Suez Energy to power Chile Esperanza project
SANTIAGO, Jan 28 - Suez Energy International, a unit of French utility Suez, said on Monday it reached an agreement to supply electricity to Chile's $1.5 billion Esperanza copper project, owned by Antofagasta Minerals.
Suez said in a statement it would soon begin construction on the thermoelectric plant (coal fired) that will supply up to 150 MW to the Esperanza mine in northern Chile as of 2011.
The plant will be built in Mejillones, some 1,400 kilometers north of the Chilean capital Santiago, and will feed into the northern power grid.
It will be the second plant of its kind for Suez's Andina Thermoelectric Complex. The first is already under construction and is expected to start supplying a mine owned by Codelco, the world's largest copper company, beginning in 2010.
Chile is racing to build electrical generating capacity to feed its booming mining sector, which produces about a third of the world's copper.
The new plant will be coal-fired and is part of Chile's solution to shortages of natural gas, which has been supplied by Argentina to run northern generating facilities.
Esperanza will be one of Chile's first major greenfield copper projects -- ones built from scratch -- in years.
The mine is expected to be ready for operation in the fourth quarter of 2010 and will add an annual production of some 195,000 tonnes of copper, 229,000 ounces of gold and 1.556 million ounces of silver to Chile's mining roster.
Here is the full article.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Chile is racing to build electrical generating capacity to feed its foreign owned mining sector, which consumes almost 40% of Chile's electricity
Green Campaigner Uses Shame Tactics - Growing Environmental NGO Power in China Starting to Make a Difference
For a company, a brand matters the most.
Environmentalist Ma Jun, who is well aware of the dictum, has used it to pressure polluters to mend their ways.
He created a website to name and shame companies, and even local governments, that pollute the environment.
"Companies which may ignore fines or other punishments cannot afford their brands being blacklisted," Ma said Thursday.
"The pressure exerted can help stop pollution at its origin, because the public will penalize polluters by shunning their products."
On Saturday, the 39-year-old was selected as one of 50 people - including four Chinese - who could save the planet by The Guardian, a leading British newspaper, because of his green efforts in the past decade.
"The award was a surprise to me, and the honor belongs to our team," said Ma, who in 2006 set up the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based non-governmental organization with five staff members.
The awards to the four Chinese send out a message, Ma said.
"It shows that the world cares about the environment in China, and how this developing country can play a role in solving environmental problems."
The other Chinese on the list are Pan Yue, 47, vice-minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration; Jia Zhangke, 37, actor/director credited with raising public awareness of the environment; and Shi Zhengrong, 44, a scientist who owns Suntech Power, one of the world's 10 biggest solar panel producers.
Ma said: "The new interaction between the government, public, enterprises and NGOs will benefit environment protection in China."
As one of the leaders of environmental NGOs, which are estimated at about 3,000 in the country, Ma said the NGOs have made up for what the government may not be doing very well, such as keeping the public better informed about polluters.
On its part, the government has set in place a series of laws or regulations regarding the environment since 2003, which have enhanced public awareness of the environment.
These efforts have contributed significantly to climate change mitigation, he said.
Ma's website features a list of polluters based on government data - placed on two web pages widely reported by the media.
On the blacklist are more than 10,000 water-polluting enterprises and over 4,000 that pollute air.
Up to now, about 50 enterprises have approached Ma, explaining their situation and promising to clean up their act.
Eight enterprises have asked independent environmental groups to audit their environmental management system and pollution control facilities. Of them, two have been removed from the blacklist after they passed the audits.
Ma is no stranger to lobbyists from blacklisted enterprises.
"Some come and say they want to support our project. I tell them to check their pollution first."
But given the fact that 15,000 enterprises remain on the blacklist, "domestic and foreign-funded enterprises in China still have a long way to go to come clean," he said.
His goal for this year: First, to create a database that categorizes products by type and industry.
"Consumers can check online the products they want to buy and select products from clean companies."
Second, he wants to set up a new list of polluting suppliers as a reference for big companies.
"I hope big names such as Wal-Mart could one day stand up and say: 'We don't buy from polluting suppliers'."
Ma, a former researcher with Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, published a book, China's Water Crisis, in 1999. He shifted from journalism to water protection during his field trips to polluted rivers and lakes in the 1990s.
"China has been facing rising challenges in terms of water shortages and pollution," he said.
About 400 of 600 cities lack water, and water in about 30 percent of waterways is neither drinkable nor suitable for irrigation.
About 300 million farmers do not have accesses to safe drinking water, according to government figures.
Here is the full article.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Indigenous rights verses corporate ‘free trade’ in South America
Indigenous rights renewal in Latin America flourishes in some quarters, but there are many reminders of the continued misery of first peoples at the hands of propertied and commercial classes.
In Brazil, especially in Mato Grosso do Sul, murders of indigenous people increased 58 percent last year over 2006, according to Catholic missionaries. They said the cause was confinement, not enough land for Guarani people “to sustain their traditions.” In the Dourados reserve, 12,000 people live on less than 7,000 acres.
The hunger strike of indigenous prisoner Patricia Tronoso in Chile signals oppression. As of Jan. 25, she had fasted 106 days and was near death. She and four other Mapuche activists were sentenced to ten years in jail for allegedly burning company-owned forests; they began fasting Oct. 10. They were protesting mistreatment of other indigenous prisoners and supporting the Mapuche campaign for return of land stolen by corporations. Her companions ended their fasts several weeks ago.
Critics accuse the Chilean government of complicity with landowners in relying on Pinochet-era antiterrorist laws to suppress Mapuche demands.
Indigenous grief is often tied to environmental abuse. Interviewed by journalist Greg Palast, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa detailed his recent trip into the Amazonian jungle to investigate an outburst of cancer among indigenous children living in areas abandoned by foreign oil corporations. Sink holes filled with oil sludge dot nearby forests. A community leader told Correa that his son’s vomiting of blood and subsequent death were related to immersion in contaminated water.
In Bolivia, President Evo Morales last week demanded that a group of exploitative landowners in the drought-stricken Chaco region provide land for 1,000 enslaved Guarani families with neither income nor land. He threatened the landowners with expropriation.
The unprecedented rise of Morales, an indigenous labor leader, to Bolivia’s presidency is taken by many as a harbinger of a new day for Latin America’s indigenous people. They take hope from his government’s progress toward public control over hydrocarbon resources and a proposed new constitution protective of indigenous rights.
A Jan. 15-17 international conference in La Paz, attended by indigenous people from 11 countries, heaped praise on “brother President Evo Morales” for “standing up to “the fascism of the right,” as one speaker put it. Another inveighed against “homogeneous societies” that make “regional, environmental, and cultural difference invisible.” A final conference declaration called for “inclusion and construction of multinational states.”
But a handful of Bolivian delegates denounced their country’s proposed new constitution for relying too much on political parties and not enough on “the direct participation of the original peoples.” Entering his third presidential year, Morales announced new priorities for “structural change” and “decolonization” of the state, according to Bolpress.com. He proposed a “National Coordinating Agency for Change,” with overview of his cabinet and independence from his own ruling party.
The experience of Quechua labor leader Sylvia Lazarte, however, hints at a rough road ahead. The heroic 44-year-old indigenous and woman’s rights campaigner served as the elected president of Bolivia’s Constituent Assembly that concluded recently after almost 18 months. She guided it through what Prensa Latina described as a “pandemonium of racism, violence and ridicule.” Lazarte experienced physical threats and racial abuse as paramilitary youth formations, proxies for whites and local oligarchs, took over the streets of Sucre.
