NEWS ARCHIVE

INFORMATION RELEASE - NEW "LIFE-CYCLE INITIATIVE" LAUNCHED TO HELP COMBAT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF RISING CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

UNEP - 29 April 2002 - In response to the growing environmental risk created by rapidly rising consumption patterns around the world, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a new way to make production processes and products cleaner. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

EPA MOVES TO ALLOW MINE DUMPING IN WATERWAYS - POST

Planet Ark - 29 April 2002 - The Environmental Protection Agency has drafted new rules that would let mining companies dump waste from mountaintop coal mining operations into rivers and streams, The Washington Post reported last week. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BRAZIL SETS VOLUNTARY ALUMINUM RECYCLING RECORD

Planet Ark - 26 April 2002 - The Brazilian Aluminum Association (ABAL) said this week the country set a world record in voluntary recycling in 2001 by reusing 85 percent of the aluminum cans on the Brazilian market. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

SPANISH MINE SPILL SITE MAY BE UNSAFE - GREEN LOBBY

Planet Ark - 26 April 2002 -LONDON - Four years after the Spanish mining spillage that caused one of Europe's worst ecological disasters, the mine site has been sealed and the area cleaned but environmentalists say the threat of contamination persists. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

CHINA MINE BLAST KILLS 23

BBC News - 25 April 2002 - An explosion has ripped through a state-run mine in south-western China, killing 23 people and injuring four others, according to official media. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

AUSTRALIA GOVT BERATES RIO UNIT OVER URANIUM LEAK

Planet Ark - 24 April 2002 - Energy Resources of Australia Ltd failed to safeguard the environment in two incidents this year at its Ranger and Jabiluka uranium mines in northern Australia, the Australian government said yesterday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MINING SECTOR STARTS COUNTDOWN TO EARTH SUMMIT

Planet Ark - 23 April 2002 - Earth Day marks the start of a period of trial for the global mining industry as the countdown begins to the next world environment summit in South Africa in August. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

RIO MEETING BACKS WORLD BANK LATIN MINING AID

Planet Ark - 22 April 2002 - Industry, aid and indigenous people's groups last week gave qualified support for the World Bank's activities in Latin American oil, gas and minerals extraction. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

TECK-COMINCO FINED FOR ACCIDENT AT TRIAL PLANT

Planet Ark - 22 April 2002 - Safety regulators fined Teck-Cominco Ltd. C$270,000 ($172,000) last week for an accident last year at the company's Trail, British Columbia, lead smelter that exposed workers to toxic thallium. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

FOREIGNER KILLED, COUNTRYMAN INJURED IN ROCKFALL

AllAfrica.com - 21 April 2002 - A Lesotho miner was killed and his countryman injured when rocks fell on them at the Messina Platinum mine near Lebowakgomo in the Northern Province, police said on Saturday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

INDONESIA SEEKS SOLUTION ON OPEN-PIT MINING BAN

Planet Ark - 19 April 2002 - Indonesia Minister for Eastern Areas Manuel Kaisiepo says he will seek a solution to problems caused by a potential ban on open pit mining deemed to endanger forests. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

GREEN FEARS OVER MINE CLOSURE

BBC News - 19 April 2002 - Environmental concerns are emerging over the closure of Scotland's last deep coal mine. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

GOVERNMENT PROMOTES MINE SAFETY

AllAfrica.com - 17 April 2002 - Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has dispatched the Chief Inspector of Mines to visit mines that have high accident rates to enforce compliance with mine health and safety standards. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

MMSD Bulletin No. 21 IS AVAILABLE FROM THE MMSD Website

MMSD - 12 April 2002 - This Project News Bulletin covers: Draft Report Comment Period Underway; Breaking New Ground; Second Workshop on Indigenous Peoples and the Minerals Sector; Regional Forums and Events; World Mines Ministries Forum; MMSD Holds Side Event at WSSD PrepCom; Other External Events, etc. To obtain the Bulletin in PDF format (199 KB), click here.

ARMY ENGINEERS ISSUE PERMITS TO EXPAND LIMESTONE MINING IN THE EVERGLADES

Environmental News Network (ENN) - 12 April 2002 - The Army Corps of Engineers issued permits Thursday that will allow mining in 5,409 acres in the Everglades for the next 10 years, more than doubling the amount of limestone quarries in the protected wetlands. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

INDIA'S NATIONAL ALUMINIUM IN NICKEL PROJECT

Planet Ark - 11 April 2002 - India's state-run National Aluminium Company (NALCO) plans to diversify by investing in the country's first nickel project to extract the metal from mine waste, a top company official said yesterday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

CHINA TO CLOSE THOUSANDS MORE MINES

BBC News - 10 April 2002 - The authorities in China are to close thousands more coal mines. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

BBC News - 10 April 2002 - Chinese coal mines are notorious for their appalling safety record and the government has been under pressure to fix this for some time. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

COURT RESTRICTS COAL MINES' SURFACE IMPACTS

Lycos News (ENS) - 5 April 2002 - Coal companies should not be allowed to collapse the surface of the land over their mines, a federal district court has ruled. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

CHINA MINE EXPLOSION KILLS 16

BBC News - 04 April 2002 - A gas explosion in a coal mine in China is reported to have killed 16 people. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

CHINA COAL MINE EXPLOSION KILLS 22

EnviroLink Service - 02 April 2002 - A gas explosion in a coal mine killed 22 miners in central China, the state safety administration said Tuesday. Further information can be obtained from the news article.

WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE: WASHINGTON STANDARDS FOR METALS IN FERTILIZER APPEAR PROTECTIVE

EnviroLink Service - 01 April 2002 - A 1998 state law that established limits on the levels of nine metals in commercial fertilizers distributed in Washington is doing its job of protecting consumers and the environment. Further information can be obtained from the news article.