When: Wednesday 29 April, 6:30-8:30pm
Where: University College London, Bedford Way (26) G03, WC1H 0AP
Anglo American are key players in the global scramble for ‘critical minerals’. This year, a planned merger with Teck Resources to form Anglo Teck promises to create a ‘global critical minerals champion’ and copper mining giant, with plans for rapid mine expansions across Latin America.
Yet all across the world communities are demanding justice for the devastating legacy Anglo American has left in their territories. Communities in South Africa, Zambia, Chile, Peru and Brazil have united in resistance to Anglo’s colonial extraction, demanding reparations for historic harms and the right to determine the future of their territories.
On April 29th, the day Anglo’s shareholders meet to celebrate bumper dividends, London Mining Network and Action for Southern Africa will host the UK launch of two key reports, focused on Anglo’s abandoned promises in Southern Africa and Peru.
We are excited to be joined by a representative from Red Muqui, a Peruvian organisation supporting communities impacted by mining, to launch a report exposing the impacts of Anglo’s Quellaveco mine on communities in Moquegua. Anglo have diverted the course of the Asana river, resulting in a state of emergency being declared by regional authorities in relation to water supply and communities left dependent on water trucks. As well as the threat of worsening water scarcity, communities have raised major concerns about the environmental and health impacts resulting from mining pollution in the area.
We will also hear from speakers launching the report ‘Anglo American’s Accountability Deficit’, exposing the devastating 100 year legacy of Anglo’s extraction in Southern Africa and amplifying the demands of mining-affected communities for reparations and justice. Anglo’s legacy in the region includes decades of negligence resulting in an estimated 500,000 gold miners contracting TB and silicosis, and lead poisoning of over 100,000 people in Kabwe, Zambia, especially children, where Anglo operated one of the world’s most productive mines for 49 years.
Speakers to be announced soon.