Mining – India 1
1. Vedanta to Raise Bid in Asarco Bankruptcy 1
2. Protests over mining project take ugly turn 2
3. Posco violence rears its head again 3
4. SCCL and IDFC to join hands for mining and power projects 4
5. Power plant suffers from coal crisis 5
Mining – International 6
6. Rio Tinto enters corporate middle age 6
7. China defends export restrictions 9
8. SAfrica to crack down on illegal gold mining 10
9. London Mining to implement SAP Business One 10
10. Pennsylvania town fights big coal on mining rights 11
11. Hunter Valley coal mine to close 13
Other News – India 14
12. 1.6 lakh acres identified for industrial projects 14
13. Education is key to abolish child labour 15
14. 'We are fighting for our lives and our dignity' 18
15. Govt allows CRZ draft to lapse; new version may be out this month itself 21
16. Water crisis mainly result of mismanagement rather than of scarcity: Experts 22
Mining – India
Vedanta to Raise Bid in Asarco Bankruptcy
•
By JOEL MILLMAN
Wall Street Journal
15 June 2009
The advantage in the battle to take copper giant Asarco LLC out of bankruptcy is expected to shift this week as Vedanta Resources PLC increases its bid, countering an offer filed by Mexican mining conglomerate Grupo Mexico SAB.
An amended debtor's filing that may be submitted as soon as Monday will show a unit of Vedanta, a London-based mining conglomerate with the bulk of its assets in India, will increase to $770 million from $600 million the note portion of its offer -- valued at between $2 billion and $3 billion including all liabilities.
According to people familiar with a term sheet provided to a bankruptcy judge in Texas on Friday, the Vedanta unit, Sterlite Industries, also will improve its terms of payment to a crucial class of creditors: asbestos claimants, who had been seeking a settlement of personal-injury claims from damages arising from Asarco's mining, smelting and refining operations across the American West since 1899. Before the amended filing, asbestos claimants had been backing a bankruptcy reorganization plan submitted earlier this month by Asarco's estranged parent, Grupo Mexico.
"Grupo can beat [the Sterlite offer], and then the asbestos committee will recommend both reorganization plans to its constituents and remain neutral. If Grupo does not beat it then we will recommend only the Sterlite plan," said Sander Esserman, chief counsel for asbestos claimants. His clients originally sought in excess of $2 billion from Asarco, but now are expected to settle for about $1 billion as the Tucson, Ariz., company emerges from bankruptcy.
This latest move by Vedanta's Sterlite unit could well trigger a bidding war, especially now that a third party, bondholder Harbinger Capital Partners, also has decided to make a play for Asarco's assets. Vedanta declined to comment on what a spokesman called "market speculation."
The struggle to determine control of Asarco as it emerges from its 2005 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has involved legal and financial maneuvers in Europe, Asia, South America and North America with offers and counteroffers rising and falling with global copper prices. Asarco's management team, which was appointed by the bankruptcy court, and its unionized work force prefer that Vedanta be declared the winner.
Grupo Mexico's chairman, Mexican billionaire Germán Larrea, told a U.S. court last year that it was always his company's intention to satisfy all creditors' claims, including environmental claims by the U.S. federal government and several Western states, once the amounts were determined.
—Jackie Range contributed to this article.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124499998232213265.html
Protests over mining project take ugly turn
Ashwin Aghor / DNA
Monday, June 15, 2009 2:07 IST
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Mumbai: The protest against the mining project at Kalne village, Dodamarg taluka, near Savantwadi took a serious turn on Friday when police inspector of Dodamarg police station Nandkumar Deshmukh allegedly assaulted Rama Desai, a senior citizen. He also reportedly abused women and manhandled one Yogita Bhikaji Desai, 25, a resident of Kalne village.
The women were protesting the transportation of sealed mining machinery through a privately-owned plot, the site of mining, at Kalne village.
The machinery was sealed following orders by the sub-divisional officer, Savantvadi." said social activist Vaishali Patil.
The SDO had imposed a fine of Rs5 lakh on the company for illegal road construction from private fields, she added. However, the additional collector, Sindhudurg, released the machinery.
A group of women went to Kalne police station to lodge a complaint against Deshmukh but officials refused to take down the complaint.
"They then went to Savantvadi. The officials here too abused and turned them out," Patil said.
Finally they went to Sindhudurg Nagri to meet the superintendent of police.
"When they refused to leave without meeting the SP, the officials there switched off all lights forcing the women to spend the night in the dark. They were later arrested and produced in the court," Patil said.
The villagers have demanded for immediate suspension of Deshmukh and a complaint registered against him for molesting women.
http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_protests-over-mining-project-take-ugly-turn_1264962
Posco violence rears its head again
Statesman News Service
JAGATSINGHPUR, 14 JUNE: After a brief lull, the proposed Posco project area plunged into tension when some women of Gobindapur village, reportedly from anti-Posco activists’ families, were allegedly assaulted by pro-Posco villagers yesterday. The women had been to the nearby market for shopping.