Indigenous reactions to Ecuadorian President Correa are not all favorable. The important Ecuadorian indigenous federation known by its Spanish initials CONAIE convened Jan. 10-12 in Santo Domingo for a national congress. Some 1,300 delegates from “14 nationalities and 18 peoples” were on hand. Speakers criticized the Correa government for rejecting as allies longtime foes of transnational corporations bedeviling Ecuador. One accused the government of “basing its process of citizen revolution on the fortress of the state, not on people’s organizations.”
Founded in 1986, CONAIE led nationwide protests that helped bring down Ecuadorian governments. The recently concluded Congress elected charismatic 32-year-old Marlon Santi as the new CONAIE president. To an interviewer, Santi pointed out that “Proposals from the indigenous movement and other social sectors … are not present on the national government’s political agenda.” He called upon Correa to recognize “the demands of indigenous nationalities and peoples, and he should do so.” If not, “the bases will respond with action.”
Here is the full article.
Peru to sign freetrade pact with Canada - set to become next victim of Canada's predatory mining industry?
Canadian Mining Company, Skye Resources, Burns Out Indigenous Mayan Villagers in GuatemalaOTTAWA -- Canada plans to announce today that it has wrapped up negotiations on a free-trade agreement with Peru, as the Harper government tries to gain ground in the global race to clinch preferential access to new markets.
The deal is Canada's second free-trade agreement in South America, after Chile, and gives Canadian businesses more unfettered access to a fast-growing continent.
International Trade Minister David Emerson expects to announce that a deal has been reached when he meets his Peruvian counterpart during World Economic Forum meetings in Davos, Switzerland, his office said.
Two-way annual trade with Peru is about $2.4-billion and the South American country is an important destination for Canadian capital, with about $2.9-billion invested in sectors such as mining and banking.
The Peru deal is Canada's second new free-trade deal in seven years, as the Harper government tries to catch up in the rush to sign free-trade agreements as global efforts at the World Trade Organization continue to flounder.
Previous Liberal governments began talks on at least seven new free-trade agreements and several investor protection deals. But they completed few; the last free-trade agreement they signed was with Costa Rica in 2001.
Mr. Emerson is also in Davos to formally sign the first free-trade deal the Harper government reached last year with Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein, all members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and countries that don't belong to the 27-nation European Union.
The new accord could still be derailed if the Harper minority government doesn't get at least one opposition party to back the deal in Parliament.
Business groups hailed the two deals.
(Here is why: Canadian Mining Industry Run Amok)
"By improving market access for Canadian exporters and enhancing protection for Canadian investments, these agreements will benefit companies and workers in a wide range of sectors," said Thomas d'Aquino, head of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.
Here is the full article.
Ombudsman hails NGO scrutiny of European Union institutions
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have a key role to play in uncovering maladministration in the EU institutions, the European Ombudsman has underlined.
"The Ombudsman relies on complaints from NGOs to help him uncover possible instances of maladministration in the EU institutions," said European Ombudsman P. Nikiforos Diamandouros.
Diamandouros was commenting following his December decisions on two complaints lodged by Polish environmental NGOs and Greenpeace.
"The institutions, in turn, profit from the active involvement of NGOs to help them rectify problems in the system," he added.
Polish NGOs Towarzystwo na rzecz Ziemi (TNZ) and Polska Zielona Siec (Polish Green Network) claimed that the European Investment Bank (EIB) failed to comply with an EU directive on environmental impact assessment during flood reconstruction and repair work in the country in 2001 and accused the EIB of failing to provide them with access to all the documents related to these projects.
In his decision on the case, the Ombudsman highlighted the "valuable role" played by the NGOs in bringing previously unnoticed issues to the EIB's attention, and urged the institution to "engage constructively with NGOs" within and outside the EU in future.
(Here is a counterpoint: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )
Meanwhile, Greenpeace highlighted four cases of "revolving doors" between European Commission officials working on the REACH regulation and lobby groups representing the chemical industry and accused the EU executive of impropriety. Following a Commission spokesperson's comment that the accusations were "unfounded and unfair", Greenpeace accused the EU executive of making "misleading, inaccurate and slanderous" remarks.
Diamandouros did not believe the spokesperson's remarks amounted to maladministration, but underlined that the case highlighted the "importance of transparency in relation to lobbying activities during EU legislative procedures".
NGOs have made around one thousand complaints to the Ombudsman over the last decade. These complaints of alleged maladministration by the EU institutions mainly concern environmental projects, late payment for contracts granted by the EU, and a perceived lack on transparency in the institutions.
Here is the full article.
Polymetal buys Russian gold mine from Kinross Gold Corporation for US $15.0 Million
Russian gold-miner Polymetal has completed the acquisition of a 98,1% stake in Omolon Gold Mining Company , which owns the Kubaka mine, from Canada's Kinross Gold, the company said on Friday.
Kubaka, in Russia's Magadan Region, produced 90,8 t of gold between 1997 and 2005, when it was put on care and maintenance.
Polymetal agreed to pay a subsidiary of Kinross $15-million plus a royalty for the mine.
Who shoulders the environmental liability?
The Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation approved the transaction last month, Polymetal said in an RNS announcement.
The company plans to reopen the mine in 2011, at a production rate of between 150 000 oz/y and 250 000 oz/y.
In order to meet this target, it will identify targets for detailed exploration this year, produce resource estimates on one or two of the targets in 2009 and aims to complete a feasibility study the following year.
Here is the full article.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Ecuador Government Revokes Hundreds of Mine Concessions - Insists on Royalties and Windfall Tax - Mining Industry Blames Environmental NGOs
QUITO, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Ecuador's leftist government revoked hundreds of mining concessions on Friday, highlighting its determination to boost control over the Andean nation's natural resources.
Shares of Canada's junior mining company Ascendant Copper plunged 28 percent in Toronto after it lost a high-profile project. But the measure had little effect on some of the biggest players in the sector.
Mining and Petroleum Minister Galo Chiriboga told reporters the state was revoking 587 mining contracts because companies failed to pay fees on concessions for reserves of copper, gold and other metals.
"Based on legal norms, (the government) decided to revoke these contracts," he said.
Ascendant, which lost its Junin project, accused the government of President Rafael Correa of bowing to pressure from environmental groups.
"None of this is true ... the government was rushed into this," John Haigh, Ascendant's investor relations chief, said in a telephone interview.
Ecuador has little precious metal output, but dozens of foreign companies are exploring in the sector where nearly 4,000 concessions have been awarded.
By scrapping concessions, Correa sent a signal to the private sector that he wanted to overhaul rules for the industry. But the ally of Venezuelan's leftist President Hugo Chavez also avoided a battle with the most important foreign investors who generate revenue for the impoverished nation.
Last year, Correa moved more aggressively against foreign oil companies, ordering them to hand over almost all of their windfall profits from high prices. Since then, Correa has shown signs of moderating his radical policies as his popularity ratings have fallen mainly due to perceptions he is too confrontational.
CORREA RULES
Ecuador's Deputy Mining Minister Jose Serrano later told Reuters that Friday's move was "not an action against mining but a move to put the sector in order."
He warned that the government could revoke more concessions later this year as part of an ongoing probe. Those concessions will be later auctioned, but he denied speculation that revoked concessions will be later awarded to a planned state mining company.
Serrano said the move would not affect the country's biggest companies, which include Canadian miners Aurelian Resources, Corriente Resources and Iamgold Corp.
