June 25, 2008
by Gabriel Caplett
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 »
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Canada, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Law, Michigan, Wisconsin, human rights | Tagged: deq, human rights, Kennecott, Law, Michigan, Rio Tinto, west papua, Wisconsin | 
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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 »
2 Comments | Eagle Mine, Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, human rights, water pollution, workers | Tagged: Eagle Mine, human rights, Kennecott, native american, Rio Tinto, water, water pollution, west papua | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
April 19, 2008
by Gabriel Caplett
London, UK - Four citizens from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula attended Rio Tinto’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center (QEII), in London, England. Speakers included Susan LaFernier, vice-president of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Gabriel Caplett from Yellow Dog Summer and Northwoods Wilderness Recovery, and Cynthia Pryor, from the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve. Fran Whitman, from Friends of the Land of Keweenaw (FOLK), attended but was unable to speak in front of the assembly.
To the crowd of roughly 300 shareholders and journalists, LaFernier addressed the threat to Native American ceded treaty rights with the US government, from 1842 and 1954 treaties. Rio Tinto chairman, Paul Skinner, interrupted LaFernier’s introduction, instructing the tribal leader to ask only one question, although a shareholder had just previously been able to ask three questions. Read the rest of this entry »
Leave a Comment » | Eagle Mine, Health, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Wisconsin, human rights, indigenous, workers | Tagged: Eagle Mine, Kennecott, mine safety, native american, public health, Rio Tinto, west papua, workers | 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, Kennecott-Rio Tinto, Minnesota, economy, human rights, uranium | Tagged: Africa, China, economy, human rights, Minnesota, Rio Tinto, uranium, west papua | Permalink
Posted by LSMN
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