NEWS ARCHIVE

IDAHO MINING POLLUTION AFFECTS, AFFLICTS SPOKANE, WASHI., RIVER BEACHES

The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, WA via NewsEdge Corporation - 28 July 2000 - Scientists studying the legacy of Idaho's mining pollution will zero in on four Spokane River beaches where elevated lead and arsenic levels pose hazards to recreationists.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ROMANIAN GOLD MINE REOPENS DESPITE CYANIDE DISASTER FEARS

Lycos News (ENS) - 28 July 2000 - An independent body set up by the European Union has made public its environmental concerns over the reopening of the Aurul gold mine tailings recovery facility in Baia Mare, northwestern Romania.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ELI PROPOSES FRAMEWORK FOR PREVENTING MINING POLLUTION IN AMERICAS

Environment News Network (ENN) - 27 July 2000 - The answer is a region-wide approach to mining based on pollution prevention, according to a new ELI report developed in conjunction with environmental organizations in six Latin American countries and Canada. In Pollution Prevention in Mining: A Proposed Framework for the Americas, the Institute provides a comprehensive blueprint for a uniform system of laws and policies throughout the Americas that would create an even playing field for Latin American countries while offering the mining industry a consistent set of standards. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

HUNGARIAN COMMISSIONER URGES JOINT REGIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION SCHEME

BBC Monitoring European via EnviroLink Network - 27 July 2000 - The government commissioner responsible for the River Tisza urges the drawing up of a joint regional programme for preventing environmental pollution which would also help the countries concerned to obtain the necessary European support.  

Janos Goenczy travelled to the source of the latest, less severe pollution in Herzsabanya [mine in western Romania], and declared the plant dangerous. He added that the water that escaped contained lime wash and sediment, however, it has been diluted in Romanian territory so the heavy metal pollution did not reach Hungarian waters.  

Janos Goenczy warned that not only the mines in the northern region represent danger, there are dangerous plants elsewhere in Romania, too. 

UN, CORPORATIONS JOIN "GLOBAL COMPACT" AT U.N.

Planet Ark - 27 July 2000 - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan launches a new business partnership yesterday designed to promote decent labour, human rights and environmental standards in stave off free trade backlash.  Called the "Global Compact," the first meeting among 44 officers of multinational corporations with labour unions, human rights and conservation groups involve public statements on what they have done and intend to do on such social issues. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ROMANIA REPORTS MINOR RIVER POLLUTION NEAR HUNGARY

Planet Ark - 26 July 2000 - Romanian government officials said yesterday water contaminated with heavy metals had spilled from a mine into a river flowing into Hungary, but that the leakage posed no major environmental threat.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

TURNER FOUNDATION AWARDS $42 MILLION FOR U.N. PROJECTS

Planet Ark - 25 July 2000 - Adolescent girls and the environment will be major beneficiaries of new grants announced yesterday by a foundation that administers a $1 billion gift by media mogul Ted Turner in support of U.N. projects around the world.   

The United Nations Foundation was set up to administer $100 million a year over 10 years from the $1 billion in Time-Warner stock that Turner announced in 1997. It was the biggest gift the United Nations has received from a private source.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

GRAVEL MINE NEAR APPALACHIAN TRAIL PROMPTS LAWSUIT

Lycos News (ENS) - 24 July 2000 - The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), the Appalachian Trail Conference and a group of local landowners, have filed suit to stop the operation of a gravel mine in North Carolina near the Appalachian Trail. The suit names as defendants the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); the secretary of the agency, Bill Holman; and Charles Gardner, the head of the Division of Land Resources. "This action seeks to protect and affirm the rights of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the rights of the owners of land adjoining the proposed mine site," said Forrest Ferrell, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. "The agency has failed to guarantee the rights of citizens to due process and has failed to protect our public parks. The agency has already admitted the operation will violate the Mining Act of 1971, but they have done nothing to correct the problem, and appear to have no interest in correcting it."   Further information can be obtained from the news article.