In the case of Ascendant, the government had already limited the company's work. Last year, it ordered the company to halt the Junin project's operations on charges it had violated mining regulations.
Serrano said Ascendant can appeal the order.
Friday's announcement should help appease environmentalists and residents across southern Ecuador, where most of the mining concessions are located. They have lobbied Correa to increase control over mining concessions following complaints the state was indiscriminately handing out contracts in previous years.
The government has already started negotiations with Aurelian and Corriente on their terms for doing business in Ecuador and boost state participation in current deals.
In general, it wants to rewrite rules for the industry by introducing royalties, making it more difficult to grant concessions and setting a windfall tax that should ensure more state revenue.
Here is the full article.
SN Power Prince to Avoid Chile Fish Farms Upon Advisement of the Chilean Government - Hydro-electric Visit Still On
Haakon 'safe,' but drops controversial fish-farm visit
An official royal visit to Chile has been trimmed once again, with Crown Prince Haakon dropping a long-planned visit to a Norwegian-controlled fish-farming operation because of labour and security trouble. Palace officials insist the crown prince is in no danger, though.
Chilean authorities advised the crown prince against going ahead with a visit to fish-farming facilities run by AKVA Group and Marine Harvest in Puerto Montt. Norway's ambassador to Chile, Pål Moe, told reporters the visit was cancelled because of an ongoing labour conflict at both plants.
No threats were lodged against the crown prince, and Chile's protocol chief Antonia Pena said "it's not dangerous for him to travel to Puerto Montt." Rather, the Chilean authorities issued a press statement that they didn’t want such a high-ranking person as the crown prince to visit places hit by such a conflict.
"It's too bad the visit can't be made, but I'll follow the advice the Chilean authorities give," Crown Prince Haakon said.
(But not the advice of the Mapuche: Mapuche Protest against Norwegian Hydroelectric Power )
Troubled trip
Environmentalists and critics of salmon farming had called for Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit to cancel their entire trip to Chile. They claimed that Norwegian-backed fish-farming operations in Chile exploit local workers and threaten wild salmon in the area.
(See: Chile's Flourishing Fish Farms Prompt Fears for Ecosystem )
Others have protested the royal visit because native groups in southern Chile are upset over plans by a Norwegian-owned firm, SN Power, to build a power plant in their area. A royal visit, they argue, would seem to condone the controversial plans.
Mette-Marit ended up staying home, after palace officials said she'd developed an acute case of stomach flu. Haakon traveled alone to Santiago, arriving Wednesday, and said he felt it was "right" to make the trip because of important ties between the countries.
Disappointed
Marine Harvest’s chief executive, meanwhile, claimed there was no conflict at his firm that warranted Thursday's cancellation. "We are very disappointed and don't understand this," said Leif Frode Onarheim. "At the same time, we respect the authorities' decision."
He thinks a workers' occupation at AKVA Chile may have prompted the cancellation, and that authorities fear the same could occur at other plants. AKVA Chile officials couldn't be immediately reached for comment.
Representatives of Norway's trade unions' congress, LO, had visited fish-farming operations in Chile last fall, and called for improvements in working conditions and terms. Marine Harvest is the world's largest fish-farming firm, while AKVA Group supplies equipment to the industry.
Another controversial visit carried out
Crown Prince Haakon went ahead with the visit to SN Power. "I'm convinced that SN Power is in a good dialogue with the local population, the Mapuche folk,"
(See: SN Power representatives have been only arrogant and unyielding to local concerns up until now. )
Crown Prince Haakon said. "I have worked with native peoples and their challenges through my engagement in the UN. I’m well aware of the issues."
(This sounds positive: Chile Terror Law Violates Due Process for Mapuche)
SN Power was formed in 2002 by Norwegian state-owned power agency Statkraft and Norfund to construct export ($$$ to exploit) Norway's hydro-electric expertise overseas.
(See: Power for the Mapuches but not for Uganda- Norwegian Government owner, SN Power, pulls out of Uganda hydroelectric venture citing economic unviability )
The Mapuche people fear their lands will be damaged and their livelihoods threatened by a hydro-electric plant.
The crown prince said it was essential that the local population be included in all planning and that their concerns be heard (but not heeded) . He said he was relying on SN Power's management (instead of checking the facts for himself) that they're doing so.
Here is the full article.
German Bank Pulls the Plug on British-Australian Gold Mining Scheme in Indonesia – NGO Pressure on the Financial Backers Crucial
[17th January 2008] The Indonesian province of North Sulawesi is a biodiversity hotspot and harbors some of the world's most spectacular nature areas. Northern Sulawesi is also home to a series of gold deposits, the largest of which is known by the name of Toka Tindung. Plans to establish gold mining operations here have met with widespread resistance both from local inhabitants and the Provincial government, who fear that the mines would disrupt the ecology and the economy of the region, which is based on fishing, agriculture and tourism.
The British-based mining company Archipelago Resources, which is attempting to force the development of the Toka Tindung mine, recently received a serious blow, when the German bank WestLB did not renew its credit arrangements with the company. WestLB is one of four banks, which had originally agreed to provide project financing for Toka Tindung. The other banks involved are Australia's ANZ and Investec and the French bank Société Générale. NGOs are now calling upon these banks to follow suit and to pull out of the controversial project.
"We are amazed that WestLB held on to this project as long as they did," says Heffa Schücking from the German NGO Urgewald. "Since 2005 the people of Northern Sulawesi Province have consistently demonstrated and spoken out against the project and both the provincial parliament and the Governor have given a clear "No" to Toka Tindung. This and the fact, that the company pushed forward construction without obtaining valid permits is a clear indication, that Archipelago Resources is not a company that banks should invest in," says Schücking.
Activists believe that their threat to launch a public campaign against WestLB in Germany played a role in the bank's decision to finally withdraw from the project. "Supporting a project, which local people don't want and which will harm unique ecosystems, would have created a lot of damage to WestLB's reputation," says Marianne Klute from Watch Indonesia.
From the start, the gold mining project has been contentious. In July 2006, the Indonesian Federal Environment Ministry forbid Archipelago Resources' plan to dump tailings from the mine in the ocean and the company thus put forward a plan to store tailings on land. However, this solution is far from safe as the area is prone to earthquakes and floods. The Governor of the Province, S.H. Sarundajang, thus refused to grant a permit for the mine, which is located near the Lembeh Strait, the Bunaken National Park and the the Tangkoko Conservation Area. At a press conference in February 2007, Sarundajung said that short-term extractive industries like gold mining don't fit into the long-term sustainable development plans of this province and stated, "I prefer to be a green governor rather than allowing the destruction of our environment."
Archipelago Resources and its Indonesian subsidiary have nonetheless moved forward with construction, thereby enraging the local population and showing utter disregard for the law. The company's security forces have time and again attacked peaceful demonstrations by locals and there are many accusations of corruption and unlawful intimidation against the firm.
Villagers claim that Archipelago Resources' illegal construction activities have already resulted in unprecedented damage to the environment. On March 11th 2007, 400 villagers of Rinondoran and vicinity had to flee as their houses were buried under a 1.5 Meter thick layer of mud. The avalanche turned the crystal clear water of Rinondoran Bay into a stinky mud pool with hundreds of dead fish. The villagers suspect that this was a man made environmental catastrophe, caused by the construction activities of Archipelago Resources in the hills above Rinondoran. The contract to construct the dumping ponds and dams for the mine was granted to Bakrie constructions, which belongs to the Indonesian minister Aburizal Bakrie. This is the same company that is responsible for the mud volcano that has been flooding the region Sidoarjo in East Java over the past months. Archipelago Resources, however, denies any responsibility and speaks of a natural catastrophe.