Residents alleged that even a day after the incident, police have not taken any action on the matter. The police retorted that no formal complaint has been lodged yet. "Someone has informed the police of the matter over telephone only, and hence, no case has been registered as yet," a police official said, adding that strict vigil is being kept in the project site area. Sources said that after the arrest of Posco Pratirodha Sangram Samiti (PPSS) leader Mr Abhay Sahoo about nine months ago along with several other prominent anti-Posco leaders, the villagers, against whom cases have been registered have refrained from venturing out of their villages, fearing police action. This climate of fear resulted in low polling in the last general and panchayat elections from this region. Women of the area, however, often go to neighbouring markets, as the group of women were doing yesterday when they were reportedly attacked by pro-Posco villagers.
Yesterday's alleged incident and police “inaction” may trigger yet another phase of violence in the region, anti-project activists warned. The women, including Mrs Nayana Das, Ms Sanjukta Das, MS Tiki Mohanty and Ms Maunabala Das said that they had been to the market to buy sarees and other items for the celebration of the Raja festival. The miscreants, who are said to be pro-project supporters, misbehaved with them and forcibly took away their purchases, they informed, adding that the men had used filthy language. Before fleeing from the spot, the assaulters had reportedly threatened the women that they would be driven out of their villages if their husbands did not withdraw cases registered against them for the murder of one Dula Mandal. After the women returned to their village and narrated the incident, there was a sharp reaction among the villagers. They said that police had arrested more than 26 pro-Posco activists for the Dula Mandal murder case and they had been released from jail recently. The assault has been carried out by some of the released pro-Posco activists to demoralize us, they alleged. Taking strong exception to police callousness, they demanded the arrest of the culprits as soon as possible. “This is not the first time our village women have been assaulted and humiliated. We feel that police have a soft spot for the pro-Posco workers. If no action is taken in this case, we will take our own initiatives to prevent such happenings in future,” one anti-Posco leader said.
A few days ago, some pro-Posco activists had attacked one Mr Amiya Das. The motorcycle and mobile phone of one Mr Hare Krushna Pasayat were also looted by the pro-Posco people, the anti-Posco leader charged. Similarly, goons who are supposed to be project supporters had looted goats, cash and other materials from one Mr Nityananda Pradhan at gunpoint after forcibly entering his house, the leader added.
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=258017
SCCL and IDFC to join hands for mining and power projects
Monday, 15 Jun 2009
Projects today reported that Singareni Collieries Company Ltd intends to develop coal mining and power related infrastructure projects in partnership with private companies.
As per report, SCCL has appointed PriceWaterhouse Coopers as a consultant to prepare a business plan for such private partnership ventures.
According to source, SCCL is likely sign an MoU with IDFC Projects to enable the 2 companies to jointly develop various coal and power related infrastructure projects in India, as well as abroad.
As per the proposed MoU, they will jointly apply for the allocation of coal blocks, either through the government dispensation route, or through the captive dispensation route and then take up the development of the mining ventures.
Additionally, SCCL and IDFC plan to develop Greenfield thermal power projects in different locations, across the state of Andhra Pradesh, as well as in other states.
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/06/15/OTg0MDc%3D/SCCL_and_IDFC_to_join_hands_for_mining_and_power_projects.html
Power plant suffers from coal crisis
;Statesman News Service
ANGUL, 14 JUNE: The 3,000 mw NTPC-Kaniha power plant, the second biggest in the country, is facing an unprecedented coal crisis with stocks dipping to a low of only 19,000 tonnes as against a minimum stock of eight lakh tonne.
Ironically, the power plant is barely 30 km from Talcher Coalfield which produces more than two lakh tonnes per day.
While sources in NTPC say the stocks have fallen due to short supply, others connected to Mahanadi Coalfield insist that there is adequate coal at the pithead and it is only for the NTPC to lift the coal.
The fact, however, is that the existing coal stock at NTPC Kaniha is at a record low of 19,000 tonne. The thermal plant feeds power to as many as 17 states.
Reliable sources said generation has been curtailed to 2,800 MW per day to try and stretch the available coal reserves for as many days as possible.
The source disclosed that the coal stock stood at 2.6 lakh tonne at the end of March last but, has started dwindling since then due to short supply.
While the average daily demand of the plant stands at 55,000 tonne the supply in the month of April and May was at 48,700 tonne and 46,800 tonne respectively, including 3,500 tonne of import coal.
NTPC-Kaniha normally draws coal from its Lingaraj mine at Talcher besides coal from IB valley field and other mines of Talcher coal field. It also takes one rake of import coal per day.
To the woes of the NTPC, their supply of imported coal has also been hit for the last three days as ships from Indonesia are yet to berth at Paradip Port due to problems.
“Talks are on with the MCL to beef up the supply from Talcher, particularly from the Lingaraj mine,” said these sources.
MCL official sources on the other hand refused to share blame for the crisis saying that it has enough coal stock at Talcher.
Pollution ultimatum
DURGAPUR, 14 JUNE: The West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has asked state-owned Durgapur Projects Limited to prevent pollution caused by its coke-oven plant by 21 June. If the company fails to follow the order within the stipulated timeframe, the plant would be closed down. The chief scientist with the WBPCB had issued the ultimatum.;SNS
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=258029
Mining – International
Rio Tinto enters corporate middle age
PURE SPECULATION: Robin Bromby | June 15, 2009
Article from: The Australian
SETTING aside the fact that Tom Albanese spent several hundred million dollars fending off BHP Billiton (BHP), only to then throw Rio Tinto (RIO) into its former predator's arms (some business plan!), the past decade has seen his company become a very different beast from the days when we knew it as CRA.
