Dear friends,
I hope you are all surviving the continued difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We have recently published a major new report, Martial Mining, about the links between mining and militarism. We have also revised our popular education board game on the Phone Cycle and posted it on our website in downloadable form.
Thursday 5 November was the fifth anniversary of the devastating collapse of the Fundão tailings (fine wastes) dam at the Samarco iron ore mine in Brazil. Samarco is owned by Brazilian company Vale and British-Australian BHP. You can read LMN’s press release and solidarity statement below, together with a press release from our friends in Caritas Brasil. A few days after the anniversary, a British court dismissed an action brought against BHP on behalf of tens of thousands of people affected by the disaster. The lawyers plan to appeal.
BHP recently held its online Annual General Meetings for shareholders. Affected communities were effectively shut out of proceedings. You can find full reports, and a summary of current concerns about the company, below.
Rio Tinto remains in the news in the wake of its destruction of the Juukan Gorge Aboriginal site in May. Institutional investors are getting very upset about the damage to their own reputations. Rio Tinto has plunged to the bottom of investors’ lists of major mining companies’ ‘Environmental Social and Governance’ league tables. Its legacy in Bougainville is under increased scrutiny in the wake of the island’s overwhelming vote for independence from Papua New Guinea, the election of our friend Theonila Matbob to Bougainville’s new Parliament and a complaint against Rio Tinto to the Australian National Contact Point of the OECD.
Glencore is in the news over conflicts in Bolivia, Colombia and Peru. Its CEO says he is delaying his departure from the job because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I don’t know why, but this reminds me of an old friend’s front door mat, which bore the words ‘Everyone who crosses this mat brings joy to this house – some by arriving, others by leaving.’
Anglo American is being taken to court over a legacy of lead poisoning around the lead mine at Kabwe, Zambia, which it owned and ran for decades. The company denies responsibility.
Indigenous Wayuu people have blocked personnel from Cerrejon Coal (owned by Anglo American, BHP and Glencore) from entering their Reservation at Provincial in La Guajira, Colombia. The UN Special Rapporteur on Environment and Human Rights recently issued a damning report on the company’s operations, the company objected to his findings and claimed it had reached an agreement with the community, and people in Provincial erupted in protest. Unionised workers at the mine have been on strike since the end of August but negotiations with the company have resumed.
Our friend Fr Stan Swamy, a Jesuit Catholic priest in India who has spent decades in the struggle for justice, including in the struggle against mining companies in India, has been unjustly arrested and detained on false charges of terrorism – yet another example of how campaigners for social and ecological justice are so often targeted and vilified by those in power. Please sign the petition for his release.
There is bad news from Bangladesh, where GCM Resources (trading on London’s Alternative Investment Market, AIM) has signed an agreement with a Chinese company for development of its disastrous Phulbari project; from Nagorno-Karabakh, where London-listed Anglo Asian Minerals is accused of interfering in the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan; and from North Macedonia, where there has been a tailings spill at a mine run by London-listed Central Asia Metals. But there is good news from Northern England, where Banks Mining has ended its fight to start opencast coal mining at Druridge Bay, Northumberland, and from Chile, where objections to destructive mining played a part in the massive recent rejection of the country’s Pinochet-era constitution and a vote to formulate a new one. This may help our friends in Chile struggling against Anglo American, Antofagasta and BHP.
Finally, the UK Government has just announced that, to combat climate change, it will support the construction of numerous small scale nuclear power stations. Friends in Canada recently hosted a webinar showing how such reactors are just as deadly dangerous as large ones because, like them, they produce radioactive wastes which will last for hundreds of thousands of years and which nobody has devised a way to make safe.
And as always, there is plenty more news below.
All the best,
Richard Solly, Co-ordinator, London Mining Network.
In this mailout
Resources
Martial Mining Report
Updated London Mining Network phone cycle game
Report: Killings and assaults at Petra Diamonds’ Tanzanian mine undercut ‘ethical’ claims
Renewal of Mines and Communities website
Events
Resisting Green Extractivism
Guardians of the Water: stories from Peru, Cyprus and the Sperrin Mountains
The European Mining Boom: Rhetoric vs Reality
Take Action!