"Archipelago Resources does not care about the law nor about the people in our region," says Revoldi Koleangan of AMMALTA, the local alliance of farming and fishing communities opposed to the project. "We are therefore glad to see that the company is losing support from its financial backers and hope that it will soon be forced to leave the province entirely," he adds.
Here is the full article.
Hunger Strike Surpasses 100 days for Mapuche Woman Tried Under Chile’s Anti-Terrorism Laws for Setting fire to Matte Group’s Pine Plantation
CHILE’S BACHELET URGED TO HEED HUNGER STRIKER'S DEMANDS
Supporters Outraged By Government Decision To Force Feed Mapuche Protester Patricia Troncoso
(Jan. 23, 2008) Chile’s National Assembly for Human Rights led a protest Tuesday morning outside La Moneda Presidential Palace demanding that President Michelle Bachelet address the situation of fasting Mapuche prisoner Patricia Troncoso. The demonstration came on the heels of an open letter presented to Bachelet on Monday by Amnesty International, also demanding attention to Troncoso's case.
Prison guards decided Monday to sedate and administer intravenous feeding to Troncoso without her consent, a move that human rights groups decried as a violation of her rights. Troncoso has been fasting more than 100 days to protest a stiff arson conviction she received in 2002 under Pinochet-era terrorism laws. She has repeatedly denied intravenous feeding and stated that if she must die, she will.
Sergio Laurenti, Amnesty International’s Chile director, told the Santiago Times that forcible feeding is not a proper response to Troncoso's situation. He maintained that the only acceptable resolution is for the Chilean government to consider her demands and revise her jail sentence.
Though prison officials claim that it is within their institutional mission to intervene if a person in their custody is at risk of dying, Laurenti believes that they violated Troncoso's rights and are taking advantage of her weakened condition. “This is a cruel and potentially dangerous response because it was not what she wanted,” he said.
Meanwhile, human rights lawyer and leader of Tuesday's protest, Hugo Gutiérrez, told the Santiago Times that force feeding Troncoso is, “a violent decision on behalf of the State. Patricia Troncoso is carrying out a personal struggle against State repression of the Mapuche people and this response is an unfortunate one.”
The Mapuche community is equally upset by what it perceives as disrespect for Troncoso's demands. Pro-Mapuche news source, Mapu Express, cites a World Medical Association Declaration which states, with respect to hunger strikes, “forcible feeding is never ethically acceptable. Even if intended to benefit, feeding accompanied by threats, coercion, force or use of physical restraints is a form of inhuman and degrading treatment. ”
Troncoso, or “la Chepa” as she is known in Mapuche communities, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2002 for torching almost 250 acres of a pine plantation in Region IX. The land belonged to forestry company Minico, which is led by the Matte Group, an economically powerful Chilean conglomerate. The action was just one of many Mapuche-led efforts to reclaim indigenous land that has been taken over by private industry – the result of centuries of cultural imperialism.
Troncoso was tried under provisions of the Anti-Terrorist Law created under the Pinochet dictatorship and later revived by the administration of former President Ricardo Lagos. Prosecution under this law greatly increased the length of her jail term.
Troncoso and four other Mapuche prisoners at Temuco's Angol Prison began a hunger strike in October to draw attention to their sentences, and she is now the only remaining hunger striker. Troncoso was transferred to Herminda Martín Hospital in Chillán last week when her medical team determined she was at “vital risk” due to her rapidly deteriorating health (ST, Jan. 15).
This is not the first time the Chilean government has ignored requests made by Troncoso in recent days. When her medical team recommended moving Troncoso to a Santiago hospital, the government sent her to Chillán instead, much to the outrage of her family and supporters. When the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights requested a phone interview with Troncoso, orders from the government via the Regional Justice Office prevented her from doing so.
Here is the full article.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Geocom-Kinross Gold Mine Plans Draw Celebrity Attention – Charity Whitewater Raft trip with Robert Kennedy on Chile’s Futaleufu River nets $94,000 usd
Celebrities Enjoy Antics at Banff Charity
[Jan 23, 2008] The Edmonton Journal
It was a good bench-emptying hockey brawl and at the centre, gloves flying, was Karen Percy-Lowe.
Jerseys were pulled off and into the fray jumped Oscar winner Tim Robbins (Mystic River); singer-songwriter Tom Cochrane and Daryl Hannah (Kill Bill), and would-be MP Justin Trudeau.
"We were just acting," said Percy-Lowe. "Last year's impromptu hockey game was so much fun that we thought we'd stage a couple of games this year."
The mock "fight" took place on a rink at the Fairmont Banff Springs Celebrity Sports Invitational.
Alec Baldwin (The Departed, The Good Shepherd) emceed the Saturday night gala and former child-evangelist Marjoe Gortner acted as auctioneer.
Some $900,000 was raised to support Robert F. Kennedy's Waterkeeper Alliance, fighting worldwide to clean up rivers and lakes and conserve water.
Few had hockey skates last year, but stars were told there would be games on the Friday and Saturday nights this year.
"It was mainly a Canadian sort of thing," said Percy-Lowe. "We even have red and black team jerseys now."
The Friday game ended about midnight, but it was after the witching hour before the game began Saturday.
The stars had gone to Sunshine Village to compete in a snowshoe-toboggan and cross-country ski races Friday and downhill slalom ski races Saturday.
Most of the money raised, $750,000, came from the live auction at the black-tie, salmon tartar-and-Alberta beef gala.
Gordon Downie, lead singer and lyricist for the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, raised a cool $100,000 by offering a concert in a private home.
PLENTY OF CELEBRITY GUESTS
"I believe that is the most ever raised by a single item at one of our auctions," said Toronto lawyer Matt Mattson, Canadian representative to the Waterkeeper Alliance board of directors.
"But all our celebrity guests were articulate about the cause they were supporting, particularly the Canadians."
Margaret Trudeau, her right arm in a sling, looked a tad uncomfortable at the dinner.
"I dislocated my arm in the last run of the day Friday," she said. "I should know better than to try and keep up with the Kennedy boys."
Skiing with the same competitive edge as his elder brother Robert, was Matthew Kennedy, a lawyer and Harvard University graduate.
Kennedy crossing the Futaleufu on a Tyrolean Traverse(For a future picture of the Futaleufu River Valley, see: Double threat of Cyanide Leach Mining and Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) imperils the Futaleufu River Valley - Kinross Gold & Geocom Resources responsible )
Kennedy was also happy when a family was offered a day of falconry with him -- he's a master falconer and former president of the New York State Falconer's Association -- and it sold for $60,000.
Golf with Wayne Gretzky at Ontario's Georgian Bay Club the day before the Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic begins on the newest PGA stop, sold for $14,000.
MESSIER'S BEACH HOUSE
Bidding for a week at Mark Messier's brand new beach house at Runaway Hill Inn in the Bahamas was keen. Mark will try to be there. It fetched $18,000.
Lawyer Mattson is off on a one-week trip through Cree wilderness in Ontario's Arctic lowlands offered by author Joseph Boyden. It sold for $18,000.
"Boyden's debut novel, Three Day Road, won international acclaim for its depiction of Canada's First Nations and the contributions to the First World War," said Mattson.
"A trip through remote, fragile ecosystem is a dream."
Lesser mortals wouldn't have been able to lace up their skates after gathering around the stage to encourage former Doobie Brother Michael McDonald and his band. (One gentleman brandishing an open bottle of Patron tequila offered everyone a drink.)