TREATMENT STARTED ON POLLUTED RUNOFF FROM LEVIATHAN MINE

Lycos News (ENS) - 24 July 2000 - The Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board and the EPA have agreed on a plan to treat acid mine drainage stored in ponds at the Leviathan Mine Superfund Site outside Markleeville, California. The toxic waste has been flowing into streams and lakes in the Eastern Sierra mountains that are historical habitat for the threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout. Contractors began last week to treat the site's five ponds to reduce the dissolved concentrations of metals and separate the solids from the water. The ponds store up to 16 million gallons of acidic mine waste. A small percentage of the solids with higher levels of toxic metals will be sent to a permitted facility. The agencies said in a statement Thursday that the rest "can safely be put back into the mine pit." The treated water from the ponds will be discharged into Leviathan Creek.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

INDONESIAN ENVIRONMENTALISTS URGE CLOSURE OF NEWMONT GOLD MINE

Agence France Presse via NewsEdge Corporation - 22 July 2000 - An Indonesian environment watchdog is urging the temporary closure of gold miner PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (NRM), a subsidiary of the US firm Newmont, pending an independent check on its chemical waste levels, a report said Saturday.

Moudy Gerungan, the director of the North Sulawesi chapter of the Indonesian Forum for Environment (Walhi) was quoted by the Kompas daily as saying the firm's chemical waste levels had exceeded safety standards. Gerungan cited findings by an independent team from the state Sam Ratulangi University's center for environmental studies, which showed that the company's Tondano mine on Sulawsi island was polluting the sea in the area.

Newmont waste, including mercury and cyanides, has resulted in the disappearance of many species of fish, Gerungan said. "Now only 13 fish species are left out of 52 species previously found in the area," Gerungan was quoted as saying. He said the pollution in the sea had also caused financial loss to fishermen.

The university's findings contradicted an earlier report by American and Canadian researchers but published by the company, which said the firm's waste -- dumped 82 kilometers (50.8 miles) under the sea -- would not reach the surface and was therefore not harmful to the ecosystem.  "Walhi concludes that Newmont Minahasa Raya has conducted information manipulation and environmental crimes," Gerungan said.  

In April PT NMR closed its gold mine in North Sulawesi following a local court order over a tax dispute.  The NMR mine produces an annual 350,000 troy ounces of gold from its Tondano mine.  The supreme court later in the month ordered the head of the Tondano district court to postpone enforcement of the verdict. 

The closure order prompted protests from workers and raised worries in the international mining investment community over contract sanctity in an era of growing decentralization in Indonesia.  The court order followed a dispute with district authorities over tax on mining by-products that broke out in October 1998.  Indonesian Mines and Energy Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono intervened, and a settlement was reached, and the mine reopened.

CHINA ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION STRESSED IN TAPPING MINERAL RESOURCES

BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific via EnviroLink Network - 23 July 2000 - Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) 

China needs to adopt a more conservative approach when exploiting mineral resources, as nearly 20,000 sq.km. of land have been destroyed from years of mining, the vice minister of land and resources, Sun Wensheng, said here today.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

AGENCY WILL EVALUATE RIVER CONTAMINATION NEW TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS MORE PRECISE MEASURE OF MERCURY IN WATER SOURCE

Augusta Chronicle via EnviroLink Network - 21 July 2000 - Scientists armed with new sampling technology will begin a study next week to re-evaluate mercury levels in fish and water from the Savannah River.  The study, undertaken by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is part of a court-ordered plan to implement "total maximum daily loads" of certain pollutants - including mercury - in many U.S. waterways.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BHP SEEKS OK TEDI PULL-OUT IN 5 YEARS - PNG 

Planet Ark - 21 July 2000 - The Papua New Guinea government said yesterday Australian miner Broken Hill Pty Co Ltd had outlined a five-year timetable to close the environmentally-troubled Ok Tedi copper mine.  "BHP has some problems and wants to pull out and close the mine in five years," PNG mining minister Sir Michael Somare told the PNG parliament.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

PERU'S YANACOCHA GOLD MINE TO COMPENSATE MERCURY SPILL VICTIMS

Bridge Information Systems, Inc. via NewsEdge Corporation - 14 July - Newmont Mining Corp.-owned Minera Yanacocha SA, Latin America's largest gold mine, will assume all costs to treat victims of a June mercury spill in northern Peru and plans to build new infrastructure to compensate affected communities. Carlos Santa Cruz, Minera Yanacocha's general manager, sees total costs related to the spill at around $3 million.

Santa Cruz said the company has worked in coordination with health authorities to determine the level of poisoning of people and to heal the victims. The firm has also monitored the environment to determine damage levels and has taken steps to avoid the possibility that the mercury could reach bodies of water.

About 70 people, members of 33 families, were poisoned by the mercury, he added.