There's been a certain hardening of the arteries at Rio. It seems to have transitioned into corporate middle age, letting all its mega-mines churn out the profits and leaving, figuratively speaking, plenty of time for the golf course.
Now it gets the little fellows to do much of the heavy lifting. Companies like PepinNini Minerals (PNN), which has just farmed into three of Rio's tenements in the remote Musgrave region of South Australia. PepinNini will spend between $1 million and $1.5m on exploration to earn a 51 per cent stake.
It used to be the other way around: the majors would farm into a junior's tenement and come up with the money.
CRA, originally Conzinc Riotinto of Australia, was one of the most aggressive explorers around. One geologist remarked a while ago that all you had to do to get a good project was to sift through CRA's old data.
The company explored and drilled anywhere and seemingly everywhere. It discovered uranium in Queensland in the 1980s and 90s; it found zinc and copper near Meekatharra; bauxite in far north Queensland; rare earths at the Cummins Range in the Kimberley; nickel northeast of Port Hedland; helium southwest of Alice Springs; and copper near Adelaide -- just a few of the CRA finds that have become viable projects now being advanced by a new generation of juniors.
Now MIL Resources (MGK) appears to be the latest beneficiary. The company is exploring an area on the southern coast of Papua New Guinea that was once worked over by CRA. The junior reports that panning at its Poi project has produced visible gold up to 3mm in diameter. MIL's interest, though, is the hard rock gold underneath.
Incidentally, this junior is chaired by the well-known mining figure Pat Elliot, who also sits around the board table at Global Geoscience (GSC), Platsearch (PTS) and Argonaut Resources (ARE).
MIL may be better known by its former name, Magnesium International, and once also traded as Wounded Bull Resources.
Poseidon's new adventure
EVEN though the gold price has languished in recent days, exploration interest remains high. And there's no show without Punch or, in this case, Andrew Forrest.
He chairs Poseidon Nickel (POS), whose shares, as was reported on Saturday, mysteriously rose 25 per cent the day before the announcement that POS was activating the gold potential of its Windarra project.
Queried by the ASX, POS responded: "The company is aware of information that has not been announced which might explain the recent trading in securities of the company."
You don't say. But that still doesn't explain how come 238,640 Poseidon shares traded on Wednesday closing at 24c but, the following day, 3.17m went through up to 30c, 24 hours ahead of the company's "continuous disclosure".
Maybe it was just intuition, perhaps even a lucky guess.
The gold rights, which include tailings, will be the basis for an initial public offering by Triton Gold, an unlisted outfit run by a number of ex-Placer Dome people. POS will hold 13 per cent of Triton.
But the new vehicle is bringing three gold projects with it. The MD is Marcus Willson, who was involved in the discovery of the Jubilee gold deposit.
Before Placer was taken over by Barrick Gold, the Perth office of Placer was keen to get involved in several West Australian mining projects. For example, it committed $4m to deep drill at the Gidgee project owned by Gateway Mining (GML). Barrick subsequently did the minimum required, then withdrew. GML is still plugging away on its own.
So there's a history to the Triton float.
The gold train
ALSO clambering on the gold train are Bryan Frost and Richard Revelins, whose latest announcement saw their Mining Projects Group (MPJ) shares gain 33.3 per cent -- to all of 0.04c. These men had a brush with ASIC three years ago when their company, then called Yamarna Goldfields, claimed it had a monster uranium deposit on the small Pacific island of Niue.
The ASIC thing went away -- the commission dropped proceedings -- after viewing evidence compiled by five mining experts but Revelins was hot under the collar at what he called the "media circus" and the damage caused to their reputations by the publication of the detailed ASIC allegations.
That's water under the bridge and now MPJ is trying to get traction by buying gold assets of unlisted Xplor, including the Egerton gold deposit in Western Australia which has a modest 23,811oz of gold.
Xplor, then called Xploration, bought Egerton from NGM Resources (NGM) and was planning to float. That never happened. Also coming in the deal are two Victorian gold projects.
Companies to watch
* ASPIRING iron ore explorer Polaris Metals (POL) has been keeping a low profile, but that is about to change. Expect to see POL cranking up the publicity and broker briefings as it targets next year for the start of production, working up to an eventual 10m tonnes a year. Its first cab off the rank, the Yilgarn project, is close to the Trans Australian Railway and POL has negotiated access to the haulage road owned by neighbour Portman.
* HOW long before someone -- Xstrata or the Chinese, most likely -- decides to take out Highlands Pacific (HIG)? By Christmas, the giant Chinese-owned Ramu project in Papua New Guinea will be operational, and HIG has an 8.56 per cent stake in a mine that will be producing 31,500 tonnes of nickel and 3300 tonnes of cobalt a year. It also has 16.9 per cent of the huge Frieda copper-gold deposit in PNG. Xstrata is spending $US36m this year alone on Frieda, a project that is expected to produce 160,000 tonnes of copper and 240,000oz of gold a year. HIG is capitalised at $68.5m and has $28m in the bank.