But it was Downie, a minor league hockey goalie who played for an Ontario Championship-winning, bantam-level team in 1979, who lead the stars to the ice. An unpredictable game followed.
(The games are not part of the TV program that will be beamed to a North American audience of some 70 million.)
Oscar-winning Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking) was shooed off the ice for following her long-time partner, six-feet-five-inches-tall Robbins, around the ice with a video camera.
Former New York Rangers goaltender Mike Richter, thrice named to NHL All-Star teams, skated powerfully in his goalie skates.
And Jason Priestly (Beverly Hills 90210) looked like a real hockey player, while Alicia Silverstone (Clueless, Batman and Robin), a model since she was six, looked fantastic.
Tired after some heavy-duty skiing, Percy-Lowe, a double-bronze ski medalist at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, led cheerleading from the bench, along with husband and Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe, and friends, Edmonton lawyer Doug Goss and his wife, Provincial Court Judge Joanne Goss.
The game went until after 3 a.m.
Here is the full article: Edmonton Journal
Chile’s Mother of God Island to Receive Govt. Protection – Environmental Patrimony Grounds Cited – Island has no Counterpart Anywhere else in Chile
French And Chilean Explorers Highlight Unique Characteristics Of Isolated Southern Island
(Jan. 14, 2008) An isolated and inclement island in far southern Chile’s Region XII is gaining some worthy attention and much needed protection, thanks to moves by the Chilean government and to a series of Franco-Chilean expeditions.
Isla Madre de Dios (Mother of God), located about a day’s boat trip north-west of Puerto Natales, is a largely unexplored, 270,000-acre area of rock, wind and sea that - unlike most of the other countless islands in the mind-bogglingly intricate Patagonian archipelago - belongs to neither a national park nor reserve.
But just recently the island received a measure of protection from the government’s Ministry of National Patrimony, which included it among the estimated 900,000 acres of land the government body now controls throughout the country. Any private interests wanting to develop on the island, in other words, must now go through and be approved by the Ministry.
“We clearly have information that tells us this place is highly valuable in terms of patrimony – environmental patrimony,” Pablo Mecklenburg, head of the Ministry’s patrimony division, told the Patagonia Times (a sister publication to The Santiago Times).
“Part of our task, specifically the division I lead, has to do with taking care of and protecting our natural patrimony in Chile. We think that this is a territory that under the country’s existing protection schemes (the national park and reserve system) enjoyed very little representation. We took this action in order to preserve this space, which has no counterpart anywhere else in Chile,” he added.
The island has also benefited of late from a series of joint French-Chilean expeditions led by a group called Centre Terre. The group, which includes experts from Chile’s Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica, is helping shed light on the island’s rich biological, geographical and cultural assets.
Last week the group embarked on its third expedition since 2000, when they first began the onerous task of exploring the island’s long and intricate perimeter. This time around the Centre Terre scientists and spelunkers plan to visit the island’s western and northern faces.
The modern day explorers also plan to revisit several of Madre de Dios’ unique and frighteningly deep caves and crevices. One of those caves, “el Sumidero del Futuro” (the Sink of the Future), is thought to go down at least 376 meters, making it the deepest in Chile. In addition, the Centre Terre team will return to the 305-meter “Sima del Descanso” (Chasm of Rest), which they discovered on their last expedition, in 2006.
On that same trip, the group stumbled across some 50 cave paintings thought to be made by former Alacalufe inhabitants. The Alacalufe are an indigenous people that inhabited the Patagonia archipelago long before the arrival of European explorers and traders. Evidence of Alacalufe presence in the zone dates back to 6,000 B.C. In the 17th century, when the nomadic indigenous group first made contact with Europeans, their population is estimated to have been between 2,500-3,000.
In 2003, an 80-year-old Alaculfue woman named Fresia Allessandri passed away, bringing the dwindling tribe one step closer to extinction (ST, Oct. 30, 2003). Allessandri (born Jérawr Asáwer) took her name from former Chilean President Arturo Allessandri, who was Chile’s leader at the time of her birth.
Most of the remaining Alacalufe, also known as the Kaweskar, reside near an Air Force base on Puerto Eden in Chile's Region XI. A recent count indicated that there were 12 full-blood members of the ethnic group based there, two of whom are students and only return for holidays. Other people of Alacalufe origin have moved to the southerly towns Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales, where most work in traditional artisan goods or in the local fish-collecting trade. Ethnologists have been making attempts to record the unique language spoken by the Alacalufe people while they still can.
“We, together with this group from France, want to continue collecting information about the island’s archaeological and biological aspects,” said Pablo Mecklenburg. “Once we’ve finished, we’ll decide what use to make of the island. And when I say ‘use,’ I do so taking liberties with the language, because the use could be total conservation.”
Anti-Mining Environmentalists Win Big in Argentina - Goldcorp Retaliates Following Argentine Tariff Move - Will Halt All Exploration Spending
Bullion giant Goldcorp Inc. says it will halt exploration spending in Argentina after the government imposed export duties on metals production, reversing a pledge to keep miners' tax rates stable for 30 years.
Vancouver-based Goldcorp owns a 37.5-per-cent stake in copper and gold mine Alumbrera, the largest mining operation in Argentina.
In late December, the Argentine government stunned the country's burgeoning mining industry, slapping a 10-per-cent tariff on base metals exports and a 5-per cent-levy on gold production, seeking a larger slice of miners' profits from record metals prices.
(See: 10 Things Canada Does Best - What Canada doesn't do best is hold domestic mining companies accountable for the damage they do abroad. , Possible Tax Evasion? Under-declaration of profits by mining companies costs Tanzania US$207 million )
In retaliation, Goldcorp has decided to put exploration efforts in Argentina on hold.
"I have already taken Argentina from the 2008 list of places I am going to go," Tim Miller, Goldcorp's vice-president in Central and South America, said in an interview.
(Now that is making a positive contribution to Argentina, as defined by its citizens: Esquel Celebrates One Year Anti-Gold Mining Referendum Anniversary)
"I have put it on hold. There are other places that are inviting foreign development and investment much more than Argentina," he said.
(Like Papua New Guinea and Guatemala: Canadian, Goldcorp's open pit, cyanide-leeching mine runs up against local opposition in Guatemala , Unregulated Gold Miners – Environmental Stewards or Criminals? Not a single mine in Papua New Guinea has a Tailings Dam )
The surprise export duty has threatened Argentina's rapid ascent (descent?) as a destination for the world's mining industry. In search of the next metals hot spot to rival Chile or Peru, international mining firms have flocked to Argentina in recent years, spending billions on exploration and mine construction.
Mining investment in Argentina has increased to $1.77-billion (U.S.) in 2007 from $220-million in 2003.
The country promised 30 years of tax stability to mining companies in 1993 and issued exemptions from export duties imposed during the country's financial crisis in 2002 to mines already in production.
Now some of the world's largest mining companies have filed a legal action against the government in a bid to fight the new duties. Xstrata PLC, which controls and operates Alumbrera, Rio Tinto PLC, the owner of a borax mine in Argentina, and AngloGold Ashanti, which has run the Cerro Vanguardia gold mine since 1998, are seeking an injunction preventing the government from collecting the new tax.
