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News Archive - May 2002 The following page contains an archive of news items from May 2002 that are relevant to mineral resources law and policy. Return to the Latest News...
News Archive - May 2002 Title: Gold
diggers draw ire from environmentalists What if gold were no longer an object of desire but an object of disgust? What if environmentalists were able to do to the image of the glittering metal what animal rights activists did to the fur coat - paint it as a symbol of cruel and thoughtless vanity, not of brilliant success? Many environmentalists want just that, but it's not yet an idea whose time has come. At a high-profile mining conference on sustainable development in Toronto this month, which is home to some of the world's biggest gold miners, several proposals were advanced to put an end to gold extraction. Title: UNEP Prepares 22 Industry Sector Reports Several industry sectors report success. The iron and steel industry reports that by recycling nearly 300 million tonnes of scrap each year, they do not have to extract 475 million tonnes of natural iron bearing ore. They estimate that this saves the energy equivalent of 160 million tonnes of hard coal. The sector reports can be downloaded from: http://www.uneptie.org/outreach/wssd/sectors/reports.htm Title: Due
Date for South African Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Bill The mining industry say the second draft Bill has made significant changes Bill Will Help
Democratise Mining Sector Title: NGOs
Shine Spotlight on Mining Industry Abuses Today a network of community groups and non-governmental organizations (known as the "Global Mining Campaign") launched a new website "The Mining News" to chronicle the human rights, social and environmental abuses that result from modern mining practices including forced relocation, mining without community consent, the pollution of rivers with raw mining waste, and the destruction of landscapes and livelihoods. Title: Jo'burg Memo proposes establishment
of a World Commission on Mining, Gas and Oil Extraction A comprehensive civil society statement, the Jo'Burg Memo, developed in the lead-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) has proposed the development of a World Commission on Mining, Gas and Oil Extraction based on the successful model of the World Commission for Dams. The new Commission would review past experiences, develop a knowledge base and identify guidelines to assist decision-making in resource extraction projects. The Jo'burg Memo, subtitled "Fairness in a fragile world" may be downloaded from the Joburg Memo website. The proposed World Commission on Mining, Gas and Oil Extraction is discussed in Part 5 of the Adobe PDF (around page 50). Title: Sweden
says cut subsidies endangering environment State support to coal mining and large-scale farming poses a major threat to the environment and should be cut, both in Europe and worldwide, Sweden's environment minister said on Thursday. Sweden, often in the lead on environmental and development issues, wants the Johannesburg summit on sustainable development in late August to tackle subsidies and set clear targets on issues such as clean water, bio-diversity, and poverty reduction. Title: Bush
administration to reopen to mining area considered for national monument
The Bush administration will open most of the 1.2 million acres of federal land in southwestern Oregon to mining claims, drawing the ire of environmentalists who say the action threatens salmon and steelhead protected by the Endangered Species Act. Title: Maligned
mining sector says digging for new image "Mining companies, long maligned for sullying the environment and
making big profits in poor countries, have taken strides in becoming people-and
nature-friendly but still have more to do, industry experts and executives
say. While drilling, output and the unforgiving bottom line were hot topics at an international gold conference this week in Lima attended by top mining executives and officials from 26 countries, "sustainable development" was another big buzzword." ... "Big companies say they are bending over backward to prove that the days of widespread pollution are in the past, and they assert that small-scale, unregulated mining is now the chief culprit of today's mining-related environmental degradation." See the complete article. Title: Tanzanian
Attorneys Face Charges of Sedition Two Tanzanian environmental attorneys are facing criminal charges for speaking out against human rights abuses. Tundu Lissu and Rugemeleza Nshala of the Lawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT) in Dar es Salaam face charges of sedition for their work to rectify alleged human rights abuses against small scale miners in Bulyanhulu. These charges are expected to be levied on May 31. Title: U.S.
House bill would toughen hard-rock mining rules An 1872 mining law criticized by green groups for giving U.S. companies cheap, easy access to federal land would be tightened under a bipartisan proposal offered by House lawmakers Thursday. The bill would hold mining companies more accountable for environmental damage, requiring them to pay an 8 percent royalty to the government for clean-up of harsh chemicals used in removing minerals such as gold, silver, and copper.
