For the elite athletes of the world it’s a moment to dream of – standing on the podium to be crowned an Olympic champion. In all, 4,700 medals will be draped around the necks of competitors when the greatest show on Earth arrives in Britain next year. Yet – as the clock ticks down to London 2012 – a Sunday Mirror investigation uncovers the human price people say they are paying for those precious medals. Its exposé stretches 5,000 miles from the sparkling Olympic stadium to the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in the sparse South Gobi desert in Mongolia, one of the world’s last great wildernesses. This place is home to nomadic tribes made up of some of the poorest people in the world. And deep in its ground is some of the gold and silver needed for the 2012 medals. All of which is a heaven-sent PR opportunity for the operators of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto is sponsoring the Mongolian Olympic team as well as trumpeting the use of Mongolian metal for its medal-making.
Read more at: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/11/20/sunday-mirror-investigation-the-hidden-human-cost-of-the-2012-olympic-medals-115875-23574028/#ixzz1epbWwPFu.
UK Government plans to ban demonstrations during the Olympics
London Mining Network supporters plan to protest against Rio Tinto’s provision of metal for the 2012 Olympic medals, alongside groups opposing involvement by BP and Dow Chemical. UK Government plans would restrict the right to protest. See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/demonstrations-to-be-banned-during-olympics-6265121.html.