(Mining companies are NOTORIOUS for not paying taxes: 10 Things Canada Does Best - What Canada doesn't do best is hold domestic mining companies accountable for the damage they do abroad. , Possible Tax Evasion? Under-declaration of profits by mining companies costs Tanzania US$207 million )
"We continue to be hopeful we will reach a solution through dialogue with the government respecting legislation currently in effect but, in the meantime, it has been necessary for us to protect our short-term interests and we had to commence legal proceedings," Xstrata spokeswoman Emily Russell said.
(Protect their interests is all they care about, not an iota of heed for the opinion of the community in which they operate: Argentine Supreme court upholds Chubut Province ban of cyanide leach mining - local protest crucial to the verdict )
Some miners in Argentina were already paying the duty. Barrick Gold Corp., the world's largest bullion producer, operates the Veladero mine in Argentina and has been paying a "temporary" 5-per-cent export duty on gold production since 2005. Barrick, which is developing the massive Pascua Lama project that straddles the Argentine border with Chile, is not involved in the litigation and is "monitoring" the situation, a company spokesman said.
(In Barrick's case, litigating against a government that it needs permits from isn't a good idea:Barrick Gold Corporation's Pascua Lama Mining Project on Hold - The Perils of Gold Mining in Chile's Border Region - Uncertainty Rattles Shareholders )
Goldcorp does not have any major exploration operations in Argentina. However, the country "was high on its list of countries we would like to expand into," Mr. Miller said.
Exploration around the Alumbrera concession by the mine's partnership has also been put on hold, the Goldcorp executive said, delaying "millions of dollars from being spent on planned exploration."
(And saving billions of dollars of future clean-up costs: Supreme Court Decision Rattles Canadian Mining Industry – Right to Pollute Under Threat – Teck Cominco Execs Vow Fight, say No to Cleaning Environment , $400 Million Taxpayer Financed Superfund Clean-up Effort and Tourism Dollars Revive Idaho Mining Town after 1981 Mine Closure )
Goldcorp has lobbied Ottawa for help and hopes the export tax issue will be raised by MP Ted Menzies in meetings with Argentine officials in Buenos Aires this week.
(Yes, the Canadian Government is stooge of the Canadian Mining Industry: The Canadian Government and Mining Industry)
Toronto's Yamana Gold Inc., which owns 12.5 per cent of Alumbrera and is developing the Gualcamayo mine and several other projects in Argentina, is also watching the situation closely.
(So is Esquel: Yamana Gold Corporation acquires Meridian Gold Inc. owner of the stalled Esquel Gold Mine Project )
"To have sustainability for mining you have to have certainty. You can't change the rules midstream," Peter Marrone, Yamana's chief executive officer, said in an interview.
(And few environmental regulations: "Chile is the best mining jurisdiction in the world... Canada is not a jurisdiction where I would like to develop a mine." says Centenario Copper CEO )
Here is the full article.
Pacific Hydro Wind Farm Generates Tourist Dollars in Australia
In come the milling crowd
Pure white blades sigh as they slice through the air, momentarily interrupting rays of sun, before gracefully completing another mesmerising cycle.
It is another windy day on the top of Albany's coastal cliffs in Western Australia, where 12 modern wind turbines provide 65 per cent of the electricity to the town below, and cut annual greenhouse emissions by 77,000 tonnes.
A surprising addition to the scenery is a group of tourists who have just disembarked from their coach, cameras at the ready. But they are not here for the whales. It is the wind farm they have come to see.
The novelty of the white windmill forests is something that is attracting curious visitors in droves. At a time when climate change and renewable energy are concerns, it is not hard to understand why there is an interest.
The tourism industry has speedily caught on. Wind farms are marketed as must-see attractions where visitors can witness the production of renewable energy and learn about wind technology.
Most wind farms in Australia cater for tourists, providing viewing platforms and information booths. The wind farm in Albany has been operating since 2001 and has a network of paths around the base of the turbines, with boards with stories and facts.
Jon Berry, the manager of economic development at Albany Council, said the turbines had enhanced the value of the area.
"The combination of the wind farm and a spectacular coastal setting has made it the most popular tourist destination in Albany," he said.
"I think people also see them as symbols that we're doing something for the environment. [Visitors] are quite awe-inspired about the pure size of the machinery towering above them, and with blades the size of a Boeing 747 wing coming towards you it's a real 'wow' experience."
The Australian Wind Energy Association says it is the role wind farms play in reducing greenhouse gases that makes them more appealing than other forms of development.
It was this interest in green initiatives that convinced Tim Brady of Port Fairy, Victoria, that there was a market for wind-farm tours. Codrington farm, near Port Fairy, has been in Brady's wife's family since 1856, but in 2001 it gained 14 wind turbines and became Australia's largest (at the time), and Victoria's first, wind farm. An open day for the public in 2001 showed just how much interest there was.
"Thousands of people showed up. We were bowled over by the amount of people who came out to the country to have a look," Brady said.
Here is the full article.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
New Green Party Forms in Chile - Promises Mother of All Battles Over HidroAysen
Promises “Mother of All Battles” Against Patagonia HydroAysén Dam Project
(Jan. 21, 2008) After a year of jumping legal hurdles, the Partido Ecologista (or Green Party) was recognized on Jan. 11 in the El Diario Oficial, the official government registry. Led by Universidad de Concepción political scientist Félix González, the party will be formally introduced to the public this week.
Well-known environmentalists Sara Larrain, director of Chile Sustentable, Ecology Policy Institute director Manuel Baquedano and Renace National director Isabel Lincolao also joined González in forming the party. These older activists will take on a supporting role in the party, but want a new generation to step into leadership roles.
During a meeting last week with Chile’s Secretary General José Viera-Gallo, the directors of the new party introduced a 10-point list that will define the party’s relationship with the government. The list, known as the “Chagual Agreement,” outlines promises made by Michelle Bachelet to the green movement when she was running for President in 2005. Bachelet signed the agreement during her campaign.
“We have restated our intention to respect this agreement,” Viera-Gallo told the Chilean daily La Nación.
The new party will not align itself with either the center-left governing Concertación coalition or the rightist opposition Alianza. In past elections, environmentalists have aligned themselves with the Concertación, but recent decisions by Bachelet’s government led them to disassociate themselves from the established blocs of Chilean politics.
During the Wednesday meeting at La Moneda, González outlined “two critical points” connected with the Chagual Agreement that trouble environmentalists. The first was the Zanelli Commission, a body created to study the possibility of developing nuclear energy in Chile. The environmentalists claim President Bachelet promised not to consider nuclear energy when she signed the agreement. Secondly, González said that the government has not made a decision on the labeling of genetically-modified foods.
González told the Santiago Times that Minister Viera-Gallo “assured us that the nuclear matter will not (…) go much further than what the Zanelli Commission has already done. On the subject of genetically altered foods, he told us that the government had no intention of approving them.”
Viera-Gallo also tried to pacify the Green Party’s worries by comparing the US$200,000 the government gave to the Zanelli Commission to the more than US$6 million in direct subsidies it has given to renewable energy through Corfo (the Corporation for Development of Production).
González explained to the Santiago Times that the Green Party is necessary because a “cultural change” is taking place in Chile. He argued that people are becoming more concerned about how environmental issues affect them, which allows his party to propose new topics. In order to get its message out, the party plans to use “alternative media” that is not owned by interests that can influence the way news is written.
The goal of the party is to be a “distinct alternative,” González said. “We don’t come from the political class, we are not going to be in Juntos Podemos (the far left coalition called Together We Can), we are not going to be on the right, and we are not going to be in the Concertación, because they don’t represent us. This is the principal message.”
