NEWS ARCHIVE

RESCUERS USE PICK, SHOVEL AND BARE HANDS AFTER 150 DIE IN MINE BLAST

EnviroLink Network - 29 September 2000 - 241 miners trapped 600 feet underground in the south-west province of Guizhou by a gas explosion. Early estimates suggest 150 died in the blast at the state-run Mugonggou mine near Shuicheng city. By yesterday afternoon, 83 miners had been rescued and 34 bodies recovered. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

LARGE DIESEL OIL SPILL IN PNG

World News from Australia - 29 September 2000 - A large quantity of diesel fuel has been spilled into bushland near Papua New Guinea's Tolukuma gold mine. Richard Dinnen reports a cyanide spill occured near the mine earlier this year -- and it appears the latest accident has occured under similar circumstances. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

GARBAGE-TRAIN SCHEME STIRS TRASH TALK IN CANADA

Environmental News Network - 29 September 2000 -A controversial plan to dump millions of tons of garbage into an abandoned iron ore mine in northern Ontario has triggered a national debate over the waste-management practices of Canada’s largest city. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS JOIN UNEP IN CALL TO CATALYSE CHANGE

United Nations Environment Programme via Environmental News Network - 29 September 2000 -- The environmental agenda must bring together all stakeholders that are key to advancing sustainable development. This was a central message that emerged from discussion last week at the UNEP Consultative Meeting with Industry Associations 2000. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

UNEP HOLDS BRIEFING ON GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVES

United Nations Environment Programme via Environmental News Network - 29 September 2000 - The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in conjunction with the European Environment Agency (EEA), convened a meeting last week of over 40 key organizations, primarily Europe based, active in promoting corporate accountability and transparency to discuss the further implementation of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

CHINESE VICE-MINISTER SAY MINING INDUSTRY IN GOOD ORDER

EnviroLink Network - 28 September 2000 - After four years of rectification and improvement nationwide, the mining industry in China has been brought back in good order, said a leading official from the Ministry of Land and Resources here today. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

INTERNATIONAL NGOS TO ATTEND JUST MINING CONFERENCE IN FREETOWN

EnviroLink Network - 27 September 2000 - A two-day national consultative conference on just mining will be organised under the auspices of the non governmental organisation, Network Movement for Justice and Development. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

HYDRAULIC GOLD MINING BLAMED FOR MERCURY-POISONED FISH IN SIERRA

EnviroLink Network - 27 September 2000 - More than a century after the end of the Gold Rush, scientists have found new evidence of its toxic legacy: high levels of poisonous mercury in bass and catfish in two northern Sierra Nevada watersheds. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

GOLD MINE MERCURY TANTING SIERRA FISH HEALTH OFFICIALS: CUT BACK ON CONSUMPTION

EnviroLink Network - 26 September 2000 - Thousands of pounds of mercury leaking from dozens of old gold mines in the Sierra Nevada is contaminating downstream lakes and streams and triggering health warnings on game fish. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

TOUGH RULES FOR MINING PROJECTS

The Nation (Nairobi) via allAfrica.com - 25 September 2000 - The Kwale mining project will not start until all safety conditions are met, the government has announced. Environment Minister Francis Nyenze said Tiomin Kenya Limited must evaluate its environmental impact assessment study and comply with the Environmental Management and Coordination Act before mining can start. At the same time, Matuga MP Suleiman Kamolle urged Coast residents to reject the project if mineral processing will be done in Canada. Reacting to safety fears expressed by environmentalists and Kwale residents, Mr. Nyenze said the proposed titanium mining project had sparked debate because of its possible environmental consequences. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

GREENS SLAP WORLD BANK WITH FINANCE CHARGES

Environmental News Network (ENN) - 22 September 2000 - High in the northern Andes of Peru, at the site of Latin America's largest gold mine, farmers who once worked the land for grazing and medicinal plants don't tell a tale of wealth and opportunity. On the contrary, theirs is a ballad of polluted rivers from mining waste, contaminated drinking water and loss of cultural identity. In 1999, Newmont Mining Corporation, the largest gold producer in North America, received a $100 million loan from the International Finance Corporation to expand operations in the area. Such is the picture painted by environmental and human rights groups who criticize the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank for catering to corporate interests at the expense of the world's poor. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

