A five million hectare slice of Western Australia’s Kimberley region will become the country’s largest national park after the State Government struck a deal forever banning mining in the iconic Mitchell Plateau. After extensive negotiations, a 45-year state agreement that gave Rio Tinto rights to mine bauxite and Alcoa the right to refine aluminium on the Mitchell Plateau has been cancelled.
The UK NGO Rights & Accountability in Development Limited (RAID) has published further research into how mining companies are effectively using company grievance mechanisms to appear to be doing something, while in reality escaping much of the culpability of their actions. The report draws heavily on their experiences tracking African Barrick Gold (now Acacia Mining) in Tanzania, and Glencore in DRC. It is a dose of necessary reality in a discourse dominated by abstract arguments.
March is traditionally a month for mining protests in the Philippines, to commemorate the anniversary of the much reviled 1995 Mining Act (which provides the legislative framework for mining in the Philippines). This year, those protests were magnified by it being the two decade anniversary. Among the causes of protest is Glencore’s Tampakan project.
President Edgar Lungu has directed the finance and mining ministers to change mining royalties by April 8. The Zambian government has been at loggerheads with mining companies, including Glencore and Vedanta Resources, over the higher royalties and Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds, putting investment in peril at a time when copper is around 4-1/2 year lows and economic growth is faltering.
