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ARSENIC POISONING THREATENS 25 MILLION IN
BANGLADESH
Planet Ark 28 August 2000 - The United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) said this weekend around 25 million Bangladeshis
were at risk of disability or death from arsenic poisoning in
much of the country's drinking water. Further information
can be obtained from the news
article.
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MEXICAN TOWN FACING BATTLE OVER LEAD POISONING
Planet Ark 24 August 2000 - One year after suffering
from Mexico's worst environmental scandal ever, a town wracked
by a lead poisoning epidemic has become the site of a battle
between an environmental group and the government over whether
the problem has been solved for good. Further information
can be obtained from the news
article.
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WORLD BANK, OTHERS LAUNCH $150 MLN NATURE
FUND
Planet Ark 24 August 2000 - The World Bank, Conservation
International (CI) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
joined forces on Tuesday to create a new $150 million fund aimed
at better protecting threatened ecological "hot spots." Further
information can be obtained from the news
article.
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LAKE VICTORIA VULNERABLE TO CYANIDE FROM
NEW MINE
Lycos News (ENS) - 23 August 2000
- The new Geita Gold Mine on a river feeding Lake
Victoria is now producing gold despite bitter protests from
environmentalists that it will injure the ecosystem of the world’s
second largest lake. Further information can be obtained from
the news
article.
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ENVOY LIKENS KOSOVO MINE TAKEOVER TO "BANK
HOLDUP"
Planet Ark 23 August 2000 - Yugoslavia's U.N. envoy
said yesterday the takeover by NATO-led troops of the Trepca
smelter in northern Kosovo was reminiscent of a Hollywood-style
western bank holdup. Further information can be obtained from
the news
article.
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JAPAN LEAD-SMELTER FACE TIGHT CONCENTRATE
SUPPLY
Planet Ark - 23 August 2000 - Japanese smelters are
facing tight supply of foreign lead concentrates as world demand
exceeds supply and domestic demand for batteries recovers, industry
sources said yesterday. Further information can be obtained
from the news
article.
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BERNAMA THE MALAYSIAN NATIONAL NEWS AGENCY/
MFCB REVIUING PLANS TO BUILD RESORT ON DISUSED MINE
Asia Intelligence Wire via NewsEdge Corporation - 22 August
- Mega First Corporation Bhd (MFCB), the operator of the
now-defunct Mamut Copper Mine, will revitalise plans to build
a world-class resort at the disused mining site, its managing
director Y.N. Chin said. Further information can be obtained
from the news
article.
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ROMANIAN SMELTER IN CYANIDE SPILL TO BE UPGRADED
Planet Ark - 19 August 2000 - A joint Romanian-Australian
gold smelter, blamed for a big cyanide spill in European rivers
in January, will undergo extensive upgrading before becoming
fully operational, a Romanian official said yesterday. Further
information can be obtained from the news
article.
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UN ASKED TO ASSESS TITANIUM MINING PROJECT'S
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Daily Nation via EnviroLink Network - 15 August 2000 - The
United Nations has been asked to send experts to assess the
impact of titanium mining at the Coast. Environmentalists and
a religious body yesterday called on the United Nations Environmental
Programme [UNEP] to intervene and send experts to carry out
fresh assessment of the impact on environment before Titanium
mining is allowed in Kwale. Further information can be
obtained from the news
article.
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AUSTRALIAN MINING FIRM
BLASTED FOR POLLUTING PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Lycos News (ENS) - 15 August 2000
- A report into the daily operations of Papua New Guinea's
Tolukuma Gold Mine claims the mine's Australian operators knowingly
expect to wipe out all fish life and food resources along a
30 kilometer (20 mile) stretch of a nearby river.
This is a direct consequence of the mine
dumping its waste directly into the Angabanga and Auga rivers,
says the report's authors, Australia's Mineral Policy Institute
(MPI), Greenpeace Australia and the Environmental Law Center.
Further information can be obtained from the news
article.
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ABANDONED PENNSYLVANIA MINES GET ECO-MAKEOVER
Lycos News (ENS) - 14 August 2000
- Pennsylvania is reclaiming abandoned surface mines
from the World War II era. Two projects on state game lands
in western Schuylkill County are turning polluting mine sites
into wetlands and brushy areas designed to attract wildlife
and improve water quality. In one project, using more than $730,000
in funds enabled by the state's Growing Greener initiative and
funding from other sources, the state Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) has contracted to reclaim about 160 acres of
abandoned mine land. "By coupling Growing Greener with
other funding sources, we have an unprecedented opportunity
to reclaim Pennsylvania’s abandoned mines," said Dan Werner,
mining engineer for DEP’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation.
"We’re improving water quality and transforming an environmental
hazard back into a productive condition." Further
information can be obtained from the news
article.
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UN SEIZES CONTROL OF POLLUTING SMELTER IN
KOSOVO
Lycos News (ENS) - 14 August 2000
- The United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo today took over a smelter that has been linked
to rising levels of atmospheric lead in the northern section
of the town of Mitrovica.