* WHAT with advanced uranium projects in Western Australia like Yeelirrie, Kintyre, Centipede and Mulga Rocks looking like being early cabs off the production rank, there may seemingly be little reason to back an early-stage exploration effort owned by a small junior. Yet a number of broker types -- working on their own accounts -- put up $324,000 last month for a placement through Indian Ocean Capital in Magnetic Resources (MAU). What is also interesting is that they are continuing to buy, from what we hear -- pushing the stock from its 5.5c placement price to 11.5c on Friday. MAU has the Seabrook target just 40km from Southern Cross.
The writer implies no investment recommendation and this report contains material that is speculative in nature. Investors should seek professional investment advice. The writer owns shares in Rio Tinto.
brombyr@theaustralian.com.au
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25634622-30538,00.html
China defends export restrictions
BY AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Updated 1 hours 36 minutes ago
BEIJING, June 15 - China on Monday defended moves to restrict exports of some raw materials, saying it was acting to protect the environment, as it reacted to a report the US and European Union will launch a WTO action.
Officials from Brussels and Washington are preparing to take Beijing to the World Trade Organization with the aim of formally seeking consultation on June 22, the first step in opening a case, according to a European source last week.
But China's commerce ministry spokesman Yao Jian said: "Taxing exports of some high energy-consuming and pollutant goods is to improve the world's trade environment and China's export structure, and to further enhance environmental protection measures."
"There is no perfect trade policy. We can't pursue full and complete environmental protection measures while requiring that prices are not affected," he told reporters.
"We have to prioritise the common interests of the public... and countries in the world," he said.
The EU and US move concerns about 20 types of raw materials, including copper and bauxite, that China was applying export restrictions on in the form of quotas and tariffs.
Yao said the Chinese side would handle the consultation with the relevant countries "positively with an aim to reach a consensus".
http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/International/China-defends-export-restrictions-2446.html
SAfrica to crack down on illegal gold mining
Published: June 15,2009
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Durban , Jun 15 The South African Government today vowed to crack down on illegal gold mining in the country and said that a Stakeholder forum will be set up to deal with the problem.
Minister for mineral resources, Susan Shabangu, issued a warning today following the recent deaths of nearly 100 illegal gold miners in the Free State province of the country.
"It has become clear that this problem has evolved to become an illicit industry run by criminal syndicates and we are going to put a stop to it," Shabangu said.
The Minister said that a Stakeholder forum would be set up to stop the illegal mining in the Free State province.
The Forum on illegal Mining would include the government, mining companies, labour formations, the business fraternity, community leaders and law enforcement agencies.
Last month, 100 illegal miners died from poisonous gas while digging at disused mines owned by Harmony Gold, one of the largest gold mining companies in the world.
Condemning the illegal mining, the South African Government said that all measures would be put in place to ensure that such a tragedy does not occur again.
Most of the miners, working in South Africa, are from neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.
Source: PTI
http://www.indopia.in/India-usa-uk-news/latest-news/599133/International/2/20/2
London Mining to implement SAP Business One
Monday, 15 Jun 2009
Big News reported that London Mining gear up for global expansion with SAP Business One from Sapphire.
Sapphire Systems recently announced that it is to supply and implement SAP Business One at London Mining Plc.
The finance team at London Mining had been using Sage Line 50 for its accounting purposes, however it was identified that a new system was required to support their continued global expansion. A major challenge was the fact that the system couldn’t handle multi-currency requirements, a feature that was newly needed when the functional currency of London Mining changed from GBP to USD in 2008.
Additional key features of the new system identified by London Mining included the ability of the system to operate in numerous languages including Chinese and Spanish to support the company’s global operations. The new system also needed to be preloaded with local GAAP for London Mining’s overseas operations in addition to IFRS.
An accounting system project team at London Mining reviewed the market for a suitable accounting solution before short-listing an upgrade to Sage Line 500 and SAP Business One from Sapphire as recommended to them by SAP. Sage Accpac and Access Accounts were also considered, but lacked the functionality required.
Mr Scott McClintock senior finance reporting analyst, at London Mining explained the decision to implement SAP Business One that “In terms of the specific functionality that we needed, it was difficult to differentiate SAP Business One and Sage Line 500, however SAP Business One will meet our needs not only now, but well into the future as the company expands. The company has recently acquired an operating mine and processing plant in China through a joint venture arrangement and plans to commence production in Sierra Leone within 12 to 18 months. Both these operations will generate a significant number of transactions and SAP Business One will more than support our requirements and growth strategy.”
Of the decision to work with Sapphire Mr Scott said that “We were impressed with Sapphire’s approach to our global rollout and subsequent support in all the countries we operate in once implemented.”
Once SAP Business One is in use, the finance team expects to benefit from improved quality of information and timelier, more efficient financial reporting. Mr Scott commented that “Currently our financial reporting is quite manual and we are looking forward to a significant cut in the current time taken for monthly reporting.”