Drop the false charges against Fr Stan Swamy immediately!
Colombia: Support miners striking against the ‘death shift’ at Cerrejón
Ask your MP to support a UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights
News
1) BHP: fifth anniversary of the Samarco tailings dam disaster, 5 November 2015
2) BHP’s 2020 shareholder meetings
3) Other news involving BHP
4) News about Cerrejon Coal (owned by Anglo American, BHP and Glencore)
5) News about Glencore
6) Rio Tinto and the destruction of Juukan Gorge
7) Rio Tinto’s legacy in Bougainville
8) Rio Tinto in Mongolia
9) Other Rio Tinto news
10) Legal action against Anglo American for legacy of lead poisoning in Zambia
11) Bangladesh: GCM in the news again
12) Nevsun, torture and slavery in Eritrea
13) Judicial persecution of Fr Stan Swamy, Indian Catholic priest, human rights and mining campaigner
14) Anglo Asian blasted for statement on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
15) We’re Going to See More Failures: Central Asia Metals’ Tailings Spill
16) Popular triumph in Chile referendum
17) US court orders $135 million for shareholders of stolen DR Congo mine, but local communities left out
18) Banks Mining end four year fight to dig for coal at site near Druridge Bay
19) Why it’s getting harder to mine gold: the struggle against Dalradian in Northern Ireland
20) Debunking the myths around Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
21) Five things to know about the Responsible Investment Bill
22) Ecocide: Should killing nature be a crime?
Resources
Martial Mining Report
On Environmental Conflict Day, London Mining Network launched the Martial Mining report. This piece of original research focuses on the relationship between extractivism and war, highlighting the necessity of metals and minerals for militarism, and the need for militarism in the mining process.
Updated London Mining Network phone cycle game
The Trivial Pursuit-style board game can be played by six to eight people. Teams of one or two are responsible for the four different parts of the life cycle of a phone – extraction, production, consumption and disposal.
Killings and assaults at Petra Diamonds’ Tanzanian mine undercut ‘ethical’ claims
Petra Diamonds’ claim that its gems are ‘ethical’ is seriously undermined by accounts of killings and brutal assaults of local residents at its Williamson Mine in northern Tanzania, reports UK corporate watchdog RAID. Petra Diamonds is listed on the London Stock Exchange’s FTSE4Good Index, which is intended for companies that demonstrate robust environmental, social and governance (ESG) measures.
Renewal of Mines and Communities website
Our friends in the international Mines and Communities network are renewing their website, which remains an unrivalled source of press information about the mining industry, dating back to 2001.
Events
Resisting Green Extractivism
When: Friday 13th Nov 1pm GMT
What: A panel discussion at the COP26 Coalition gathering. It will draw on the specific experiences of allies in Asia, Africa and Latin America who will seek to explain how ‘green extractivism’ could be potentially worse for mine-affected communities, and alternatives to a mineral and energy-intense transition.
More info and register here.
Guardians of the Water: stories from Peru, Cyprus and the Sperrin Mountains
When: Friday 20th Nov 5:30pm GMT
What: An online event highlighting community struggles against the global goldmining industry. Discussion will focus on the criminalisation of social protest, sacrifice zones and indigenous alternatives to destructive extractivism.
More info and register here.
The European Mining Boom: Rhetoric vs Reality
When: Monday 30th Nov 4pm GMT
What: Join mining-affected communities and scientists to explore the yawning gap between how mining is being marketed to European communities, and the realities on the ground. The first of a three-part YLNM webinar series exploring the impacts of and alternatives to EU mining expansion.
More info and register here.
Take Action!
Drop the false charges against Fr Stan Swamy immediately!
We stand together strongly to condemn the false allegations and defamatory charges against Fr Stan Swamy by the Pune police, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA). Please sign the petition. (See explanatory articles below.)
