August 27, 2008
Over 200 concerned individuals from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ontario and Michigan attended Marquette County’s Protect the Earth Summit on the first weekend in August. Saturday events included workshops on treaty rights, successful grassroots opposition to metallic sulfide mining projects and a presentation on the polluted Flambeau Mine, in Wisconsin. A rally was held, at Marquette’s Presque Isle Park that featured musicians and speakers, including Fred Rydholm, Laura Furtman, Al Gedicks, Bobby Bullet, Victor McManemy and Jim St. Arnold, as well as traditional Anishinaabe shawl and hoop dancing, performed by Megan Tucker. On Sunday, over 120 people walked to
Eagle Rock from the Yellow Dog River and held a rally and sacred eagle feather ceremony at the site of the proposed Kennecott Eagle Mine. The event was sponsored by Yellow Dog Summer, Keepers of the Water and Students Against Sulfide Mining.
Citizens from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan Walk to Eagle Rock, on the Yellow Dog Plains; Photo courtesy Teresa Bertossi
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Posted by LSMN
June 25, 2008
By Gabriel Caplett
As the Upper Peninsula battles against a metallic sulfide mining district, citizens have turned to neighboring Wisconsin as an example of successful grassroots opposition to unsustainable mining.
Ironically, Kennecott has also found inspiration in Wisconsin. The company has showcased its now-closed Flambeau Mine in attempts to demonstrate that it is capable of operating a successful sulfide mine in the UP.
Kennecott, and the industry as a whole, has learned its lesson in losing to grassroots mining opponents in Wisconsin and around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | civil disobedience, indigenous, Kennecott-Rio Tinto | Tagged: civil disobedience, human rights, ontario, Wisconsin | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
June 25, 2008
Since first announcing plans for its nickel-copper Eagle Project mine, Kennecott Minerals – a subsidiary of London-based Rio Tinto – and the State of Michigan have tried to portray the mine as “a done deal.” At each step in the approval process, new information has been presented to the public, thus breaking up the full effects of Kennecott’s mining plans into smaller, presumably easier to digest, segments.
At the same time, science not conducive to an honest approval of Kennecott’s plans has been suppressed while public comment has been nearly entirely disregarded. The Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Deputy Director, Skip Pruss, has gone so far as to refer to public comment as “chaff.”
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) treaty rights with the US government have been equally disregarded, as well as KBIC’s concerns with blasting into and fencing-off Eagle Rock, a culturally sensitive and sacred rock outcropping on the Yellow Dog Plains.
State legislators and officials have assisted Kennecott by presenting approval of their mine as simply a legal and legislative process, disregarding the power of ordinary citizens to effectively stop development of an unpopular mining plan. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Canada, human rights, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, Wisconsin | Tagged: deq, human rights, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, Rio Tinto, west papua, Wisconsin | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
May 9, 2008
by Richard Solly (London Mining Network organizer)
This report covers many but not all of the issues raised during questions on the company’s Annual Report and in some of the other items of business. Where several questions were asked about one area, they are reported together. The report was put together with the help of many of the people who attended the AGM.
For an hour before the AGM, there was an inspiring protest outside the Conference Centre, organised by Friends of the Earth, the Free West Papua Campaign and Partizans (People Against Rio Tinto and its Subsidiaries), with help from War on Want. West Papuan flags, illegal in Indonesia and its occupied territories, flapped in the strong wind, and West Papuan musicians sang and played music for the whole time as others handed out information leaflets from London Mining Network. Read the rest of this entry »
3 Comments | Eagle Mine, Health, human rights, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, water pollution, workers | Tagged: Eagle Mine, human rights, Kennecott, native american, Rio Tinto, water, water pollution, west papua | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
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: Africa, China, economy, human rights, Minnesota, Rio Tinto, uranium, west papua | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
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; Photo courtesy Andy Gregg
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1 Comment | civil disobedience, Eagle Mine, human rights, indigenous, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, uranium, Wisconsin | Tagged: civil disobedience, deq, dnr, Eagle Mine, economy, human rights, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, native american, public land, Rio Tinto, uranium, Wisconsin | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
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