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The City of London's role in Colombia's bloody civil war
As peace talks begin in Norway between the Colombian government and Farc guerrillas, any brighter future for the country's people requires new responsibility from the City of London and the British government. The UK represents one of the biggest investors in Colombia...
Cleaning coal? It ain't gonna happen!
Last year, the USA's "flagship" carbon capture and storage (CCS) project was about to be suspended. A leading Chinese scientist has also expressed strong doubts about the viability of the techology. According to the Global CCS Institute, last year saw an increase in...
Could We Be About to See a Miners' Spring?
The five-week wildcat strike at South Africa's Marikana mine, owned by London-registered corporation Lonmin, ended with an important victory for the miners, which increased wages by between 11 and 22 percent. However, the way that the dispute has stoked the fires of...
Rothschild quits Bumi as he loses confidence in board
Nat Rothschild has abruptly quit the board of a mining company he created, accusing his chairman of being "complicit" in the "oppression" of some shareholders. See...
South African mineworkers' malaise: is the NUM losing control?
A month ago, in the wake of the Marikana massacre, Mines and Communities commented on the failure of South Africa's National Mineworkers' Union, to reconcile with a rival union, the AMCU. Not only has such conciliation not taken place, but nearly 20% of the country's...
Striking South African gold miners refuse latest pay offer
The striking miners refused the industry's latest pay rise offer despite an extended deadline to respond, dimming hopes the illegal strike in the industry will come to an end anytime soon. Companies affected include London-listed AngloGold Ashanti. See...
Anglo American iron ore unit fires striking miners
Anglo America's Kumba Iron Ore announced on Monday that it had fired almost 300 workers in South Africa for participating in an illegal strike and commandeering millions in company equipment. According to a company statement the strikers have occupied the mine since 3...
Bauxite shortage forces Vedanta Aluminium's hand in Orissa
The London-listed company has temporarily shut down its controversial alumina refinery plant in the eastern State of India, because it has run out of bauxite. See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72102?oid=160177&sn=Detail&pid=92730
Activists disrupt speeches by Canadian Minister and Shell Chairman
At a high-level conference on climate change at Chatham House, London, two activists interrupted first Peter Kent, Canada’s Environment Minister, then Shell’s UK Chairman Graham van’t Hoff, as they got up to make speeches. The conference attendees included EU Climate...
Oyu Tolgoi Budget is Higher than Planned
Mongolian MP N Batbayar says that the OyuTolgoi budget exceeded what was first planned and it means that the Mongolian foreign debt has increased. Oyu Tolgoi is operated by Rio Tinto. See http://english.news.mn/content/122449.shtml.