REPORT: NO BAR TO ENERGY USE, GOOD ENVIRONMENT

EnviroLink Network - 20 September 2000 - A new U.N. report prepared in conjunction with major energy suppliers said Wednesday there are no fundamental obstacles to high energy services "and a better environment," claiming to sideline a 25-year-old idea the world can't have both. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

CANADA APPEALS WTO TRADE RESTRICTION ON ASBESTOS

Lycos News (ENS) - 20 September 2000 - The World Trade Organization's decision to uphold a French ban on chrysotile asbestos has infuriated the Canadian government, anxious to protect a C$200 million a year business.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES FOR ACCESS TO LIBBY MINE

Lycos News (ENS) 15 September 2000 - The US federal government has sued W.R. Grace and Company ad Kootenai Development Company (KDC), seeking immediate access to the closed vermiculite mine and screening plant in Libby. The Justice Department filed the suit Thursday in federal court in Missoula in order to speed up efforts to clean up asbestos at the mine that has been blamed for more than 200 deaths. In July, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked Grace and KDC to grant unconditional access to their properties to agency officials, but the companies refused. The EPA wants to begin removing asbestos contaminated soil at the former mine and processing plant.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

HUNGARY SEEKS MONEY FROM BANKRUPT COMPANY FOLLOWING AN ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

AP World News via NewsEdge Corporation - 12 September 2000 - Seeking compensation from a bankrupt Australian company implicated in an environmental disaster, Hungary welcomed Monday the trustee's decision to recognize its claim among those of other creditors. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

INTERVIEW - TIOMIN OPTIMISTIC OF KENYAN MINING LICENSE

Planet Ark - 12 September 2000 - Canada's Tiomin Resources Inc, seeking to mine titanium in Kenya, said yesterday it was optimistic the government would grant it a licence despite local criticism of the project.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

EU COMMITTEE SEEKS RETROACTIVE ENVIRONMENT DAMAGE LAW

Planet Ark - 12 September 2000 - The European Union should make any company operating in the EU legally liable for damaging the environment, even if the damage occurred many years in the past, an influential European Parliament committee said yesterday.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

SWEDISH MINE LEAK SHOWS TIGHT EU RULES NEEDED - WWF

Planet Ark - 12 September 2000 - A dam burst at a Swedish copper mine which unleashed one million cubic metres of contaminated water showed European regulations on mining waste are too lax, an environmental group said yesterday.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

NO HARM FROM SWEDEN WASTE LEAK

Environmental News Network (ENN) - 11 September 2000 - Swedish-Canadian mining group Boliden said today a dam break that released waste from Europe's largest copper mine in north Sweden had not damaged the environment. "This is not a natural catastrophe as this small leakage won't have any major impact on the nature," Leif Oberg, spokesman at Boliden told Reuters.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

BOLIDEN LIMITED - DAMAGE TO INTERNAL TAILINGS CONTAINMENT WALL CAUSES TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF PRODUCTION AT AITIK MINE, SWEDEN

Canada NewsWire via NewsEdge Corporation -11 September 2000- Boliden today announced that production was temporarily suspended over the weekend at its open pit Aitik copper mine in northern Sweden, following damage to an internal tailings wall within the larger tailings containment and water settling facility. On the morning of Saturday September 9th an approximate 100 metre section of the containment wall which separates the area of course tailings deposition from the water settling stage of the tailings containment facility eroded, resulting in the release of water and tailings into the settling pond. To maintain the level in the settling pond, the excess water discharged into the settling pond was released into the surrounding watershed.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

SWEDISH MINE SPILL PROMPTS CALLS FOR STRICTER EU LAW

Lycos News (ENS) - 11 September 2000 - A million cubic metres of copper contaminated water was released into the Vassara River in northern Sweden on Saturday following the collapse of a mining waste dam at Boliden's Aitik copper mine. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

ROMANIA'S ABANDONED URANIUM MINES RADIATE PERIL

Lycos News (ENS) - 11 September 2000 - Despite using Western technology for its reactors, and aspiring to be seen as environmentally conscious, Romania's nuclear industry has an radioactive Achilles heel - uranium mining. Abandoned mines not properly closed have left tons of waste rock, and radioactive water spills from the mine sites. Unauthorized, people take the waste rock to build their homes. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

