At It Again: Rio Tinto Tries Busting California Miners’ Union

November 16, 2009
ILWUBoraxMiner'sSupportPoster

"These colors don't run!," says a Borax miners' union website; Photo courtesy I.L.W.U Local 30

Regardless of whether it’s true or not, Rio Tinto always seems to know what to say.

Rio Tinto boasts to the public, gullible politicians and job hopefuls in Michigan that the company is doing well financially, in order to lend the impression that the company’s Eagle Mine, in the Huron Mountains of the Upper Peninsula, is an inevitability.

In Boron, California, home of Rio Tinto’s vast US Borax operations, workers are being sold an entirely different tale.  To the nearly 600 workers at Local 30 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, AFL-CIO, fighting for respect and decent working conditions at California’s largest open pit mine, company brass is claiming they are in hard times.  While overseas investors are courted and assured that billions more than expected will be available for new project development in 2010 and southern California business leaders are informed that “the financial position of the company is very strong,” workers in Boron are told there is a need for cutbacks.  It’s all part of a broader effort to break I.L.W.U. Local 30 and force workers to sign a weak contract. Read the rest of this entry »

7 Comments | economy, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, workers | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by LSMN

London Calling Asks: Will Rio Tinto Be Lost (Or Saved) At Sea?

August 23, 2009

Roger Moody – London, England

Barry Sergeant  is  Mineweb’s leading mining and metals’ market guru, He regularly produces an invaluable survey of the fortunes of the world’s leading mining companies and their rankings, based upon market capitalisations.

(That’s what shareholders are prepared to pay for a company’s shares at any point in their being traded.)

Last week, Sergeant took an uncharacteristically mordant  swipe at Rio Tinto.

His language wasn’t sparing: he accused the company of  generating “spin” and “slapping a veneer” over what he called its “wrecked body work.” Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | economy, Rio Tinto | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by LSMN

Michigan’s Economy No Longer Built Around Mining

February 25, 2009

By Gabriel Caplett

One would be hard-pressed to find a major mining region that has left area residents and the local economy with accumulated wealth and economic stability. Consider mining regions such as the Ozarks lead district, Idaho’s Silver Valley, Arizona and Montana copper towns, New Mexico’s uranium district, Minnesota’s Iron Range and the Michigan Upper Peninsula iron and copper ranges. All remain relatively economically-depressed areas.

The idea that a mining economy is sustainable and important to the Upper Peninsula’s economic future ignores several facts about the metals industry Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | Eagle Mine, economy, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Michigan | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by LSMN

Healthy Economies: White Earth Sets Example

December 31, 2008

By Gabriel Caplett

The White Earth Reservation, in northern Minnesota, has been focusing on bolstering its local economy by promoting sustainable industry that works with and protects the land. According to the White Earth Land Recovery Project’s (WELRP) Founding Director, Winona LaDuke, investing in sustainable and local energy and food production will help her community develop sustainable alternatives to boom and bust industries.  WELRP’s Sustainable Communities Initiative synthesizes contemporary and traditional ideas in order to restore the White Earth community to its roots in self-sufficiency and sustainability.  According to LaDuke, building a sustainable local economy helps prevent the White Earth Reservation from being “bent over a barrel” when a large mining or timber company attempts projects that would act against the long-term best interest of the community. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | economy, indigenous | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by LSMN

Powell Township Officials Sponsor Kennecott Economic Meeting

March 3, 2008

by Gabriel Caplett

BIG BAY –  Vince Bevins, Powell Township supervisor, and Jim Gauthier, from the Powell Township Planning Commission, sponsored an “Economic Business Meeting”, March 3, at the Powell Township Hall, in Big Bay. Their guest presenters were Jon Cherry, Kennecott Eagle Project manager; Bill Henry, a project planner for Kennecott; and Gregg Nominelli, from the Lake Superior Community Partnership. The meeting, intended to outline economic opportunities related to Kennecott’s potential mining activity, was attended by 64 citizens. Bevins said that he, and Gauthier, initiated the meeting because the Big Bay “economy is going down the toilet.”

Powell Township Supervisor, Vince Bevins (since recalled)

Powell Township Supervisor, Vince Bevins (since recalled)

Gene Champagne, Powell Twp. resident and founder of Concerned Citizens of Big Bay, asked for clarification regarding who set up the meeting. “You need to be very clear with the people because there is some confusion…that the chairman of the Planning Commission and the supervisor of Powell Township are sitting up there saying this isn’t a government meeting.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Eagle Mine, economy, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Michigan, water pollution | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by LSMN

Rio Tinto: Investing in Instability

March 4, 2007

by Gabriel Caplett

Over the past decade, China’s rapidly expanding economy has caused a dramatic jump in metal prices, specifically copper. Although some analysts predicted a 30% decline in copper prices for 2007[1], a BHP-Billiton (BHP) executive, Diego Hernandez, noted recently that “the market is firm,” citing that demand from China will continue to support record prices: “…last year the Chinese bought less because they used a lot of inventory and have now started to go back to the market.”[2]

In 2003, then-Rio Tinto chairman Robert Wilson said “China’s growth, with its heavy emphasis on infrastructure development, has become a major influence in the market for many of our products….China’s consumption of metal has been growing by more than 10 per cent annually and rapid growth seems likely to continue.”[3] Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | China, economy, human rights, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Minnesota, uranium | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by LSMN

Mines and Communities: Refusing to Play by Company Rules

February 7, 2007

by Gabriel Caplett

On January 9, 2007, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) granted preliminary approval of Kennecott Mineral’s Eagle Mine permit. The potential metallic sulfide mine is on the Yellow Dog Plains, within a few miles of the shores of Lake Superior. This decision should not have come as a surprise to anyone. According to one member of the DEQ, “the DEQ [is] leaning toward approving the application regardless of any deficiencies.” This fact was already clear to anyone that has attended DEQ hearings/public forums on the issue. To be as polite as possible, the DEQ has found it difficult to mask their disregard for us Yoopers and citizens of Michigan.

Citizens rally in front of Michigan Capitol Building, December 2005

Citizens rally in front of Michigan Capitol Building, December 2005; Photo courtesy Andy Gregg

Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment | civil disobedience, Eagle Mine, human rights, indigenous, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, uranium, Wisconsin | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by LSMN

Next Entries »
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.