Colombia: Support miners striking against the ‘death shift’ at Cerrejón
The National Union of Coal Industry Workers (Sintracarbón) is involved in a bitter strike at the Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, jointly owned by three multinational mining companies, Anglo American, BHP and Glencore.
Ask your MP to support a UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights
In today’s globalised economy, transnational corporations have amassed tremendous amounts of wealth and power. Trade and investment agreements have granted big business rights without accompanying responsibilities towards people and the environment. Now after decades of delays and obstruction, governments from around the world are negotiating a UN Binding Treaty on Business and Human Rights that could fill a significant gap in international law. We need this now more than ever. Now is the time to take action.
News
1) BHP: fifth anniversary of the Samarco tailings dam disaster, 5 November 2015
English justice frustrates the expectations of those affected by the Mariana tragedy
Five years after the disaster, Judge Sir Mark Turner of the Manchester civil court considered that it would be an abuse for those affected by the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Mariana to seek redress in the United Kingdom against the English company. The decision is subject to appeal.
Lawsuit against BHP over tailings dam disaster dismissed by British judge
Claimants to appeal “flawed” decision over Brazil’s worst ever environmental crime.
Press Release: “Profit is not worth life” – Five years on from Samarco Dam disaster
The Fundão dam at the Samarco mine (owned by Vale & BHP), Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil, collapsed on 5 November 2015. 20 people died, 3 villages were destroyed and over 600km of waterways were polluted with toxic mine waste.
MARIANA 5 YEARS ON: THE CRIME IS RENEWED (“O CRIME SE RENOVA”)
After five years, Brazil’s largest socio-environmental crime involving mining dams continues to leave a trail of illness, insecurity, rights violations and disrespect for victims.
LMN statement for 5th anniversary of the Samarco disaster
London Mining Network (LMN) has drafted this declaration to express solidarity with the populations affected by the collapse of the Fundão dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Technical analysis archive on Samarco tailings dam failure
Mining waste containment expert Lindsay Newland Bowker, Executive Director World Mine Tailings Failures, has developed an extensive archive of technical analysis on the Samarco tailings dam collapse.
Brazil: Five years since the Mariana (MG) dam disaster, affected areas still not repaired
Useful timeline developed by Business and Human Rights Resource Centre.
2) BHP’s 2020 shareholder meetings
Hidden in plain sight: BHP’s 2020 AGMs
London Mining Network has never undertaken to rate mining companies against each other for their human rights or environmental performance, because we’re concerned that if a company is presented as being better than others it detracts from the struggles of those still suffering as a result of its activities. But I am going to venture to rate BHP’s COVID-constrained 2020 AGM performance against its peer companies Rio Tinto and Anglo American – and it’s bottom of the class.
BHP is not very engaging
BHP’s online ‘shareholder engagement session’ on Wednesday 23 September represented a masterful step forward for BHP in exercising complete corporate control of the debate around its operations. It is impressive to see how the corporate mining world is taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic not only at operational level but in avoiding public accountability to the communities and workers whose lives it affects.
BHP – Fine Words, Foul Play
Summary of current concerns about BHP
3) Other news involving BHP
Australia: BHP’s Olympic Dam in South Australia poses risk similar to Samarco & Vale Brumandinho dam disasters, environmentalists warn
An article published by the Ecologist raises allegations about BHP’s operation of the Olympic Dam copper-uranium mine in South Australia. Specifically, these concerns include: 1.) the tailings dam will adopt the upstream construction method (as against the downstream construction method) that pose extreme risk featured in both Samarco and Vale Brumadinho dam disasters; 2.) the tailings storage facility six (TSF6) has the potential to cause the death of 100 or more BHP employees; and 3.) the Kokatha people’s right to exercise free, prior and informed consent may be limited by the company’s legal privileges and prior agreements.