(Sourced from Big News)
http://steelguru.com/news/index/2009/06/15/OTg1Mzc%3D/London_Mining_to_implement_SAP_Business_One.html
Pennsylvania town fights big coal on mining rights
Mon Jun 15, 2009 2:22am EDT
By Jon Hurdle
TAYLORSTOWN, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - A small Pennsylvania town is trying to ban coal mining in a battle being played out across the state as rural communities try to assert control over mining, gas drilling and other businesses.
Blaine Township, a community of 600 about 40 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, hopes to trigger a legal battle that could determine the rights of municipalities throughout the United States to control corporate activity.
Some legal experts say the township is highly unlikely to win that fight. For now the dispute is in federal district court, where major energy companies have sued the township over three ordinances that would ban coal mining and require companies in any business to disclose their activities to local officials.
Penn Ridge Coal LLC, a unit of Alliance Resource Partners, and Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal Co., a unit of Allegheny Energy, say Blaine's laws violate their corporate rights.
The companies say the ordinances would prevent them from mining 10.6 million tons of recoverable coal beneath the township -- enough to supply electricity for 2 million people for a year.
The township has gone further than any of the 120 U.S. municipalities -- most of them in Pennsylvania -- that have passed ordinances to curb corporate activity such as factory farming or spreading sewage sludge, said its lawyer, Tom Linzey of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund.
Of three townships sued by corporations over their ordinances, only Blaine has refused to back down, Linzey said.
Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, towns are resisting efforts by energy companies to extract natural gas from the massive Marcellus Shale formation amid fears that toxic chemicals used in drilling are contaminating ground water and endangering human health.
CREEKS DIVERTED
In Blaine, residents are seeking to prevent coal mining -- which they expect to begin there in 2011 -- because they fear it will ruin their houses and disrupt water supplies, as they say it has in surrounding areas.
They want to block longwall mining, a technique that rips tons of coal from underground without putting anything in its place, causing the land above to sag. The practice, which has been used in coal-rich southwest Pennsylvania since the 1970s, has cracked the walls, roofs and basements of homes and opened fissures in the land, diverting or draining creeks and ponds.
In neighboring Morris Township, Tammy Bowman pointed to a pile of broken wood and concrete -- all that's left of an outbuilding she said was destroyed by shifting ground from mining beneath her 19th century farmhouse.
"It just started to drop and drop," she said. "It got so bad, you couldn't even walk in the door."
One section of her house is held up with mechanical jacks.
Near the village of Graysville, the 62-acre (25-hectare) Duke Lake, once used for fishing and boating, now sits empty after the shifting ground opened a crack in its retaining wall, environmentalists say.
Blaine's three ordinances, passed in 2006, 2007 and 2008, also assert that communities have a right under the U.S. Constitution to control business within their boundaries and that corporations do not have constitutional rights as "persons" to sue municipalities for passing laws that would hurt corporate interests.
"This illegitimate bestowal of civil and political rights upon corporations prevents the administration of laws within Blaine Township and usurps basic human and constitutional rights guaranteed to the people of Blaine Township," says the township's Corporate Rights Ordinance of 2006.
To implement the ordinances, township supervisors are now campaigning for "home rule," a legal code that transfers some powers from state to local control and is commonly used to raise taxes or increase the number of supervisors on a board.
ESTABLISHING HOME RULE
Blaine supervisors want to use home rule to establish what they say is the township's constitutional right to control corporate activity. Voters on May 19 approved a plan to set up a commission to study the proposal and recommend whether to adopt it.
A third lawsuit has been brought by Range Resources, a natural gas company, asking the court to invalidate Blaine's demand that corporations disclose their activities.
Penn Ridge Coal and Allegheny Pittsburgh Coal are asking U.S. Judge Donetta Ambrose of the Western District of Pennsylvania to declare Blaine's ordinances invalid and unenforceable.
In April, Judge Ambrose denied the township's motion to dismiss the case. She is expected to rule late this year.
Linzey predicted the case will eventually go to the U.S. Supreme Court because it pits energy companies who want to exploit one of America's richest coal seams against residents who are determined to resist what they see as rapacious mining.
He conceded the court is unlikely to overturn more than 100 years of established law that gives corporations rights as "persons" under the constitution, but he said the expected outcome would become a springboard for a popular campaign for a constitutional amendment to strip corporations of those rights.
Blaine's supervisors said they want to establish a principle of local self-government that will inspire other communities.
"Who dictates how we are going to live here?" asked Board spokesman Michael Vacca. "Should it not be us?"
(Editing by Daniel Trotta and Cynthia Osterman)
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE55E0L820090615
Hunter Valley coal mine to close
Monday, 15/06/2009
More than 60 mine workers will be out of a job in September when the United Colliery coal mine in the NSW Hunter Valley winds down its operations.
Mining giant Xstrata will hand down redundancies in stages, after announcing coal reserves within the mining lease will be exhausted by next March.
Company spokesman James Rickards says the company will do a feasibility study on the future mining operations in the area.
"We have to remember that any potential mining that may occur wouldn't occur for several years so we felt, and the CFMEU agreed with us as part of the board, that all employees were notified as soon as possible once the decision to cease mining in March was determined," he says.
