Send a message to Anglo American

On May 5, Anglo American will hold its annual shareholders’ meeting. Around the world, this giant mining company continues to destroy indigenous heritage, putting communities under water stress, damaging the environment and plundering resources. This year, communities affected by the company in Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Chile, along with human rights and climate justice organizations, have come together to tell the company that they have had enough of these abuses. We are making an international call to take action in solidarity with the affected communities and the environment. Take action and send a message to Anglo American.

Anglo American

Name

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Dear Anglo American Board Members and Members of the Management Team:

I am writing to you because of my concerns about the impacts of your company on the many communities that live near your operations around the world - specifically in Brazil, Chile, Peru and Colombia. I hope that your AGM on May 05 sets a precedent for the future of the actions that your company takes towards communities and the environment. I hope that in your AGM you can show that Anglo American investors are committed to sustainability and to their responsibility towards the communities with their legitimate demands. Investors have in their hands the possibility of being promoters of a real change, to mining that seeks to move towards a model which is sustainable for communities and the environment.

On your website you proudly state that a fundamental element of your operations is the utmost consideration for communities, their families and the environment. For me, better mining implies contributing more and more to the economic and human development of neighbouring communities, but using less and less water, reducing your carbon footprint, and protecting glaciers, forests and ecosystems close to your operations. However, we have seen how your operations have affected all these. Communities have witnessed the destruction of their natural, cultural and ancestral heritage. They are finding it increasingly difficult to access drinking water as they compete with the water consumed by your company's mining operations. In the same way, they have witnessed the irreparable destruction of their environment and the ecosystems affected by the activity of Anglo American. All of these facts seem to go against your goal of taking people and natural environments into consideration.

If Anglo American's reputation, the lives of the people it affects, or the state of the environment are important to you, I urge you to comply with the demands of the communities and act now on the following issues:

Chile: Prevent water scarcity in communities

According to your website, Anglo American is aware of the water crisis that Chile and the world are facing. You also understand the importance of glaciers as a natural water reserve. Anglo American has committed to a water management strategy, where it proposes that you seek collaborative solutions for water security. In addition, you will look for alternative sources of supply that do not affect human consumption. However, Anglo American with its operations in Los Bronces Integrado has contributed to the destruction of glaciers in Chile, impacting the most important water reserves for the life of the country and the region. At the same time, the El Melón community that lives next to the El Soldado operations have serious difficulties in accessing drinking water. For years they had no water to supply themselves, as a consequence of the over-exploitation of the water basins that Anglo American carries out for mining operations. In addition, there are reports of arsenic contamination in the Colina River. Anglo American has denied all responsibility for this contamination, without presenting the studies that show that the pollution is not the result of its operations. I believe that it is vital that Anglo American take committed actions in its water strategy, since its actions have led to the violation of the right to water of thousands of people.

Colombia: Free the waters of the Bruno Stream

In Colombia, Anglo American, together with BHP and Glencore, operate the largest open cast coal mine in Latin America, Cerrejón. The mine is located in the department of La Guajira. Anglo American has been criticized because it has expressed its intention to sell its shares at Cerrejón Mine, no later than 2023. At the same time it has allowed Cerrejón Coal to divert the waters of the Bruno Stream to expand the coal mine. The diversion ignores the Colombian Constitutional Court in judgment SU-698 of 2017. Anglo American must comply with the orders issued by the Colombian constitutional court. 
 
The decision of the Colombian Constitutional Court SU-698 of 2017, protects: ‘The right to health, water and food security of indigenous communities in the face of the threat of violation by the project to divert the channel of the Bruno stream that the Cerrejon company is pursuing', but this was ignored by Cerrejon and the State Institutions when they authorised the diversion and destruction of the natural course of the Bruno Stream with the objective of expanding and continuing coal extraction. 
 
In addition, given that the mine's operating permit is until the year 2034. Anglo American cannot simply sell its shares without taking responsibility for its previous impacts. This implies closing the mine in a fair and adequate manner, with the direct participation of the communities and workers.

I support the communities that demand the return of the Bruno stream to its natural original channel, in compliance with the judgment SU-698 of 2017, in accordance with the guidelines given by the Constitutional Court following the precautionary principle for the preservation of the environmental integrity of the Bruno stream.

Peru: Reduce water use in a fragile ecosystem and do not divert the Asana River

Anglo American announced an agreement with ENGIE Energía Perú to provide renewable energy to its Quellaveco operations. A transition towards a low-carbon economy must be accompanied by care for the environment and water. This “world-class project”, as Anglo American has called it, will use approximately 22 million cubic metres of water per year, of which 18 million will come from the Titire River and the other 4 million from a Vizcachas dam that it is building. The Moquegua region has a water shortage problem. This has been compounded by the negative effects of previous mining operations. The Peruvian Ombudsman's Office previously identified this situation as a potential conflict since Quellaveco could exacerbate the scarcity of water resources in the Tambo river basin.

The project has also raised concerns because the use of water could modify the hydrological balance of the area, since water from rivers and rain play a role in the water cycle, which has neither a beginning nor an end. Surface water courses and their runoff or surpluses in rainy weather fulfil a series of environmental services, such as the recharge of underground aquifers and the regeneration of natural flora, among others. This water is never lost. Even if it reaches the sea, it fulfils a function carrying nutrients and other elements that are part of the water balance and of the ecosystems in the area.

One concern is that Quellaveco has diverted the Asana River into an 8-kilometre tunnel, in order to make its project viable. The company says it is protecting the river by ensuring that it does not come into contact with the operation, but modifying nature is not an option. No engineering work can replicate what nature has done for thousands of years, creating rivers that contain complex ecosystems, surface and underground, that will be disrupted. We have already seen the experience of La Guajira, Colombia, where the Cerrejón coal company diverted the Arroyo Bruno to expand the mine. Subsequent inspections have verified that the Arroyo and its ecosystems are disappearing.

Brazil: Protect the inhabitants of Minas Río and stop mining projects in the Amazon.

Inhabitants of the state of Minas Gerais, where Anglo American operates Minas Río, fear for their safety. The Sapo dam has exceeded the limits established by law. The State Prosecutor's Office has filed a civil action against Anglo American over this situation because the construction of dams is prohibited when there are communities that inhabit the rescue areas. The communities of São José do Jassém, Água Quente and Passa Sete live downstream from the dam. As Anglo American has commented that they take special care with the communities, I ask that you listen to the demands of the communities and carry out all the actions within your power to ensure their safety. At the same time, it is public knowledge that Anglo American intends to pursue extractive operations in the Amazon. I know that you have about 80 exploration permits on indigenous lands. This decision can have a terrible impact on nature, the indigenous communities that inhabit the Amazon and for all of us, because the Amazon is one of the most important lungs of the earth. I ask you not to continue with the intention of exploiting such a sacred area.

I hope that you will consider the points made in this email as starting points to ensure that Anglo American delivers on its promises. Prioritizing environmental and heritage protections over convenience, valuing access to clean water, and ultimately respecting the wishes of local communities are the only ways Anglo American can avoid repeating the mistakes of its past and cause incredible amounts of damage.

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