REPORT WARNS OF MINING RISKS TO EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT

Planet Ark - 11 September 2000 - A taskforce looking into the causes of an environmentally-devastating cyanide spill at a Romanian gold smelter in January on Friday identified 40 other sites where similar incidents could happen.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

UNEP ASSESSES ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE IN ALBANIA, MACEDONIA

Lycos News (ENS) - 11 September 2000 - A team of experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) arrives in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia today to assess the environmental damage caused by last spring's conflict with Yugoslavia over Kosovo. The team will also assess the capacity of the Macedonian government to deal with the environmental problems that confront the country. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

RIO TINTO FACES US SUIT ON HUMAN RIGHTS, ENVIRONMENT ABUSE

Asia Pulse via NewsEdge Corporation - 08 September 2000 - Mining giant Rio Tinto has denied accusations that its Bougainville copper mine in Papua New Guinea contributed to human rights abuses and environmental destruction on the island. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

BRITANNIA WAIVES THE RULES - CANADIAN MINE MISSES FOURTH CLEANUP DEADLINE

Lycos News (ENS) - 08 September 2000 - Fifty kilometers north of Vancouver, Britannia Beach is the perfect place to stop enroute to the ski resort of Whistler. The old mine site at the foot of Mount Sheer on the shore of Howe Sound is a popular spot for daytrippers. It is also the worst point source of metals pollution in North America, according to Environment Canada.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

ISLANDERS SUE LONDON-BASED MINE CO.

The Associated Press via NewsEdge Corporation 08 September 2000 - Using a federal law allowing foreign nationals to bring lawsuits in the United States, Papua New Guinea islanders sued a London-based mining concern Wednesday citing environmental degradation and human rights violations.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

UNEP HEAD CALLS FOR MILLENNIUM SUMMIT TO COMMIT TO NEW ERA OF GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

United Nations Environment Programme - 06 September 2000 - "The more than 150 Heads of State and Government gathering in New York this week have an unprecedented opportunity to shape the international agenda for the 21st century and enter into a new era of global solidarity", according to United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Klaus Toepfer in a Summit message. "Nothing less will be expected of them, nothing less is needed -- for the Governments they represent, for the UN, for the environment and for the peoples of the world."  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

HUNGARY READY TO SETTLE BUT STICKS TO CLAIM OVER CYANIDE POLLUTION

Agence France Presse via NewsEdge Corporation - 05 September 2000 - Hungary said Friday it was ready to settle with an Australian mining company following an environmental disaster but stuck to a multi-million-dollar claim, while the firm denied a settlement was imminent.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

MINING OF TITANIUM LIKELY TO CAUSE SEA POLLUTION

African Church Information Service (Nairobi) via AllAfrica.com - 04 September 2000 - Some three years ago, Tiomin Resources Incorporated, a Canadian mining firm moved into Kenya's Kwale district at the coast and set up a titanium mining project. With the Kenyan economy in a tailspin and the country in the grip of a severe drought, nobody realistically expected the US$137 million project to spur the sort of controversy it now has. Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

ASIAN MINISTERS DEEPEN ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION

Lycos News (ENS) - 04 September 2000 - An Asian ministerial conference held once every five years to assess the state of the environment and sustainable development policies is taking place through Tuesday in Japan. Based on this review, the outcome may be a regional action program for 2001-2005, followed by a commitment by the ministers for its implementation through a declaration.  Further information can be obtained from the news article. 

MINER DENIES SETTLEMENT AIM OVER HUNGARY CYANIDE SPILL

Planet Ark - 04 September 2000 - Australian mining company Esmeralda Exploration Ltd has denied reports it was seeking an out-of-court settlement with the Hungarian government over a cyanide spill in the Tisza River.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BUSINESSWORLD (PHILIPPINES)/ DENR TRIMS MINING FIRM'S IlOILO EXPLORATION SITE TO PROTECT MARINE SANCTUARY

Asia Intelligence Wire via NewsEdge Corporation - 01 September 2000 - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has reduced a mining firm's proposed gold and copper exploration project site in Iloilo to protect a marine sanctuary which might be affected by the company's operations.  Further information can be obtained from the news article.