But the Miners Union is confident the Hunter's coal industry remains strong, despite the planned closure.
Northern Districts president Ian Murray says the workers will be able to find work elsewhere.
"We think that the industry in the Northern Districts of NSW, the way that the world demand for thermal coal is still high, that we're still very confident of being able to post those people in employment in the industry."
Meanwhile, the number of workers employed in mining across Australia dropped by more than 2000 early this year.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were almost 172,000 people employed in the mining industry in February, compared to about 174,000 in the December quarter.
But while there's been a drop in employment in mining in the last few months, mining industry employment did grow by almost 30,000 people in 2008.
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200906/s2598188.htm
Other News – India
1.6 lakh acres identified for industrial projects
Nagesh Prabhu
To attract investment in Tier II and Tier III cities: Nirani
________________________________________
1,50,682 acres of private land and 9,356 acres of government land identified
‘Objective is to decongest industrial areas located in and around Bangalore’
________________________________________
BANGALORE: The State Government has identified 1.6 lakh acres of land in 26 districts for industrial projects.
A total of 1,50,682 acres of private land and 9,356 acres of government lands had been identified. Minister for Major and Medium Industries Murugesh R. Nirani told The Hindu that the department had taken initiatives to attract investment in Tier II and Tier III cities by identifying land in districts, particularly in north Karnataka, to set up industries. Another objective was to decongest industrial areas located in and around Bangalore.
As many as 28,908 acres had been identified in Bagalkot district, followed by 26,504 acres in Bijapur district, 13,000 acres in Mysore district and 11,000 acres in Ramangara district. Only barren and single crop cultivable lands had been identified for the acquisition.
Acquired lands would be given to industrialists or investors to set up industries in 10 sectors — steel, cement, food processing, automobile, information technology/biotechnology, apparels, pharmaceutical, sugar and cogeneration, power, media and entertainment.
The new industrial policy (2009-14) of the State targeted to provide employment to 10 lakh persons in the next five years. It aimed to increase the share of industry to the State Gross Domestic Product to 20 per cent by the year 2014 and double the State’s exports, Mr. Nirani said.
Land identified in other districts is as follows: Bangalore Rural 1,100 acres; Belgaum 6,540; Bellary 9,298; Bidar 2,500; Chamarajanagar 1,025; Chickaballapur 2,047; Chikmagalur 1,200; Chitradurga 1,902; Dakshina Kannada 3,336; Dharwad 4,297; Davangere 8,268; Gadag 500; Haveri 2,570; Hassan 944; Kolar 8,250; Koppal 10,000; Mandya 1,849; Raichur 2,063; Shimoga 3,742; Tumkur 3,200; Udupi 5,946, and Uttara Kannada 50 acres.
Officials have not identified any government land in Bangalore Rural, Bellary, Bidar, Dakshina Kannada, Gadag, Gulbarga, Haveri, Hassan, Kodagu, Kolar, Koppal, Raichur, Ramanagara and Mysore districts. No private land had been identified for acquisition in Chickaballapur, Chitradurga, Chikmagalur, and Uttara Kannada districts.
To avoid delay in the land acquisition process, the Government had given powers to deputy commissioners to take steps for land acquisition, including issuing notifications under the Karnataka Land Acquisition Act. The State Government would restrict its role to formal clearance for land acquisition, if required, he said.
Currently, the Bangalore Urban district had the highest number of large and medium-scale industries (375) followed by Bangalore Rural (74), Mysore (56), and Bellary (48). Totally, there were 779 large and medium units in the State which provided employment to 36 lakh people, the Minister said.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/15/stories/2009061553320300.htm
Education is key to abolish child labour
15 Jun 2009, 0115 hrs IST, Sakshi Khattar, TNN
Even 23 years after having banned child labour in India, the country continues to be home to the largest number of child labourers in the world — 17
million. On the World Day Against Child Labour, celebrated every year on June 12, there was a common consensus — moral outrage is the first step to eliminate child labour, and access to quality, equitable education for all children is imperative.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) launched the World Day Against Child Labour in 2002 to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and action to eliminate it. Every year, the day links governments, employers' and workers' organisations, and civil society, among others, in the campaign against child labour.
This year, the focus was on the girl child and education being the key to empower her. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), International Labour Organisation (ILO), United Nations Childrens' Fund (Unicef) and other members of civil society met at a joint conference to highlight the importance of educating the girl child and ending child labour. According to ILO estimates, there are around 218 million child labourers worldwide of which 100 million are girls, and more than half of them are exposed to hazardous work.
Highlighting how education can transform a child's life, especially girls, Shantha Sinha, chairperson, NCPCR, said: "Going to school opens up new avenues and opportunities with girls learning to think, explore, discover, question and acquire knowledge. Besides, it also delays an early marriage. Only if all working children are in school can it lead to equity and justice, further deepening the foundation of our democracy." She added: "On this day, we must create a social trust and faith in the poor, to stand by them, and celebrate their victories for having taken the right decision to send their children to schools instead of work."