Title: US Office
of Surface Mining (OSM) Issues Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making
on Financial Assurance Mechanisms for Treatment of Long-Term and Discharges Advance notice is given of a proposed rulemaking by the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), US Department of the Interior to seek comments on bonding issues and other financial assurance mechanisms for treatment of long-term acid or toxic mine drainage (AMD) that develop as a result of surface coal mining operations. Comments are sought on what types of financial guarantees will best ensure adequate funding for the treatment of unanticipated long-term pollution discharges, including acid or toxic mine drainage, that develop as a result of surface coal mining operations. OSM is specifically
interested in views from all parties on how OSM can best address the proper
level of treatment and number of years to use in calculating financial
assurance amounts for AMD, appropriate financial mechanisms to cover treatment
costs, and suggestions of appropriate enforcement in cases where financial
assurance is not fully adequate for the long term, but AMD is still being Comments may be mailed to the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Administrative Record, Room 101, 1951Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. You may also e-mail comments to osmrules@osmre.gov. Comments must be recived within 60 days of May 17, 2002. For further information
contact: Ruth Stokes, Program Support Directorate, Title:
Green
code sought: Mining Companies to create 'best practice protocols' Chief executives
from the world's largest mining companies yesterday Title:
Abandoned
mines said gigantic environment problem The environmental and social costs of closing and rehabilitating old and abandoned mines around the world are likely in the trillions of dollars, and far beyond the capability of mining companies alone to deal with, Sir Robert Wilson, chairman of London-based metals giant Rio Tinto Plc said this week. Wilson told Reuters at the Global Mining Initiative conference on sustainable development in Toronto that a recent estimate puts rehabilitation costs just in the United States, where regulation is stricter than in many other countries, at $35 billion. "If you look at where the real problems are, in Russia, Eastern Europe, South Africa, India, China, the extent of the (mine) legacy issues is enormous, and it's totally beyond the capability of this industry, either financially or technically, to make a meaningful contribution to that," Wilson said. See also related news items from the GMI Conference. Top miners pledge steps to sustainable development Mining sector aims to be kinder, gentler, greener Title:
Top
miners pledge steps to sustainable development The three-day Global Mining Initiative conference in Toronto, that drew a host of Chief executives from the world's top mining companies, ended yesterday with pledges that the industry is in the process of mending its social and environmental ways, but with no concrete action plan on how this is to be performed. See also: Title: Industry
still failing on environment - UN report Despite the best efforts of a minority of firms, world industry as a whole is failing to pull its weight on protecting the environment, a United Nations report concluded yesterday. Advances in the recycling of key materials and in car efficiency were still being outweighed by the effects of increased consumption, including a trend towards disposable products. See the full article. The report "Industry as a Partner for Sustainable Development 10 years after Rio: the UNEP assessment" may be downloaded in English and French from the UNEP DTIE website. Title:
Mining
sector aims to be kinder, gentler, greener The mining industry moved to put another nail in the coffin of its swashbuckling past on Monday, opening a major conference designed give it a kinder, gentler and greener face - even starting the event with an Ojibwa prayer to the new day, delivered by a member of the Mississauga Indian nation. About 570 members of the world's mining elite, and some of their harshest critics, started the three-day Global Mining Initiative conference in Toronto that will try to shine up what the sector now willingly admits is a tarnished social and environmental reputation. The conference is being held ahead of the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August. Title: Idemitsu
may sell coal with emissions rights Unlisted Japanese oil company Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd said yesterday it was considering selling coal that grants carbon dioxide emission rights to buyers. The move will be backed by Idemitsu's reforestation project in Australia where the firm started to plant eucalyptus trees in April at a coal mine that it owns, a company spokesman said. Title: USA
- Alcan revamps slow aluminum can recycling in 2001 Alcan Inc.'s U.S.
subsidiary Alcan Aluminum Corp., the top U.S. recycler of used beverage
cans, said last week revamps at some of its plants slowed its recycling
to over 22 billion cans in 2001, from nearly 23.8 billion cans in 2000.
The decrease was due to temporary suspensions made at some plants to improve productivity, an Alcan Aluminum Corp. spokeswoman told Reuters. She said a more specific number for 2001 could not yet be given. Alcan's recycling represented 40 percent of the cans recycled in the United States. Title: Chinese
aluminium recycling seen rising sharply Chinese aluminum scrap recycling is comparatively low at 32 percent, but set to rise rapidly to 70 percent, Peikai Song, Vice President of Aluminium Corporation of China said last week. Title: Brussels
judge studying TotalFinaElf rights case A Belgian judge is studying a landmark lawsuit against French oil giant TotalFinaElf and its chief executive for allegedly helping the Myanmar military to commit human rights abuses. The CEO Thierry Desmaret is accused of complicity in the torture and forced labor of workers building a TotalFinaElf pipeline. This is apparently the first time a company and its CEO have been involved in a crimes against humanity case. Title: U.S.
Planning To Pull Out Of International Criminal Court Treaty The United States plans to inform the United Nations that it will formally end its involvement in the Rome Statute that set up the International Criminal Court, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday. According to Powell, the Bush administration plans to tell U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan it has no intention of ratifying the treaty and that the United States is "no longer bound in any way to its purpose and objective." Title: Miners
urged to lead the way on development issues The mining industry must take the initiative in standardising its approach to social, economic and environmental considerations, according to a new report from the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) project. The question of sustainable development is a key one for the future of the industry. Title: INSIDE
TRACK: Prospecting for mining balance: VIEWPOINT SIR ROBERT WILSON: A
global initiative aims to improve the sector's sustainable development
record The resources industry is an essential pillar of economic activity, but it can also be a source of social and environmental problems. Mining companies have sometimes been too slow in reacting to society's calls for improvements in corporate social responsibility. But compliance with the law is not enough. We must respond to demands for higher environmental and social standards, and greater transparency in accounting for performance. That is why Rio Tinto joined others in the industry in setting up the Global Mining Initiative (GMI). See the article for the full text.
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