The spill occurred in June after a truck from local transportation company Ransa SA, which belongs to Peru's largest investor group Romero, accidentally spilled mercury on the highway connecting the city of Cajamarca with the coast. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

A total of 11.1 liters of mercury was spilled, most of it in a 260-home town called Choropampa. Yanacocha's clean-up efforts were obstructed by peasants in the area who picked up the mercury and hid it in their houses, believing it was a highly valuable product from the mine. Some even boiled the mercury believing they could turn it into gold, according to witnesses.

"We have had to pay people to get our mercury back," Santa Cruz said.

Yanacocha is planning to purchase health insurance plans for the affected people to assuage fears of possible chronic effects of the poisoning. Only one woman remains in serious condition as she suffered pneumonia, which complicated the situation, Santa Cruz said.

Yanacocha's production has not been affected by the spill, which has already cost the company close to $1 million. The total cost, including compensation and a government-imposed fine, could reach some $3 million, Santa Cruz said.

Santa Cruz said the mercury is a by-product of gold which is sold in Lima. The commercial value of the three to four tons of mercury the mine produces monthly is not significant, he added.

Minera Yanacocha is 51.35% owned by Denver-based Newmont Mining. Peru's Compania de Minas Buenaventura owns 43.65% and the World Bank's International Finance Corp. owns the remaining 5%. Buenaventura is a local blue-chip share and is also traded as an ADR in New York. 

CANADIAN DIAMOND GIANT CHARGED WITH DAMAGING FISH HABITAT

Lycos (ENS) - 14 July 2000 -The owners of Canada's first diamond mine, BHP Diamonds Inc., face millions of dollars in possible fines plus imprisonment under charges that the company harmed fish habitat in three lakes near Ekati mine in Lac De Gras, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Yellowknife.  A legal charge was also laid this week against Diavik Diamond Mines. The Canadian Department of Indian and Northern Affairs alleges that Diavik breached the Territorial Lands Act by operating without a land use permit in January.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MAN SWIMS DANUBE RIVER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Lycos (ENS) - 14 July 2000 - Marathon swimmer Martin Strel is swimming the length of the Danube River to bring attention to the need for peaceful cooperation to preserve the river, Europe's second longest waterway. He is scheduled to splash into Budapest on Monday afternoon. Martin Strel has been a professional marathon swimmer since 1978. Strel, who is from Slovenia, began his 2,860 kilometre (1,773 mile) swim at the river's source, Donaueschingen, Germany, on June 25.  He expects to reach Sulina, Romania, where the Danube pours into the Black Sea, by late August.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

JAPAN ALUMINIUM CAN RECYCLING RATIO UP TO 78.5 PCT

Planet Ark - 14 July 2000 - Japan's recycling ratio for aluminium cans rose to a record 78.5 percent in the business year ended on March 31, up 4.1 percentage points from the previous year, an industry group said yesterday.  Efforts by the central and municipal governments in Japan to encourage the recycling of aluminium cans helped boost the recycling ratio, the Japan Aluminium Can Recycling Association said. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

CADMIUM MINING IN COLORADO MOUNTAINES ADVERSELY AFFECTS PTARMIGANS, STUDY SAYS

Tribune Business News via EnviroLink Network - 13 July 2000 - The white-tailed ptarmigan may be the first of several wildlife species to feel the effects of cadmium toxicity, according to a recent study.  The report, "Cadmium Toxicity Among Wildlife in the Colorado Rocky Mountains," focuses on the effects of cadmium mining in an area of south-central Colorado known as the "ore belt," which stretches from Denver and Fort Collins to Durango.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BAN ON U.S. FOREST ROADS DRAWS RECORD PUBLIC OUTCRY

Planet Ark - 12 July 2000 - A Clinton administration plan to ban roads for mining, logging and other traffic in many U.S. Forests has sparked a record 500,000 comments from the public, with most either backing the proposal or saying it doesn't go far enough to protect the environment.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BELGRADE DEMANDS COMPENSATION FROM ROMANIA OVER CYANIDE SPILL

Agence France Presse via NewsEdge Corporation - 12 July 2000 - Yugoslavia is demanding two million dollars (euros) in compensation from Romania and an Australian company which owns a gold mine that caused the January cyanide spill into the Tisza river, state agency Tanjug reported Tuesday.  Belgrade is demanding the compensation for damages caused by pollution in the part of the Tisza on its territory, following the cyanide spill from the Romania-based gold mine, Yugoslav state attorney Milos Bojovic told the agency. The demand was submitted to a Belgrade court and Bojovic insisted that Romania was "responsible" for the work of any company on its territory. Bojovic said a settlement was possible if Romania "accepts its responsibility and express readiness to compensate the damage." The mine, owned by the Australian Esmeralda Exploration company, was closed immediatelly after the spill. The spill has been reported as causing serious pollution along the Tisza, which runs through Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia. 

