Eye on Pebble Mine

Two miners disapear at Anglo Plat’s Rustenburg mine

cford — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:43:44 +0000

On January 21, 2009 Mining Journal Weekly wrote a story on two mine workers disappearing at Anglo Platinum’s Rustenburg mine. Anglo’s initial search concentrated on above ground areas even though evidence pointed to the men being under ground. Angered over the disappearance, fellow mine workers marched to Anglo’s Rustenburg offices to demand answers.

An estimated 17 000 mineworkers marched to the Rustenburg offices of Anglo Platinum’s (Angloplat’s) Rustenburg operations on Wednesday afternoon, to demand an investigation into the disappearance of two workers.

Anglo’s promises and the truth of their past

cford — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:55:48 +0000

Glenn Miller, professor of natural resources and environmental sciences at the University of Nevada-Reno, wrote an oped piece for the Anchorage Daily News. Dr. Miller warned of the risks the Pebble Mine poses for Alaskans and pointed to the Jerritt Canyon mine in Nevada which Anglo operated through a subsidiary.

If Anglo American’s past performance is any indication, Alaskans should be wary. At Jerritt Canyon, a modern mine operating under well-established environmental laws, Anglo American’s assurances that it would maintain high environmental standards clearly were not met.

SAHRC report brings Anglo’s poor community relocation practices to light

cford — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 19:26:48 +0000

The South Africa Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) issued a report this week, which was prompted by ActionAid’s investigation into the effect of Anglo Platinum’s mining activities in Limpopo in March 2008. This report documented the potential violation of human rights of poor people as a result of mining activities. AngloPlat is a subsidiary of Anglo American PLC.

Action Aid finds that, overall, the SAHRC report states that Anglo Platinum has:

Failed to improve adequate farming land to the Mohlohlo communities after being relocated.
Failed to ensure adequate access to water to communities undergoing relocation.
Failed to give all people full monetary compensation for loss of land and not compensated people for the delay in the provision of new land.
Failed to ensure that communities post-relocation would receive adequate services.
Delegated responsibility for negotiating with the community to ‘potentially unrepresentative’ bodies which had no experience of community consultations.

For industry and news agency views see:

Limpopo residents angered by lack of compensation from Anglo

cford — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:21:41 +0000

In Limpopo, South Africa residents feel duped by their government’s lack of legislation protecting their land rights. And, wronged by the company reaping the rewards of their land by tricking them into “signing an agreement that would make them accountable for their moving costs and tie them to a 75-year lease.” This is according to a report released by Action Aid, a global anti poverty agency.

Alaskans query Anglo: “700+ enviro violations in past 5 years?”

admin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:54:55 +0000

On Tuesday, October 21, 2008, Alaskans representing Bristol Bay residents, the commercial fishing industry and Alaska Native Village Corporations sent a letter to Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll.

The letter asks Anglo American to provide detailed information about the over 700 environmental incidents that have occured at Anglo American and subsidiary operations in the last five years. Some of the incidents described in the letter are among those listed in a report released in August on the company’s environmental and social track record.

Pension fund takes an ethical stance on their investments in Rio Tinto

cford — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:16:53 +0000

Rio Tinto, which owns a 19% stake in Northern Dynasty, is under fire for severe pollution at mine in Indonesia. Norway’s huge global pension fund has sold its stakes in the Rio Tinto Group (RTP), saying the investment would otherwise have contributed to “severe environmental damage” at the company’s Gasberg mine in Indonesia. According to a Dow Jones 9/9/08 article, the fund has a council on ethics, which concluded after a study that: “Rio Tinto is directly involved, through its participation in the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, in the severe environmental damage caused by that mining operation.” Norway fund drops Rio Tinto on ethical grounds at their Grasberg mine, a joint venture with Freeport McMoRan:

“The Grasberg mine discharges very large amounts of tailings directly into a natural river system; approximately 230,000 tons or more per day,” the finance ministry said in a statement, adding that it did not foresee any change.

New report shows human rights violations at Anglo mines in Ghana

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:18:18 +0000

A new report has been released by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice that finds broad human rights violations at mining communities in Ghana, including mining areas operated by AngloGold Ashanti. (AngloGold was a subsidiary of Anglo American until 2006; Anglo American is still the largest shareholder in the company as of 2007). The State of Human Rights in Mining Communities in Ghana found that:

Many rivers and streams, which hitherto served as sources of water for the communities have dried up, been polluted, destroyed due to mining activities or diverted for company use.
Most communities were highly dissatisfied with compensation paid by mining companies for affected property. These complaints were pervasive throughout large scale mining sites but were more topical in areas operated by AngloGold Ashanti. Community members complained that they received highly inadequate compensation from the companies for destroyed farms and crops.

Community members speak out about impacts from Anglo American’s platinum mines

cford — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:34:40 +0000

Watch testimony from communities affected by Anglo American’s platinum operations. Anglo Platinum is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anglo American - one of the companies proposing to develop the Pebble Mine. This video was prepared by ActionAid - an anti-poverty agency based in South Africa.