Rights of Nature in Ecuador
The outcome of a case to protect the Los Cedros Reserve from mining will set a precedent for all future Rights of Nature cases in Ecuador. Canadian mining company Cornerstone Capital Resources was given a permit to explore for gold at Los Cedros Reserve in a joint-venture arrangement with the Ecuadorian state mining company, ENAMI. BHP also has a concession that overlaps part of the Reserve.
4) News about Cerrejon Coal (owned by Anglo American, BHP and Glencore)
Indigenous people in Provincial, Colombia, ban Cerrejon Coal personnel from entering their community
Press Release from the Committee of Defenders of the Territory of the Indigenous Reservation of Provincial and Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective.
Joint letter: To the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
At the end of September, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David Boyd, issued a report calling on the Colombian government to implement the directives of its own Constitutional Court and to do more to protect the very vulnerable Wayúu community on the Provincial indigenous reserve against pollution from the huge El Cerrejón mine (owned by London-listed mining multinationals Anglo American, BHP and Glencore) and from COVID-19. He said that at least during the pandemic, operations at the Tajo Patilla site close to the Provincial reserve should be suspended until it can be shown to be safe. His call was supported by a number of other UN Special Rapporteurs.
Sintracarbón and Cerrejón begin dialogue to resolve dispute
After a strike which has lasted for 58 days, IndustriALL Colombian affiliate Sintracarbón and Cerrejón, owned by multinationals Glencore, BHP and Anglo American, began a series of meetings.
Video presentations from recent webinars about Cerrejon Coal
UN Special Rapporteur on Environment and Human Rights, David Boyd
Michel Forst, former UN Special Rapporteur on situation of Human Rights Defenders
Misael Socarras, Wayuu Indigenous community activist
Rosa Maria Mateus, CAJAR lawyers’ collective
Jenny Ortiz, CINEP human rights information and education organisation
5) News about Glencore
“We’ve simply been forgotten”
Fatal accidents, underage workers, environmental destruction: in the Porco mine run by Glencore in the Bolivian highlands, cooperatives mine zinc, lead and silver in inhumane conditions. Glencore turns a blind eye – while purchasing a large portion of the ore produced by the cooperatives.
Breakthrough in Espinar on vouchers and prior consultation
Two significant developments have occurred relating to the troubled project of Coroccohuayco, the extension of Antapaccay, Glencore’s copper enterprise in Espinar in Cuzco. The first involves the payment of ‘bonos’ or vouchers under the convenio marco, the existing framework agreement between Glencore and the communities. The second is the setting of a firm date for the re-start on 9 November of prior consultation between the authorities and the eleven communities in the zone of influence of Coroccohuayco.
Glencore cuts coal target again as Colombian strike hits output
Glencore Plc, the world’s biggest shipper of coal, reduced its production target for the third time this year as the company faces an extended strike at a key Colombian mine.
Glencore boss says pandemic could delay his departure
The covid-19 pandemic could affect the timing of Glencore Chief Executive Ivan Glasenberg’s departure from the mining and trading company, he told Swiss paper NZZ.
6) Rio Tinto and the destruction of Juukan Gorge
Investors coalition puts Australia’s miners on notice over Indigenous rights
A coalition of investors has written to Australia’s biggest mining companies describing Rio Tinto’s destruction of Aboriginal rock shelters as a wake-up call and demanding assurances about their relationships with First Nations peoples.
Rio Tinto did not notify pastoral leaseholder of plans to destroy nearby Juukan Gorge, inquiry hears
The owner of a pastoral lease near Juukan Gorge had to fight for several years to find out anything about Rio Tinto’s plans for a mining expansion in the area, a federal inquiry into the miner’s destruction of the 46,000-year-old Aboriginal sacred site has heard.
Rio Tinto still has 1,780 approvals to destroy Aboriginal sacred sites, Juukan Gorge inquiry told
In tense exchanges with MPs, executives take responsibility for ‘poor decisions’ that led to the destruction of the 46,000-year-old caves
Rio Tinto accused of ‘incremental genocide’ after grilling at Juukan Gorge inquiry
Western Australia senator Pat Dodson has accused mining company Rio Tinto of “incremental genocide” over its behaviour in the lead-up to the destruction of the Juukan Gorge caves.
