Ethical Tribunal on Transborder Mining in Latin America

Latin American activists who want to call attention to mining developments located in border areas will gather in Chile to “pass judgement” on projects they regard as detrimental to local communities, the environment and national security. “One of...

Northeast Africa’s Unexplored Grounds Lure Gold Miners

Gold miners are expanding their focus in Africa to the northeast of the continent, a region they largely bypassed during the decade-long rally in gold prices. Big-name gold miners such as AngloGold Ashanti Ltd (which has a secondary listing on the London Stock...

Who really controls Africa’s ‘blood-diamond’ trade?

Corporate media coverage in early August of British model Naomi Campbell’s testimony at the Special War Crimes Court on Sierra Leone doesn’t provide a clue to the background of this trial against former Liberian President Charles Taylor. The ongoing tribunal, which is...

Papua New Guinea: A killing at the Porgera mine

In recent years there have been several accusations of severe human rights abuses being committed by “security” forces employed by one of the world’s largest gold miners, Barrick of Canada, at its Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea.  Late last month,...

New report on coal from Down to Earth

LMN member group Down to Earth has issued a special edition of its newsletter: Indonesian Coal – local impacts, global links. See http://dte.gn.apc.org/85-86.pdf

UK safety organisation makes an appalling error

London Calling indicts BSC’s failure to watch Vedanta The British Safety Council (BSC) is one of the world’s leading safety watchdogs. It employs 90 staff members and operates in 50 countries including India. Yet, late last month, it claimed not to...

Vedanta's silent independent directors

Given the serious allegations against the firm, did these members of the board fail in their duty to safeguard the interests of stakeholders? Vedanta Resources had environment clearance to set up a 1-million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Orissa. But, it went...

No pollution clearance, Vedanta runs 10 units

The Vedanta group is operating a large aluminium smelter plant and nine captive power units in Orissa’s Jharsuguda district without clearances from the state pollution control board (OSPCB). Sources said there is massive political pressure on the OSPCB to wink at...

UK pension funds slam Vedanta on ESG issues as share price tanks

A group of UK pension funds has slammed Vedanta Resources, the FTSE100-listed metals and mining group, for ignoring shareholder lobbying on ESG issues after the company’s share price slid by 10% last week – wiping £300m off its market capitalisation – following an...

Vedanta University a closed chapter

As Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Resources battles to save its 1 MTPA alumina refinery project at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district from the axe of Ministry of Environment and Forests, the much-vaunted Vedanta University project in Puri is for all practical purposes a...