González also said the party will form part of the growing international fight against the HydroAysén project. He described environmentalists’ efforts to thwart the dam initiative as “the mother all battles” because they are up against three industrial giants: Colbun, ENDESA and Transelec.
If approved by the government, HidroAysén’s multi-dam project could generate as much as 2,750 MW of electricity, roughly equivalent to about 20 percent of Chile’s current generating capacity. The project, slated for the region’s two largest rivers – the Baker and the Pascua – has an estimated price tag of US$2.5 billion.
That figure does not include an additional US$1.5 billion likely needed to build a 1,200 mile transmission line between southern Region XI, an area also known as Aysén, and central Chile, where the electricity would be consumed. HidroAysén is still working out details with Transelec, a Canadian-owned electricity transport company, over the costs and route of the extensive line.
The project has generated no small amount of opposition, particularly from environmentalists – both in Chile and abroad – who say the dams, reservoirs and transmission line would cause irreparable damage to pristine southern Chile. (ST, Jan. 14)
The party plans to run candidates in October’s municipal elections, hoping for five percent of the vote. According to their website, before being legally recognized in Chile, the party was incorporated into the International Green Parties, through the Federation of Green Parties of America. The party has been an active member of the Federation for four years.
Here is the full article.
Catholics Line up Against Mining Operations in Peru - Rio Blanco project proposed by Chinese owned Monterrico Metals
On a rainy morning in August, dozens of men and women crowded into the tiny church in the farming community of El Carmen de la Frontera, in the mountains of northern Peru. Foremost among their worries was a mining company prospecting for copper high in the cloud forest near the border with Ecuador.
The farmers feared that the mine would cut off water supplies to their crops, or affect the certification of the shade-grown organic coffee that they grow for export. A month later, they voted overwhelmingly against allowing mining in their district.
(Video about the referendum here: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )
As international metals prices rise, the Andes have become a prime target for investment by foreign companies. Communities often fight back, fearing that open-pit mines will pollute their water and land.
In many places, church workers are on the front line in efforts to stem environmental destruction. That makes them targets of both corporations and government officials eager to cash in on the bonanza.
In Chulucanas diocese in northern Peru, Bishop Daniel Turley, a Chicago-born Augustinian missionary, found himself on the firing line for defending the right of farmers to speak out about mining.
Protests over a planned open-pit mine in an area reputed to have a rich deposit of copper and molybdenum claimed two lives in 2004, and emotions were running high as three districts prepared for a non-binding referendum on mining that was held Sept. 16. Members of the diocesan Justice and Peace Commission visited villages, not telling people how to vote, but explaining how the referendum would work and encouraging residents to participate.
“As bishop, I stand for dialogue, not violence, but I am afraid there may be violence,” Turley told NCR a month before the vote.
Shortly before the referendum, Turley received threatening telephone calls that led the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to send a letter to its Peruvian counterpart, expressing concern. The balloting was peaceful, however, as voters overwhelmingly opposed the proposed mining district, which community leaders are afraid would foul the headwaters of several rivers in a fragile cloud forest ecosystem.
Theirs will probably not be the last word, however. With copper prices so high that there is a brisk black market in the country for stolen telephone cables, García’s government will almost certainly continue to court the $1.44 billion Rio Blanco project proposed by Monterrico Metals, a London-based company that recently sold an 80-percent stake to the Chinese-owned Zijin consortium.
If built, the mine would be one of the world’s 20 largest copper mines. It would join other large-scale mining operations in Peru owned by companies such as Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. and Switzerland’s Xstrata.
Government officials say that mining, which has largely driven Peru’s economic growth in recent years, is crucial to the country’s development, and companies are often eligible for large tax breaks. Critics, meanwhile, point out that the remote Andean highlands where most mines are located continue to have the country’s highest poverty rates.
Peru’s bishops are not united on environmental issues, but Turley, Jesuit Archbishop Pedro Barreto of Huancayo in the central highlands, and Dominican Bishop Francisco González of Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon basin in southeastern Peru have taken an increasingly public stand on industries that they say have little regard for the health and welfare of surrounding communities.
In Barreto’s archdiocese, church workers have been threatened for their efforts to pressure Doe Run Peru, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Renco Group, to clean up pollution from a smelter that has caused extensive lead poisoning among residents, especially children, in La Oroya, one of the 10 most polluted places on the planet, according to the Blacksmith Institute of New York.
In some cases, dialogue groups have been set up to help break impasses between mining companies and communities, but results have been mixed. Efforts at dialogue about the problem of the smelter in La Oroya have not brought the results that activists had hoped. But Barreto is hopeful that the broad-based coalition that has formed to clean up the Mantaro River valley will succeed because it is led by civic groups, rather than government agencies.
More recently, talks about the Majaz mine near Huancabamba broke down when the government refused the local mayor’s request that the Sept. 16 referendum be one of the points on the agenda.
Barreto arranged for a study by the St. Louis University School of Public Health, which found that most of the children in the neighborhood nearest the La Oroya smelter had high levels of lead, cadmium and other metals in their blood.
The archdiocese is spearheading a project to clean up the Mantaro River, which runs through Huancayo and La Oroya. The project involves community-based monitoring of air, water and soil samples.
On the eastern side of the Andes, in the southeastern Peruvian department of Madre de Dios, miners are blasting away huge swaths of jungle with high-pressure hoses and using backhoes and dump trucks to move thousands of tons of soil, destroying the fragile and biologically diverse ecosystem and silting up rivers in search of gold.
According to government statistics, Madre de Dios produces 15 tons of gold a year, but the real figure may be as much as twice that amount, because many of the mines are informal -- not subject to environmental, labor or safety regulations, and not paying taxes that could be used for environmental protection.
At a seminar sponsored in late September by the Peruvian Conference of Bishops’ Social Action Commission, Coadjutor Bishop Francisco González Hernández of Puerto Maldonado characterized the mining, which is also dumping tons of mercury into the rivers and atmosphere, as “savagery.”
While Barreto, Turley and González are speaking out on environmental issues, however, the Peruvian Conference of Bishops has been more reticent. Barreto said the issue is a challenge for the church hierarchy.
“The church in Peru must take significant steps to think about how to shed light on the problem of metals mining in the coming years,” he said. “Unfortunately, in Peru, there is not yet consensus among the bishops. There are some very timid signs, but we have a long way to go.”
Large-scale open-pit mines that process thousands of tons of ore, chewing away mountains and raising the specter of long-term acid drainage, have drawn fire from church workers and environmentalists from Guatemala and Costa Rica in Central America to the Andean countries and Chile in South.
In Oruro, Bolivia, on the high flat plain known as the Altiplano, Br. Gilberto Pauwels, a Belgian Oblate of Mary Immaculate, is monitoring two mines -- one in full production and one that is being closed down -- owned by Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp.
At the Center for Ecology and Andean Peoples (CEPA, for its Spanish initials), an environmental education and research organization in Oruro, Pauwels points to satellite photos that show a decrease in the flow of the Desaguadero River after the first mine opened. Researchers at the center, which Pauwels founded, say the mine has sucked water from the river, raising the salt content of the surrounding land.
“Because the land was already saline, [the mine] has accelerated the process,” said Jhonny Terrazas García of CEPA. “The agreement was to return the land to the community for production, but what are they going to produce in this soil?”
Even before the Spaniards arrived in South America, Oruro was a mining area. Claims have been staked around the town, even within the city limits.
“We know that all of these hills contain gold, but [mining] can’t be permitted within the city,” Pauwels said.