UN administrators, supported by UN police and hundreds of Kosovo
Force (KFOR) soldiers took control of the of the Zvecan smelter
in the Serb run Trepca Mining Complex before dawn this morning.
Further information can be obtained from the news
article.
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POGO GOLD MINE PROJECT IN DELTA JUNCTION,
ALASKA; INTENT TO PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The Federal Register via NewsEdge Corporation - 14 August
2000 - Pogo Gold Mine Project in Delta Junction, Alaska;
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement AGENCY:
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-Region X. Further
information can be obtained from the news
article.
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ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT DELAYS LICENSING CANADIAN
MINERS
Panafrican News Agency - 12 August 2000 - Kenyan authorities
have said they will not issue a license to a Canadian company
which intends to commence the mining of Titanium in the country's
Coast province, until they were satisfied the project would
not pose a threat to the environment. Further information can
be obtained from the news
article.
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RIGHTS GROUP SAYS NO TO MINING FIRM
The Nation - 12 August 2000 - A human rights
group has written to the President opposing titanium mining
at the coast. Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) in an open letter
to President Moi, described a minister's remarks as a deliberate
act of provocation. Further information can be obtained
from the news
article.
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UN RUNS BLOOD TESTS AS KOSOVO LEAD WORRIES
MOUNT
Planet Ark - 11 August 2000 - The United Nations yesterday
started blood-testing its employees in Mitrovica, northern
Kosovo, as concern grew over dangerous levels of lead being
pumped into the air by a Serb-run smelter. Further information
can be obtained from the news
article.
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UN SEEKS REPAIR OF UNHEALTHY KOSOVO LEAD
SMELTER
Planet Ark - 10 August 2000 - The United Nations yesterday
stepped up complaints against a Serb-run smelter in northern
Kosovo which it says is belching fumes with 200 times the safe
level of lead into this ethnically-divided city.
But the U.N. stopped short of detailing how it could reduce
the health endangering emissions at the Zvecan plant, which
is run by Serbs that report to Belgrade and who deny operations
at Kosovo's largest industrial complex are damaging the environment.
Further information can be obtained from the news
article.
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INDIANS APPEAL TO UN ON LAND RIGHTS
The Associated Press via NewsEdge Corporation - 10 August
2000 - A group of American Indians said Wednesday they have
appealed to the United Nations to intervene to protect their
ancient land rights against the U.S. government.
Leaders of the Western Shoshone People said they hoped two
U.N. panels would back their case that the U.S. government is
trying to force them from ancestral territory, causing them
physical, economic and cultural hardship and violating U.N.
human rights treaties. Further information can be obtained from
the news article.
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AUSTRALIAN, US MINERS TO PROMOTE NEW ENVIRONMENTAL
TECHNOLOGY
Asia Pulse via NewsEdge Corporation - 9 August
2000 - Silver miner Macmin NL (ASX:MMN) and US-based Metals
Treatment Technologies LLC (MT2) have formed an alliance to
implement new environmental technology throughout the South
Pacific region, the former announced in a statement. The
company also revealed plans to spinoff its Papua New Guinea
exploration interests into a separately listed entity in order
to focus its mining activities on the Texas Silver project.
Further information can be obtained from the news
article.
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TOWN SAYS GOODBYE TO TUNGSTEN MINE
EnviroLink Network - 06 August 2000 - Tom Crosby's grandfather
hauled ore used to make weapons for war. A generation later,
his father worked at the same mine, helping chart the location
of the ore. Crosby followed their footsteps to the "mine
in the sky" nestled in a glacial valley that sits at 8,000
feet in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Further information
can be obtained from the news
article.
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CONSERVATIONISTS HIKE
16 DAYS TO HAIL PROPOSED MINING BAN
Environment News Network (ENN) - 06 August
2000 - While the U.S. government mulls a ban on mining in
western Montana, opponents see the proposed action as "locking
up the land." Aimee Boulanger is of a different mind.
"You don't get much more 'locked up' than a 3,000-acre
mining site with a fence around it and a padlock," said
Boulanger, who works for the Bozeman, Montana, chapter of the
Mineral Policy Center. Further information can be obtained
from the news
article.
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CHILE CODELCO'S EI TENIENTE COPPER MINE LATE
ON ACID REMOVAL
Bridge Information Systems, Inc. via NewsEdge
Corporation - 04 August 2000 - Chilean state-owned copper
miner Codelco's El Teniente division has been unable to deliver
arsenic-containing residue to a company contracted to treat
the material because of permit delays, Codelco said Friday.
El Teniente has been ordered to remove arsenic-containing residues
in storage by regional environmental authorities.
El Teniente made changes at a flotation plant,
which led to higher-than-expected levels of arsenic. The mine
later contracted the Santiago-based Hidronor company to treat
the chemical. El Teniente is located in the south-central Sixth
Region while Hidronor is located in the Metropolitan Region,
where regional environmental watchdog Sesma has yet to allow
El Teniente to transport arsenic into its jurisdiction.
