NEWS ARCHIVE

STATE RELEASES VIDEO TO TOUT MINE SAFETY

EnviroLink Service - 30 June - Watching a video of an actual mine accident scene will help miners learn from each other's mistakes more than a written summary and sketch of the accident does, a state safety consultant said. Davitt McAteer, former head of the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, said a 20-minute video released by the state Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, is unique from that perspective. Friday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL RECOMMENDS AREAS FOR MINING TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

EnviroLink Service - 30 June - A technology study by the National Research Council (NRC) has identified major areas of concentration for mining industry research. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BANGLADESH WATER: EMERGENCY MEASURES URGED TO PREVENT ARSENIC POISONING CATASTROPHE

Environmental News Network (ENN) - 30 June 2001 - Emergency measures are needed to prevent mass arsenic poisoning caused by contaminated well water in Bangladesh and halt a developing human disaster of unprecedented proportions, a new international report warns. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS WANT INCO MINE PLAN

Planet Ark - 29 June 2001 - New Caledonian environmentalists said yesterday they were seeking more time to review the environmental impact of a new nickel mine Canada's Inco LTD is building in the territory's Southern Province. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

US GREEN GROUP SUES EPA OVER ARSENIC IN WATER

Planet Ark - 29 June 2001 - A major US environmental group, backed by six Democratic senators, yesterday filed a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's decision to suspend stricter limits for arsenic in drinking water. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

GRI Update - June 2001 is available at http://www.globalreporting.org/News/June2001Update.htm.

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PNG LANDOWNERS DEMAND AUSTRALIA FUND MINE CLEAN-UP

Planet Ark - 27 June 2001 - Landowners in Papua New Guinea called on Australia yesterday to pay the bill for what they called environmental destruction caused by BHP's Ok Tedi copper mine if the company walked away without cleaning up. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MINING DESERVES A LEVEL OF PLAYING FIELD

EnviroLink Service - 26 June 2001 - For those of us who work for mining, reading about our industry in the media is often a perplexing experience. More often than not, we see depictions that ignore the industry's technological and environmental progress, exaggerate and distort our problems, and largely omit mining's perspective on the challenges we face. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

HOUSE VOTES AGAINST ROLLING BACK ENVIRONMENTAL MINING RULES

EnviroLink Service - 25 June 2001 - Anti-mining activists won a victory Thursday when the House voted to block the Bush administration from rolling back new environmental regulations on mining. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ONE DEAD, FOUR MISSING IN BRAZIL LANDSLIDE

Planet Ark - 25 June 2001 - At least one person was killed and four were known to be missing after a dam holding iron ore and mine waste gave way in southeastern Brazil, police said on Saturday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

PAYING FOR MINE CLEANUPS

EnviroLink Service - 24 June 2001 - The Bush administration has decided wisely to retain a key piece of the stiffer regulations adopted in the last hours of the Clinton presidency to govern mining on public land. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

CHICKEN WASTE TESTED AT MINE RECOVERY SITES: OFFICIALS ENTHUSED WITH RESULTS OF POULTRY LITTER

EnviroLink Service - 22 June 2001 - Ken Haid of the US Natural Resources Conservation Service said spreading "poultry litter" on an old F&M Coal Co. site in Preston County has more than tripled the amount of animal forage on the site, increased the density of plant life and generally improved the wildlife conditions. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

PERU PROTESTERS BLOCK ROAD OVER ANTAMINA MINE WORRY

Planet Ark - 22 June 2001 - Hundreds of local residents of a fishing village blocked Peru's main north-south highway with boulders on Wednesday in protest at environmental fears surrounding the major new Antamina copper and zinc mine. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

USE OF MERCURY AND RIVER SITUATION MAJOR CONCERNS IN CONFERENCE

EnviroLink Service - 21 June 2001 - The excessive use of mercury and heavy siltation in rivers in both Guyana and its eastern South American neighbor Suriname emerged as the two main concerns at a three-day mining conference that ended here Wednesday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

KENTUCKY SEEKS MORE MONEY TO RECLAIM ABANDONED MINES

EnviroLink Service - 21 June 2001 - The stream through Roland Howell's apple treelined hollow in Floyd County has run from blood red to murky orange for nearly 25 years, a legacy of a nearby unreclaimed surface mine. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

WEST VIRGINIA CITIZENS GROUP URGES FEDERAL REGULATION OF STRIP MINE BONDS

EnviroLink Service - 20 June 2001 - A federal judge should order the US Office of Surface Mining to take over regulation of strip mine reclamation bonds in West Virginia, a citizens group said Tuesday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

POLLUTED WATER SPILLS INTO WEST VIRGINIA STREAM

EnviroLink Service - 20 June 2001 - Pond Fork in Boone County flowed black Tuesday morning. Blackwater poured from an A.T. Massey Coal Co. preparation plant into the stream. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

