The “Act of Free Choice” is set up under token UN oversight to act as a legitimation of West Papua’s incorporation into the Indonesian state. Very few West Papuans are given a say in what happens to them. Many West Papuans, especially indigenous West Papuans, see all...
Rio Tinto buys US Borax, a company that had started mining borate deposits in California. The Boron mine is today the state’s largest open-pit mine and the world’s largest borax mine. In 2010, Rio Tinto locks out 570 miners from its borates mine in retaliation for the...
Rio Tinto starts mining in the Pilbara, opening its first iron ore mine at Mount Tom Price. Since then, its ever-growing iron ore business has come to include 16 iron ore mines as well as privately owned infrastructure including a 1,700 kilometre rail network –...
Rio Tinto Company and the Zinc Corporation merge, forming The Rio Tinto – Zinc Corporation (RTZ) and Conzinc Riotinto of Australia (CRA), its main subsidiary. In 1995, RTZ and CRA themselves merge and become a dual-listed, Anglo-Australian company: the Rio Tinto...
The “New York Agreement” between the Suharto regime and the US administration sets out the terms for the transferral of sovereignty for West Papua from Dutch colonial rule to Indonesian rule. At the same time, mining rights are provided for US company Freeport McMoran...
