35 June 6, 2007. Pro-Anti-Mine Forces Focus on Flambeau, The Mining Journal.
36 The company had been called Kennecott Minerals Co. Now it is known as Kennecott Eagle Minerals http://www.eagle-project.com/about.php
37 2004, Rio Tinto. Sustainable Development Case Studies Updated; http://www.riotinto.com/SustainableReview/common/pdfs/Flambeau.pdf.
38 June 16, 2009. Notice of Intent to File Citizen Suit under Wis. Stat. § 293.89, p. 8.
39 June 16, 2009. Notice of Intent to File Citizen Suit under Wis. Stat. § 293.89, p. 8.
40 Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/wm/mining/metallic/flambeau/.
41 June 6, 2007. Pro-, Anti-Mine Forces Focus on Flambeau, The Mining Journal; http://www.eagle-project.com/documents/CurrentNews/Mining%20Journal.pdf
42 Ilmenite is used in the manufacture of titanium dioxide, a whitener used in a range of products.
43 Friends of the Earth, October 2007. Mining Madagascar – Forests, Communities and Rio Tinto’s White Wash, p. 2; http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_briefing/mining_madagascar.pdf
44 Bannister, David, March 2009. A Promise Fulfilled, Review, p. 9; http://www.riotinto.com/documents/Library/Review89_March09_A_promise_fulfilled.pdf
45 Harbison, Rod, 2007. Development Recast? A Review of the Impact of the Rio Tinto Ilmenite Mine in Southern Madagascar, Panos London report for Friends of the Earth, p. 6; http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/development_recast.pdf.
46 Friends of the Earth, October 2007. Mining Madagascar – Forests, Communities and Rio Tinto’s White Wash, p. 3-4; http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_briefing/mining_madagascar.pdf
47 Friends of the Earth, October 2007. Mining Madagascar – Forests, Communities and Rio Tinto’s White Wash, p.5; http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_briefing/mining_madagascar.pdf
48 Harbison, Rod, 2007. Development Recast? A Review of the Impact of the Rio Tinto Ilmenite Mine in Southern Madagascar, Panos London report for Friends of the Earth, p. 45; http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/development_recast.pdf.
49 Friends of the Earth, October 2007. Mining Madagascar – Forests, Communities and Rio Tinto’s White Wash, p. 2,5; http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_briefing/mining_madagascar.pdf
50 Harbison, Rod, 2007. Development Recast? A Review of the Impact of the Rio Tinto Ilmenite Mine in Southern Madagascar, Panos London report for Friends of the Earth, p. 50; http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/reports/development_recast.pdf.
51 Inter Press Service, August 4, 2009. Construction; Fears for Forest as Dam Construction Begins, Africa News; http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=47946
52 Aluminum Association, February 13, 2009. Rio Says Cameroon Projects, Hydropower Dam on Track, Reuters.
53 Inter Press Service, August 4, 2009. Construction; Fears for Forest as Dam Construction Begins, Africa News; http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=47946
54 Ohlden, Anna, November 30, 2007. Rio Tinto Alcan and the Government of Cameroon Sign an Agreement for a Potential Hydro-Power Project and Greenfield Smelter, PRNewswire;
55 Lom Pangar Dam, Bank Information Center, http://www.bicusa.org/EN/Project.30.aspx.
56 Lom Pangar Dam, Bank Information Center, http://www.bicusa.org/EN/Project.30.aspx.
57 International Rivers, http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/africa/lom-pangar-dam-cameroon
58 World Bank Comments – Draft Environmental Assessment for Proposed Lom Pangar Dam, p. 1.; http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTCAMEROON/Resources/Lom_Pangar_Matrix.pdf
59 Rio Tinto, 2009 Annual Report, p. 47.
60 Rio Tinto, 2009 Annual Report, p. 49.
61 International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, 1997.Rio Tinto, Tainted Titan, the Stakeholders Report, p. 45.
62 McCrystal, Michael, May 28, 2004. Landmine of a Decision, CorpWatch.
63 The Namibian, February 3, 2009. Namibia; Govt Holds its Line on. Iran And Uranium, Africa News.
64 Boland, Sue, September 6, 2000. Rio Tinto: Founded on Blood, Green Left.
65 Asia-Pacific Human Rights Network, July 13, 2001. Associating with the Wrong Company, citing United Nations Council for Namibia and the Australian Council on Overseas Aid, respectively.
66 International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, 1997.Rio Tinto, Tainted Titan, the Stakeholders Report, p. 45;.Citing 23 Zaire, R. et al (1995) ‘Analysis of white blood cells from uranium mineworkers in Namibia for chromosomal and phenotypic alterations’ Free University: Berlin. 24 International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, 1995 “Nuclear Wastelands” London. p.143-145.
67 International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Unions, 1997.Rio Tinto, Tainted Titan, the Stakeholders Report, p. 45, citing Edwards, R. Op cit. 27 BBC Newsnight, 22 July 1997.
68 McCrystal, Michael, May 28, 2004. Landmine of a Decision, CorpWatch.
69 Davis, Tony, December 17, 2009. Superior’s Huge Mine Gets a Win in Congress, Arizona Daily Star, p. A1.
70 Renewable Resources Coalition, http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/pebble_mine.htm.
71 Mines and Communities, March 31, 2010. Muriel Up Against the Wall in Colombia, Court Rules Company Failed to Consult Local People; http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10008
72 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: http://www.business-humanrights.org/Documents/MandeNorte

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page38?oid=102270&sn=Detail&pid=92730.

Many NGOs have expressed alarm at the prospect of World Bank financing for a major new coal-fired power station in South Africa. Last week the Bank urged its most powerful member, the US, not to reject the proposed loan. Critics claim that, if the project goes ahead, it would unequivocally consolidate South Africa’s state-owned utility Eskom as the continent’s leading producer of greenhouse gases. In February, more than two hundred South African and other African organisations issued a statement condemning the loan.

Patrick Bond, director of the Centre for Civil Society in Durban, links the “sweetheart” deals, already signed between Eskom and the mining companies BHP Billiton and Anglo American, to increased impoverishment of ordinary citizens. He writes: “For communities near the coalfields (40 new mines are requested by Eskom to supply its new generators) and coal-fired stations, the externalised costs imposed by Eskom are extremely high, including the complete degradation of water sources, air pollution, a frightening rise in mercury associated with coal and other health burdens”.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10010.

Nonetheless, we might raise our eyebrows at news that the US and UK governments might vote against the US$3.75 billion plant, on grounds that it won’t be clean. For both these governments continue permitting new coal projects in their own citizens’ back yards. The UK government is also lending uncritical backing to the parlous Phulbari coal mine-power plant project in Bangladesh – which, ironically, the Asia Development Bank has itself refused to fund.

See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=9968.