Experts strongly reiterated that in order to end child labour, all children should be sent to school. Krishna Kumar, director, NCERT, said: "This is a national agenda. There is a huge sense of urgency to address the issue. Though the gender gap has been significantly improved in the past 20 years, still girls in our society grow up with terror as they don't feel safe. So if most of them are living in terror, how can they contribute to the growth of society and nation at large, and this is a major impediment that holds back our country in terms of national development."
Experts' views
The act to ban child labour today covers only 15% of the total child labour population in the country, according to Dipankar Majumdar, director, Child Rights and You (CRY). He said: "Sectors like commercial agriculture, unregulated factories and immediacies like chronic poverty, that employ close to 80% of the child labour, is not covered by the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986."
He further added, "Every census shows staggering figures of children engaged in labour across the country. In fact, we see this being directly proportional to the increasing poverty in the country. In such a scenario, how can the situation improve? On the positive side, the government has taken some concrete, commendable steps, the most recent one being the ban on child labour in the domestic sector. But what the government also needs to address is the root-cause, which is poverty."
Child labour is nearly always rooted in poverty compounded by other forms of marginalisation — gender, language, ethnicity, disability and rural-urban differences, said Koïchiro Matsuura, director general, Unesco. "This is why the current economic and financial crisis calls for heightened vigilance and urgent measures to mitigate its impact on the poorest. According to forecasts, an additional 50 to 90 million people could be driven to extreme poverty. Evidence shows that child labour often increases during an economic downturn, as parents withdraw their children from schools to supplement family income and delay the entry of their youngest children. Girls are all the more vulnerable in times of crises," added Matsuura.
There is no better investment for a society than education, in particular girls' education, opined Matsuura. "Educating girls today, have a lifelong impact on their health, nutrition, employment and growth. Most fundamentally, education is a basic human right that is currently denied to 75 million children, 55% of which are girls and this needs to be addressed," summed up Matsuura.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Education-is-key-to-abolish-child-labour/articleshow/4656555.cms
15 June 2009
CELEBRITY RESORT THREATENS ISOLATED TRIBE
A luxury resort is threatening the survival
of the Jarawa tribe. © Salomé/Survival
A luxury resort being built on the Andaman Islands in India is threatening the survival of the Jarawa tribe, who number just 320 and have only had contact with outsiders since 1998.
Government authorities on the Andamans want to stop the hotel, and are appealing against a Calcutta High Court ruling allowing it to go ahead. The appeal is due to be heard today.
The Indian travel company Barefoot has started building a resort barely 500 metres from the Jarawa reserve, established by the Indian government to protect the tribe. The hotel is an offshoot of an existing Barefoot resort in the Andamans, whose guests have allegedly included Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet.
Survival campaigner Sophie Grig, who visited the Andamans last year, says, ‘The resort is next to a path the Jarawa use regularly as they hunt and gather in the forest. There is no way Barefoot could avoid putting at serious risk the lives of these extremely vulnerable people, whose existence is already threatened by poachers invading their land and by the road that cuts through their forest.
‘One has to wonder why Barefoot is building a hotel so close to the Jarawa, if it is not to allow tourists the opportunity to intrude into their lives. It will also bring an influx of workers and settlers to the area, increasing the considerable pressure on the Jarawa and their land. And it will risk exposing them to diseases to which they have no immunity, and to alcohol, which has ravaged other tribes on the Andamans and elsewhere.’
Barefoot claims that ‘sustainable and socially responsible tourism development’ is core to its philosophy.
Survival’s report ‘Progress can kill’ details the devastating effects of imposing contact on isolated tribal peoples: http://www.survival-international.org/campaigns/progresscankill
–ENDS–
• Environment
• Oil
'We are fighting for our lives and our dignity'
Across the globe, as mining and oil firms race for dwindling resources, indigenous peoples are battling to defend their lands – often paying the ultimate price
• Buzz up!
• Digg it (3)
•
•
o John Vidal
o The Guardian, Saturday 13 June 2009
o Article history
It has been called the world's second "oil war", but the only similarity between Iraq and events in the jungles of northern Peru over the last few weeks has been the mismatch of force. On one side have been the police armed with automatic weapons, teargas, helicopter gunships and armoured cars. On the other are several thousand Awajun and Wambis Indians, many of them in war paint and armed with bows and arrows and spears.
In some of the worst violence seen in Peru in 20 years, the Indians this week warned Latin America what could happen if companies are given free access to the Amazonian forests to exploit an estimated 6bn barrels of oil and take as much timber they like. After months of peaceful protests, the police were ordered to use force to remove a road bock near Bagua Grande.
In the fights that followed, at least 50 Indians and nine police officers were killed, with hundreds more wounded or arrested. The indigenous rights group Survival International described it as "Peru's Tiananmen Square".
"For thousands of years, we've run the Amazon forests," said Servando Puerta, one of the protest leaders. "This is genocide. They're killing us for defending our lives, our sovereignty, human dignity."
Yesterday, as riot police broke up more demonstrations in Lima and a curfew was imposed on many Peruvian Amazonian towns, President Garcia backed down in the face of condemnation of the massacre. He suspended – but only for three months – the laws that would allow the forest to be exploited. No one doubts the clashes will continue.