HUNGARY TO SUE AUSTRALIA FIRM FOR $110M OVER SPILL

Planet Ark - 11 July 2000 - Hungary will sue Australian mining company Esmeralda Exploration Ltd for 30 billion forints ($110 million) damages for a cyanide spill in the Tisza River, the government said yesterday.  The claim will be made against Esmeralda as half-owner of the Aurul SA smelter in Baia Mare, Romania, from where thousands of tonnes of cyanide-tainted water spilled in February, Hungarian news agency MTI reported.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

TOLUKUMA CYANIDE GOLD MINE IN PNG CONTINUES ITS DAMAGE

Environmental News Network - 11 July 2000 - Australian mining companies must be held accountable: Tolukuma Cyanide Gold Mine in PNG continues its damage.  In a report released today, Greenpeace and the Mineral Policy Institute (MPI) reveal that the Tolukuma Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea, responsible for the cyanide spill in March, is expecting to obliterate fish populations and food resources in the area as a result of its normal operations. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

EURO ENVIRONMENT 2000 CONFERENCE
18-20 OCTOBER 2000

The "Second Euro Environment 2000 Conference" will be held October 18 to 20, 2000, in Aalborg, Denmark. Entitled, "Conference on Industry and Environmental Performance", it is where business meets with governments and critical stakeholders to work on visions, strategies and actions towards creating sustainable industries. The conference is supported financially by the Danish Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the Confederation of Danish Industries, Danfoss, Novo, Det Norske Veritas, the Danish Centre for Green Concrete, and Deloitte and Touche.

Business wants dialogue with their critics about global environmental problems. Leading decision-makers from business, government and influential environmental organisations will gather at the Aalborg Congress and Culture Centre. Speakers include the Danish Ministerfor the Environment, Svend Auken; EU Environment Commissioner, Margot Wallström, UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer, Dow President for Europe, Luciano Respini; WTO Deputy Director-General, Paul-Henri Ravier, WWF Director-General Claude Martin; and, Procter & Gamble Associate Director Peter White. For more information contact Steffen L. Thomsen, International advisor or Else Herfort, at Ph. +45 9935 5555, Fax: +45 9935 5580  E-mail: euro@akkc.dk, Website http://www.akkc.dk/environment

THAI GOVERNMENT ACCEPTS SOMBOON PROJECT E.I.A., MINING LICENSES UNDER APPLICATION

Business Wire via EnviroLink Network - 10 July 2000 - Asia Pacific Potash Corp. (APPC) is pleased to announce that the Thai Office of Environmental Planning and Policy (OEPP), Ministry of Science and Technology has accepted the Environmental Impact Assessment (E.I.A.) for the Somboon project, as filed, subject to a survey of the surface area for plant and storage facilities and certification of the underground mining layout by Thai engineers. Acceptance of the project E.I.A. is a very significant step in the overall  project permitting process and is required prior to formal application for project Mining Licences (Prathanabats) in Thailand.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

AFTER NEARLY 30 YEARS, EMOTIONS STILL RUN HIGH OVER LEAD MINING 

EnviroLink Network - 09 July 2000 - A study of mining in the Mark Twain National Forest has been under way for years, and Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond wants additional funding to keep it going. Environmental groups say enough information already exists to justify banning lead mining in the park. Mining companies say they should be allowed to move  ahead and determine how much lead there is in the area.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

THE FRENCH PRESIDENCY'S PLANS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Eurometaux - European Association of Metals - Issue n°17 - June 2000 - Following the 22 June Environment Council, Dominique Voynet, French Environmental Minister, who will become the President of the Council on 1 July, outlined her priorities for the next six months.  For further information, click html (4 KB) or PDF (66KB).