On May 23, environmental authorities in the Sixth
Region gave El Teniente sixty days to remove 7,500 tonnes of
residue from storage, where the material still remains.
"The division has been unable to move (the
residue) as it has not received a reply from the request sent
to Sesma seeking authorization to handle, transport, treat and
dispose of the material," Codelco said in a statement.
El Teniente has asked environmental authorities
in its own Sixth Region to extend the deadline, but has heard
no response. The mine did assure that nearby residents were
in no danger, as the residue has been safely stored.
El Teniente produced 83,000 tonnes of copper during
the first quarter of 2000. Codelco hopes to produce about 1.6
million tonnes of copper in 2000. End
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LARGEST GOLD MINE STARTS OPERATION IN TANZANIA
EnviroLink Network - 03 August 2000 - Tanzania's largest
gold mine which is expected to yield revenue of 150 million
U.S. dollars a year officially went into operation on Thursday.
The Ashanti Gold Field of Ghana and Anglo Gold of South Africa
have invested 165 million U.S. dollars in the construction of
the Geita Gold Mine, which will produce about 500,000 ounces
(16 tons) of gold yearly for 15 years. Further information
can be obtained from the news
article.
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TOWN'S WOES COULD BE BAD NEWS FOR MULTINATIONALS
Planet Ark - 03 August 2000 - Death breathes on the
South African town of Prieska, especially when the wind howls
off the old asbestos mine dumps left by the London-listed Cape
company. In the Northern Cape town of 15,000 people,
at least 12 die every month of asbestosis, a disease that destroys
the lungs and eventually kills its victims. Others are at various
stages of the disease, which has no cure and can lie dormant
for up to 40 years. Further information can be obtained from
the news
article.
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MALAWI'S MINING EXPO UNDER WAY
EnviroLink Network - 03 August 2000 -
Malawi's vice president, Justin Malewezi, Thursday flagged off
the first ever mineral exhibition with a call for reforms in
the laws guiding the country's mining industry. He challenged
the mining sector to align closely with conditions that apply
in mining companies and governments in the rest of the world.
Further information can be obtained from the news
article.
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SUPERFUND MONEY MAY BE USED TO CLEAN UP IDAHO
MINES
Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce - 03 August 2000 - The
state is weighing Superfund designations for 520 separate projects
as part of its strategy for cleaning up mining wastes in the
Silver Valley. The proposed $478 million plan won't include
Superfund sites around Lake Coeur d'Alene, but it includes nearly
$10 million for cleaning up contaminated sediments in the Spokane
River in Washington state. Further information can be
obtained from the news
article.
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MINE RECEIVES ECOLOGY EXEMPTION
Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce - 03 August 2000 -
The Washington Department of Ecology has issued an exemption
from a dangerous waste designation for the tailings that would
be created by the reopening of a zinc and lead mine in Metalline
Falls, Wash. According to studies conducted by the mine
owner, Cominco American Inc., and submitted to the state, the
mine, closed since 1977 in a labor dispute, had little effect
on the environment, including ground water, in its prior operations.
Further information can be obtained from the news
article.
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YELLOWSTONE PARK SUPPORTS TOXIC MINE CLEAN
UP
Environment News Network (ENN) - 01 August 2000 - Yellowstone
National Park Assistant Superintendent Marvin Jensen today pledged
the Park's support for efforts to clean up a toxic mine waste
dump that threatens to seriously pollute Yellowstone's Lamar
Valley. The statement came in response to a campaign launched
by the Beartooth Alliance on Saturday to pressure Congress for
funds to clean up 370,000 cubic yards of toxic mine tailings
flanking Soda Butte Creek, just upstream from Cooke City and
Yellowstone Park. Further information can be obtained from the
news
article.
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RECYCLED ALUMINUM DEMAND BOUNCING BACK IN
2000
Planet Ark - 01 August 2000 - Demand for scrap aluminum
has been trended upward since the mid-1990s and despite a slowdown
in recent years, industry players said it is rebounding again
in 2000 and every piece of recycled aluminum they can get their
hands on is used. "There's always a desire for more metal
recovery, because that saves energy and it's cost efficient,"
said Robin King, Vice President, Communications for the Aluminum
Association. Further information can be obtained from
the news
article.
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ILLEGAL INDONESIAN MINING A CONCERN, SAYS
AURORA
Planet Ark - 01 August 2000 - Illegal gold mining by
thousands of diggers at Aurora Gold Ltd leases in North Sulawesi
in Indonesia was impeding a decision on a full scale mine and
threatening the environment, Aurora said yesterday. About
1,500 illegal miners were using mercury to extract gold from
the ore, polluting rivers and posing environmental risks to
a marine park near Manado Bay, an Aurora official said.
Further information can be obtained from the news
article.
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