7) Rio Tinto’s legacy in Bougainville
Australia agrees to review human rights complaint against Rio Tinto over Bougainville mine site
The Australian government will now mediate talks between Bougainville landowners and Rio Tinto to resolve alleged human rights and environmental violations caused by waste pollution from the abandoned Panguna mine.
Progress on Bougainville Rio Tinto complaint
There’s been a further breakthrough over a human rights complaint brought by 156 residents in Bougainville calling on multi-national Rio Tinto to repair the damage caused by its Panguna mine.
‘Deal with the disaster’: the girl from Bougainville who grew up to take on a mining giant
Panguna mine is often cast as the economic key to Bougainville’s potential independence, but young MP Theonila Matbob says her people, and their land, must come first
8) Rio Tinto in Mongolia
Turquoise Hill takes Rio Tinto to arbitration over Mongolia mine funding
Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources is taking Rio Tinto to arbitration over the mining giant’s role and obligations to support the company in securing additional funding for the vast Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold-silver mine in Mongolia.
Mongolia plans river diversion as mining boom sucks Gobi dry
As herders in the Gobi desert lose livelihoods from pollution and lack of water, the government plans to pipe water across Mongolia.
9) Other Rio Tinto news
Guinea approves railroad and port plan for Simandou
Guinea’s government has approved a multi-national group’s plan to build a railroad and deep-water port to export output from the massive Simandou iron ore deposit to key markets including China, the world’s top consumer of the commodity. Rio was able keep the two southern blocks, but only after paying $700 million to the government in 2011. That guaranteed the miner tenure for the lifetime of the Simandou mine.
Newmont leads mining companies ESG ranking
At the other end of the 20-company ranking was Rio Tinto Group, which scored -79 after explosions that damaged two Aboriginal Australian sites.
10) Legal action against Anglo American for legacy of lead poisoning in Zambia
Zambia: Kabwe is one of the most polluted places on Earth as a result of the long history of lead and zinc mining
Kabwe, Zambia, has a long history of lead and zinc mining, centred around the now-closed Broken Hill Mine. Due to the mine, the city is also one of the most polluted places on Earth. Scientists from Hokkaido University and the University of Zambia (UNZA) have shown that inhabitants of Kabwe have very high blood levels of the toxic heavy metals lead and cadmium, and also show clinical symptoms of lead and cadmium toxicity.
Class action lawsuit against Anglo American South Africa Ltd (re lead poisoning, Zambia)
In October 2020 UK law firm Leigh Day and Johannesburg attorneys Mbuyisa Moleele filed a class action against Anglo American South Africa Ltd in the Johannesburg High Court on behalf of Zambian communities living in the vicinity of the Kabwe lead mine.
Zambian villagers sue mining giant for poisoning thousands of children in Kabwe
Anglo American is accused of poisoning thousands, especially children, after decades of lead mining in Kabwe. A lawsuit has been filed to seek justice.
Anglo American CEO says not responsible for lead poisoning in Zambia
Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifani said the company was not responsible for lead poisoning in Zambia at a lead mine it part-owned nearly 50 years ago and planned to defend itself after a class action was filed against the miner over allegations of negligence.
Children of Kabwe
Kabwe in Zambia has been left with extreme levels of lead pollution after almost a century of metal mining and smelting, harming generations of children.
11) Bangladesh: GCM in the news again
GCM Resources Agrees to JV for Bangladesh Coal, Power Project; Shares Soar
Shares in GCM Resources PLC jumped after the company said that it had signed an agreement with China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering & Construction Co. to develop GCM’s Phulbari coal and power project in Bangladesh.