DOE GIVES $8 MLN TO CUT COAL PLANT MERCURY EMISSIONS

Planet Ark - 19 June 2001 - The Energy Department said yesterday it will fund six projects aimed at cutting mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants to reduce a contaminant that accumulates in fish and can cause health problems for people who eat contaminated fish. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

COLORADO OFFICIALS SEEK COMMENT ON MINE CLEANUP

EnviroLink Service - 17 June 2001 - The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Capulin Community Center to obtain comments on alternatives for cleanup at the Summitville Mining Site. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

REFORM THE 1872 MINING LAW

EnviroLink Service - 17 June 2001 - There can be little dispute about the stark facts of hard rock mining in this country: The sorry evidence of a policy gone horribly wrong is plain to see all across the West. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

CHINA TO CLOSE DOWN ALL SMALL COAL MINES

EnviroLink Service - 17 June 2001 - The State Council issued an urgent circular on 13 June ordering the shut down of state-owned small coal mines and the regulation of non-state-owned coal mines, in a bid to prevent the frequent occurrence of coal mine accidents. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

POWER PLANT, MINING UNIT ON THE WAY

EnviroLink Service - 16 June 2001 - Two energy companies plan to invest $600 million to build a 450- megawatt power plant and a mining complex in Upshur County that would sell electricity to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland while burning coal waste from current and previous mining operations. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MORE SMALL COAL MINES SHUT DOWN FOR SAFETY

EnviroLink Service - 16 June 2001 - The increasing number of accidents have prompted China's top authorities to close all small coal mines run by State-owned enterprises that fall short of safety standards. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MORE THAN A CENTURY OF MINING HAS LEFT THE WEST DEEPLY SCARRED

Seattle Post-Intelligencer - 12 June 2001 - Electric-blue, purple and green, the water that drips from the walls and ceilings in the Richmond Mine near Redding, Calif., is so acidic that it once dissolved a steel shovel left overnight in a puddle. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BUSH RETAINS PARTS OF MINE CLEANUP RULE

Lycos News (ENS) - 15 June 2001 - The US Bureau of Land Management announced today that it will retain a new requirement that hardrock mining companies post bonds sufficient to cover cleanup expenses after mining is complete. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

OVER 50 FOREIGN FIRMS FOR NIME 2001

AllAfrica.com - 14 June 2001 - As the countdown to the Nigerian Minerals Event (NIME 2001) draws closer, an estimated 50 investment groups and private companies in the United Kingdom (UK) may have indicated their intention to participate in the September event scheduled to hold in London. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FIRM PLANS LONDON LISTING

Planet Ark - 12 June 2001 - Virotec, an Australian company that treats toxic waste with "green" technology, said yesterday it intends to list on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in July. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MOST OF ARCTIC AFFECTED BY HUMAN ACTIVITIES BY 2050: Rapid Industrialization in Northern Wilderness New Threat to Wildlife, Habitats and Indigenous Peoples

UNEP Press Release - 11 June 2001 - Up to 80 per cent of the Arctic will be affected by mining, oil and gas exploration, ports, roads and other developments by 2050 if the industrialization of one of the world's last wilderness areas continues at current rates. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

EU ENVIRONMENT HEAD SAYS SUMMIT IS HISTORIC CHANCE

Planet Ark - 11 June 2001 - The European Union's top environment official challenged EU leaders on Friday to set ambitious targets for saving the world's environment when they meet at a summit in Gothenburg, Sweden next week. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

UNEP CLEAN PRODUCTION PROJECT BENEFITS FIRMS

AllAfrica.com - 07 June 7, 2001 - As conserving resources and cutting costs become key to the survival of Zimbabwean companies in a steadily deteriorating economic climate, local firms stand to benefit from a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) project aimed at encouraging cleaner production that minimises costly waste. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BOUGANVILLE PEACE PROSPECT LEAVES MINE IDLE

Planet Ark - 06 June 2001 - The owner of the long-idle Panguna copper mine on Papua New Guinea's warring Bougainville Island said yesterday it still intended to dispose of the mine despite a new prospect of peace. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MESSAGE OF UNEP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KLAUS TOPFER ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 5 JUNE 2001

UNEP Press Release - 05 June 2001 - The new millennium confronts us with a puzzling combination of promise and threat. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

GLOBAL STUDY ON STATE OF THE WORLD'S ECOSYSTEMS LAUNCHED TO MARK WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY

UNEP Press Release - 04 June 2001 - An unrivalled scientific undertaking, aimed at assessing the condition of the world's wildlife habitats and ecosystems, is being unveiled as part of the celebrations for World Environment Day (5 June). Further information can be obtained from the news article.