Nevertheless, Inti Raymi, a company in which Newmont is the majority stakeholder, has opened a $24 million mine within the city limits. The concession overlaps a wetland that has been designated a Ramsar site, a classification that gives it international recognition but no official protection.
CEPA has purchased land nearby, partly to monitor water quality and mainly to open an environmental, cultural and interreligious spirituality center where people can learn about organic farming and living in a way that will leave a smaller ecological footprint.
It seems a small line of defense against the nearby mine, where heavy machinery has already chewed away a mountain and giant dump trucks carry ore from a huge gash in the earth.
Nevertheless, Pauwels and his Bolivian colleagues at CEPA are steadfast in their defense of the environment, part of a church movement that is quietly growing throughout Latin America.
Brazil’s bishops and a handful of others raised the issue at the Fifth General Conference of Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida, Brazil, in May, and the environment was included among the priorities outlined in the meeting’s final document.
Decrying the “irrational exploitation” of the region’s natural resources, the bishops blamed “the current economic model, which emphasizes the unbridled desire for wealth over human life and rational respect for nature.”
The bishops said the church must have a greater pastoral presence among “the populations that are most fragile and threatened by destructive development, and support them in their efforts to achieve equitable distribution of land, water and urban space.”
They also said the church must work for better environmental policies, monitoring of environmental standards and a model of alternative development that “includes responsibility for an authentic natural and human ecology, that is based on the gospel of justice, solidarity and the universal destination of goods.”
“The times that are coming will be difficult,” said Barreto, “but they will bring us to greater communion and a more radical way of following Jesus.”
Barbara Fraser is a freelance writer living in Peru.
Here is the full article.
Momentum Builds behind Severn Estuary tidal barrage in the United Kingdom
Government launches feasibility study for £14bn tidal barrage in Severn Estuary
Plans for a £14bn tidal barrage in the Severn Estuary have moved a step closer to fruition with the launch of a government feasibility study today.
The study will examine the potential environmental, social and economic advantages of harnessing the tidal power of the Estuary.
The most popular technology to do this would be a 10-mile barrage or hydro-electric dam. The Sustainable Development Commission recently estimated such a dam could generate up to 5% of the UK’s electricity needs for up to 120 years.
In terms of scale, the construction of the barrage would be comparable to the building of Crossrail. Up to 35,000 jobs would be created, and it would take more than five years to build.
The government study will take two years to complete, after which there will be a full public consultation. At the earliest, construction would start in 2010.
The feasibility study has been launched in the same week the UK will be given an official requirement to generate 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.
The European Commission is set to announce the 20% target for each of its members this week. Meeting the target, it says, will cost around 0.5% of each country’s GDP, which in Britain’s case is £7bn.
The UK currently lags some way behind the rest of the EU, generating just 2% of its energy from renewable sources. The construction of the Severn barrage would go some way towards addressing the balance.
Here is the full article.
Argentina's Attack on Mining Symptomatic of a Wider Problem - an out of control mining industry?
LONDON (ResourceInvestor.com) -- Argentina’s decision to go back on its word and slap the mining industry with export duties it said they would be exempt from smacks of opportunism; the perception is that with higher commodity prices, the industry can afford it.
(That is contradicted by: Ransacking Chile - Fabulous Profits for Multinationals, Chile Copper Boom - Cui Bono? - Who Benfits? )
But mining companies today are being squeezed not just by governments, but by NGOs, local communities and of course a rising cost base, particularly where the construction of new mines is concerned.
Previously thought of as a comparatively attractive destination for mining investment, Argentina is imperilling (ensuring) the benefits that it could derive as a relatively stable, well mineralised country during a commodities boom.
Argentine law is supposed to guarantee mining companies a stable tax burden on a project for a period of 30 years from the time a feasibility study is submitted to the government. Instead, the country is hoping to impose on miners export duties understood to be in the range of 5%-10%; export duties they felt assured of exemption from when they made investment decisions.
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Regarding Taxes:
As a bonus, Canada has tax loopholes that benefit companies incorporated in Canada, with operations abroad. To avoid the possibility of double taxation, companies are assumed by the government to be paying taxes in the countries in which they operate. But because many companies make arrangements with host countries not to pay taxes there either, they don't pay taxes anywhere.
See: 10 Things Canada Does Best - What Canada doesn't do best is hold domestic mining companies accountable for the damage they do abroad. , Possible Tax Evasion? Under-declaration of profits by mining companies costs Tanzania US$207 million )
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Governments have a responsibility to foster industrial development by providing a stable fiscal environment free from this sort of danger. Of course, no government in the world can be relied upon to remember this all the time, but some do a better job than others.
(The pro-mining governments of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Guatemala for example:
Unregulated Gold Miners – Environmental Stewards or Criminals? Not a single mine in Papua New Guinea has a Tailings Dam
Mining Misery: Guatemala is one of many countries that has attracted the investment of Canadian Mining Companies – but at what cost to its people? )
It doesn’t help that mining has an image problem. Countless groups of environmental busybodies, usually with scant scientific legitimacy or even approval from the local communities most directly affected, dedicate themselves to besmirching the industry and opposing projects.
(Local communities love heavy metals in their drinking water: Ok Tedi Environmental Disaster
Supreme Court Decision Rattles Canadian Mining Industry – Right to Pollute Under Threat – Teck Cominco Execs Vow Fight, say No to Cleaning Environment )
Unfortunately, community relations programmes and corporate social responsibility initiatives cannot be relied upon to fully counteract the efforts of those who have decided to cast all rational analysis out of the window and oppose mining at all costs.
(As for community relations:
"The first environmental impact study Barrick Gold submitted to the Chilean authorities - after the bilateral treaty was adopted - neglected to mention the glaciers. It was the farmers of Huasco Valley who warned CONAMA."
See: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13680
"Merdian has tried to soft pedal the environmental impacts of the proposal with a flawed Environmental Impact Assessment. A March 2003 independent evaluation of that assessment reveals the inadequacies of the EIA. Written by Dr. Robert Moran, the report Esquel, Argentina: Predictions and Promises of a Flawed Environmental Impact Assessment demonstrates that Meridian's proposal "[...] is the classic example, which is all too common in Latin America, where an EIA describes short-term benefits and solutions, but fails to even begin to consider long-term consequences."
See: http://www.earthworksaction.org/Esquel.cfm)
But while mining is unpopular, it is also essential. It has to happen somewhere, and behind the groups that seem to oppose any and all mining is a contingent that is happy for it to happen somewhere, as long as that somewhere isn’t anywhere near them (does the London author live downstream of acid mine drainage?).
However it is hard for the industry to defend itself against revenue grabs such as that being perpetrated in Argentina while other parties are trying so hard to paint it in a negative light and still more see it as something necessary (?) but undesirable.
(Very necessary: More than 80 percent of gold in the U.S. is used to make jewelry.)
Argentina is far from alone in seeing the mining industry as an easy target. There is a plan afoot in the U.S. to impose an 8% gross royalty on new mining projects taking place on federal land. One hopes that this act of legislative lunacy will be arrested or at least moderated before it gets onto the statute books.
(Since the law's enactment in 1872, the U.S. government has given away more than $245 billion in mineral reserves through patenting or royalty-free mining, says Rep. Nick Rahall, the West Virginia Democrat who is behind the new bill. Compare that, he says, to the $35 billion the Treasury has reaped from coal, oil and gas produced on federal lands between 1994 and 2001 alone. "So with that scenario," says Rahall, "we are indeed Uncle Sucker."
See: Making Gold Miners Pay )
Here is the full article.