Ban GCM for claiming ownership of our coal
A controversial energy company, forced to wind down most of its operations and exposure in Bangladesh following a popular opposition from the local population, is now claiming Phulbari’s coal deposits as their resources. On October 15, the company, GCM Resources PLC, announced that it signed a framework agreement with China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd (otherwise known as NFC) and Power Construction Corporation of China, Ltd (PowerChina) in relation to its world-class 572 million tonnes (JORC 2004 compliant) of high-grade coal resources at the Phulbari Coal and Power Project in northwest Bangladesh.
12) Nevsun, torture and slavery in Eritrea
Nevsun Resources enters into a settlement in a lawsuit in Canada alleging torture & slavery at its subsidiary’s Eritrean mine
A human rights lawsuit alleging slavery and torture has been settled outside of court with a Canadian mining company (which has enjoyed significant UK investment) for an undisclosed but “significant” amount, according to Amnesty International. In February 2020 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the case could be heard in B.C. despite the fact it involved events in Africa. The terms of the settlement remain confidential but human rights advocates say the outcome of this legal proceeding will resonate.
Slavery charges against Canadian mining company settled on the sly
In 2014, three Eritrean plaintiffs launched a class-action lawsuit in the British Columbia Supreme Court against a Vancouver-based mining company, Nevsun Resources, which also had investors in the UK.
13) Judicial persecution of Fr Stan Swamy, Indian Catholic priest, human rights and mining campaigner
India: 83 year-old Jesuit priest arrested on bogus terror charges
A frail 83 year-old Jesuit priest who has worked with the poorest tribespeople in the state of Jharkhand, eastern India, for more than three decades, was taken from his home in Ranchi and arrested by the National Investigation Agency. Fr Stan Swamy was then flown to Mumbai where he is being held in custody.
Court rejects Stan Swamy bail plea
The octogenarian activist is accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case in Maharashtra, India.
14) Anglo Asian blasted for statement on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
Just hours before Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia signed a deal to end the war over the disputed area of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian National Committee UK issued a release blasting London-listed Anglo Asian Mining’s position during the conflict, which reignited back in September.
15) We’re Going to See More Failures: Central Asia Metals’ Tailings Spill
On September 14th, a tailings dam at Central Asia Metals’ lead-zinc Sasa mine in Kamenicka Reka, Macedonia, leaked about 8,000 cubic metres of mining waste into a local river.
16) Popular triumph in Chile referendum
The massive majority for a new constitution in Chile may have a big impact on UK-linked mining multinationals active in the country: Anglo American, Antofagasta and BHP. This was a markedly class-based vote, not only because in the urban popular sectors electoral participation visibly increased, but also because in these areas “Approve” obtained in all cases about 90% of the vote. Especially noteworthy are the results in the “environmental sacrifice zones”, places devastated by extractive mining and energy activity, which are going through serious water and socio-environmental crises and where the inhabitants have for years confronted big companies embodying the devastation.
17) US court orders $135 million for shareholders of stolen DR Congo mine, but local communities left out
Hedge fund Och-Ziff to pay restitution to Africo shareholder victims in DRC corruption case (involves legacy of the former company ENRC, once listed on the London Stock Exchange).
18) Banks Mining end four year fight to dig for coal at site near Druridge Bay
The company has decided not to challenge a second rejection by the Government of controversial plans for the Northumberland site
19) Why it’s getting harder to mine gold: the struggle against Dalradian in Northern Ireland
For 1,000 days, the caravan stood with banners and placards pinned to its side: “We are not afraid. This is our land. This is our home. We will die for it.” Irish flags flutter in the wind. This is the anti-gold mine protest site set up by a group of locals in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
20) Debunking the myths around Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
Small “Mythical” Reactors are uneconomical, years away from implementation, don’t answer the climate crisis or jobs needs, and come with the same inherent risks and radioactive waste problems as the current large reactors. Watch the webinar recording and view the slides.
21) Five things to know about the Responsible Investment Bill
Our friends at ShareAction are proposing a Responsible Investment Bill.
22) Ecocide: Should killing nature be a crime?
From the Pope to Greta Thunberg, there are growing calls for the crime of “ecocide” to be recognised in international criminal law – but could such a law ever work?