Communities in the Transkei Wildcoast’s Xolobeni area have successfully pressured the government to halt mining operations in the area. This victory was marked by Minerals Minister Susan Shabangu’s landmark decision to withdraw the right to mine on the...
It’s not a done deal by any means – though some may think so. Australia’s Mineral and Resources Rent Tax (MRRT) is still coming under heavy fire, especially from domestic companies claiming it discriminates against them. Now they are preparing to...
Mining giant Rio Tinto is expected to face court in the Northern Territory over a petrol spill at its alumina refinery on the Gove Peninsula, about 1,000 kilometres east of Darwin. In June last year, Rio Tinto revealed that about 70,000 litres of unleaded petrol had...
Although dealing with a Canadian junior company, people are calling for a full investigation into the murder of Juan Francisco Durán Ayala, the fourth such death in two years that local organizations believe are linked to the presence of Vancouver-based Pacific Rim...
One of India’s leading social activists – well known for his opposition to unacceptable mining projects – has been arrested on what appear to be trumped-up charges. A north Indian religious leader, who led his community in a fight to stop stone...
Villagers confront the country’s biggest minerals project Last week we reported on the resistance by hundreds of villagers, seeking to prevent seizure of their land and betel nut groves in Orissa. They are literally lying down in the face of the biggest proposed...
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has frozen all new loans to Glencore and its subsidiaries, citing “serious concerns” over the group’s corporate governance. The allegations center on claims that the world’s largest metals commodities’...
The environmental and human rights organization CEDHA along with two other environmental groups, lodged a complaint today against Xstrata Copper in Australia, accusing the multinational mining company of destroying glaciers and permafrost in two of its operations in...
Late last week, thousands of villagers lay down (literally) on land coveted by POSCO for India’s biggest planned industrial project in Orissa, in an attempt to prevent hundreds of armed police from evicting them. As we went to press the villagers –...
New report from LMN member group Colombia Solidarity Campaign Gold prices have surged in recent years. As a result of the ‘investor friendly’ climate promoted by the Colombian government’s ‘democratic security’ policies, multinationals have...
Amnesty International has warned that thousands of families in the Indian state of Orissa are facing serious health risks during the imminent monsoon season following reports of leaks at the Vedanta Aluminium refinery’s main ‘red mud pond’, a vast reservoir of toxic...
Amalanathan, a 28-year old crane maintenance mechanic, was electrocuted and killed in Vedanta-subsidiary Sterlite Copper’s premises. According to workers, Amalanathan died on the spot. According to a Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party worker, it...