UN SECURITY COUNCIL PASSES EMBARGO ON S. LEONEAN DIAMONDS

Agence France Presse via NewsEdge Corporation - 06 July 2000 - The UN Security Council approved Wednesday a resolution banning trade in diamonds mined from rebel-held areas of Sierra Leone. Diamonds are the main source of revenue for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), which had taken 500 UN peacekeepers hostage in May. Resolution 1306, proposed by Britain, passed with 14 votes and one abstention from Mali. The resolution said the council decided "that all states should take the necessary measures to prohibit the direct or indirect import of all rough diamonds from Sierra Leone to their territory." Exempted from the ban are diamonds mined from government-controlled areas of Sierra Leone, as certified by Freetown. An amendment added at France's request puts an 18-month limit on the ban, but allows for its renewal at the end of that period.

OTTAWA TAKES FISHY PATH TO TEST TOXICITY FROM MINES SURVIVAL RATE OF TROUT TO BE USED FOR STANDARD

Globe and Mail - 06 July 2000 - The federal government is adopting a national standard to test toxic discharge from Canadian mines: Dump some of the discharge into an aquarium, typically add 10 rainbow trout and if half the fish survive after 96 hours, it's okay.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MINING COMPANIES PROMISE $250 M FOR IDAHO CLEANUP

Lycos (ENS) - 06 July 2000 - Three mining companies have pledged $250 million toward a 30 year cleanup of mining wastes in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin. Executives from Asarco, Hecla Mining Company, and Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation agreed to spend $154 million outright, with the rest coming from future precious metals royalties. Idaho Governor Dick Kempthorne, who announced the agreement Wednesday, said a fourth mining company is still considering joining the agreement. The pact must still win approval from federal officials and the Coeur d'Alene Indian Tribe. "This is a viable, aggressive offer from the state and mining companies," Kempthorne said. "If the federal government and tribe accept, we can clean up the Coeur d'Alene River and surrounding basin instead of litigating this for years." 

More than a century of mining has left cadmium, lead and other wastes in polluted hotspots throughout Silver Valley and the Coeur d'Alene basin, the headwaters of the Spokane River. More than 1,500 square miles could be covered by the agreement, which would protect the mining companies from future litigation. In exchange, the companies would make annual payments toward efforts to remove or cap mining wastes. "The proposal will move us from decades of discussions and litigation to actual cleanup, which will protect public health, the environment and the economy of the Coeur d'Alene area," said Kempthorne. "The point of our plan is not to be in court. The point of our plan is to go out and clean all this up." 

TOWACO, N.J., TECH FIRM PUSHES THEIR ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE GOLD MINING PROCESS

EnviroLink Network - 05 July 2000 - Cyanide, a favorite chemical of the mining industry for the extraction of gold, is the bane of conservationists for the risks it poses to the environment. For example, a January cyanide spill from a gold mine in Romania killed thousands of fish in Hungary and Yugoslavia.  The world's appetite for gold -- the precious ore symbolic of wealth -- is not expected to be satiated any time soon. Mining interests are increasingly turning to Africa to feed the appetite.  To prevent environmental degradation by the mining industry in Africa, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization aims to promote environmentally benign mining technologies in the region, said Christian Beinhoff, a development officer at the organization. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MINING AGENCY ANALYZES STAFFING OPTIONS SOURCE

EnviroLink Network - 05 July 2000 - While the U.S. Office of Surface Mining hasn't picked one of the four options offered by the state in their ongoing staffing dispute, the addition of $9.8 million to its budget means the federal agency can fund whichever option it picks, OSM Regional Director Al Klein said. Announced by U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd Friday, the extra funding includes one-time spending of $6.2 million so the agency can upgrade its computer systems and other support systems.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

WEST DALLAS WILL NOT MISS LEAD SMELTER

Lycos (ENS) - 04 July 2000 - After decades of polluting the surrounding area in West Dallas, the RSR lead smelter and its 300 foot stack will come down. Demolition will begin in six to eight weeks, under a consent decree settling government claims against seven companies in connection with the RSR Corporation Superfund Site, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. The decree, approved in federal District Court, names Commercial Metals Company, Duggan Industries, General Motors, GNB Technologies, Interstate Battery System of America, Johnson Controls Battery Group, and M. Lipsitz & Co. The cleanup is expected to cost about $11.5 million and should be finished within nine months. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT SHARES RESPONSIBILITY FOR CYANIDE KILL

Environmental News Network - 02 July 11 2000 - Oz Government Shares Responsibility For Cyanide Kill Australian Government Financed Lihir Mine Cyanide Dumping.  The latest cyanide spill from an Australian mine exposes the Australian Governments record of inaction and in this case support for unsound environmental practices and risks.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.