Peru is just one of many countries now in open conflict with its indigenous people over natural resources. Barely reported in the international press, there have been major protests around mines, oil, logging and mineral exploitation in Africa, Latin America, Asia and North America. Hydro electric dams, biofuel plantations as well as coal, copper, gold and bauxite mines are all at the centre of major land rights disputes.
A massive military force continued this week to raid communities opposed to oil companies' presence on the Niger delta. The delta, which provides 90% of Nigeria's foreign earnings, has always been volatile, but guns have flooded in and security has deteriorated. In the last month a military taskforce has been sent in and helicopter gunships have shelled villages suspected of harbouring militia. Thousands of people have fled. Activists from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta have responded by killing 12 soldiers and this week set fire to a Chevron oil facility. Yesterday seven more civilians were shot by the military.
The escalation of violence came in the week that Shell agreed to pay £9.7m to ethnic Ogoni families – whose homeland is in the delta – who had led a peaceful uprising against it and other oil companies in the 1990s, and who had taken the company to court in New York accusing it of complicity in writer Ken Saro-Wiwa's execution in 1995.
Meanwhile in West Papua, Indonesian forces protecting some of the world's largest mines have been accused of human rights violations. Hundreds of tribesmen have been killed in the last few years in clashes between the army and people with bows and arrows.
"An aggressive drive is taking place to extract the last remaining resources from indigenous territories," says Victoria Tauli-Corpus, an indigenous Filipino and chair of the UN permanent forum on indigenous issues. "There is a crisis of human rights. There are more and more arrests, killings and abuses.
"This is happening in Russia, Canada, the Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nigeria, the Amazon, all over Latin America, Papua New Guinea and Africa. It is global. We are seeing a human rights emergency. A battle is taking place for natural resources everywhere. Much of the world's natural capital – oil, gas, timber, minerals – lies on or beneath lands occupied by indigenous people," says Tauli-Corpus.
What until quite recently were isolated incidents of indigenous peoples in conflict with states and corporations are now becoming common as government-backed companies move deeper on to lands long ignored as unproductive or wild. As countries and the World Bank increase spending on major infrastructural projects to counter the economic crisis, the conflicts are expected to grow.
Indigenous groups say that large-scale mining is the most damaging. When new laws opened the Philippines up to international mining 10 years ago, companies flooded in and wreaked havoc in indigenous communities, says MP Clare Short, former UK international development secretary and now chair of the UK-based Working Group on Mining in the Philippines.
Short visited people affected by mining there in 2007: "I have never seen anything so systematically destructive. The environmental effects are catastrophic as are the effects on people's livelihoods. They take the tops off mountains, which are holy, they destroy the water sources and make it impossible to farm," she said.
In a report published earlier this year, the group said: "Mining generates or exacerbates corruption, fuels armed conflicts, increases militarisation and human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings."
The arrival of dams, mining or oil spells cultural death for communities. The Dongria Kondh in Orissa, eastern India, are certain that their way of life will be destroyed when British FTSE 100 company Vedanta shortly starts to legally exploit their sacred Nyamgiri mountain for bauxite, the raw material for aluminium. The huge open cast mine will destroy a vast swath of untouched forest, and will reduce the mountain to an industrial wasteland. More than 60 villages will be affected.
"If Vedanta mines our mountain, the water will dry up. In the forest there are tigers, bears, monkeys. Where will they go? We have been living here for generations. Why should we leave?" asks Kumbradi, a tribesman. "We live here for Nyamgiri, for its trees and leaves and all that is here."
Davi Yanomami, a shaman of the Yanomami, one of the largest but most isolated Brazilian indigenous groups, came to London this week to warn MPs that the Amazonian forests were being destroyed, and to appeal for help to prevent his tribe being wiped out.
"History is repeating itself", he told the MPs. "Twenty years ago many thousand gold miners flooded into Yanomami land and one in five of us died from the diseases and violence they brought. We were in danger of being exterminated then, but people in Europe persuaded the Brazilian government to act and they were removed.
"But now 3,000 more miners and ranchers have come back. More are coming. They are bringing in guns, rafts, machines, and destroying and polluting rivers. People are being killed. They are opening up and expanding old airstrips. They are flooding into Yanomami land. We need your help.
"Governments must treat us with respect. This creates great suffering. We kill nothing, we live on the land, we never rob nature. Yet governments always want more. We are warning the world that our people will die."
According to Victor Menotti, director of the California-based International Forum on Globalisation, "This is a paradigm war taking place from the arctic to tropical forests. Wherever you find indigenous peoples you will find resource conflicts. It is a battle between the industrial and indigenous world views."
There is some hope, says Tauli-Corpus. "Indigenous peoples are now much more aware of their rights. They are challenging the companies and governments at every point."
In Ecuador, Chevron may be fined billions of dollars in the next few months if an epic court case goes against them. The company is accused of dumping, in the 1970s and 1980s, more than 19bn gallons of toxic waste and millions of gallons of crude oil into waste pits in the forests, leading to more than 1,400 cancer deaths and devastation of indigenous communities. The pits are said to be still there, mixing chemicals with groundwater and killing fish and wildlife.
The Ecuadorian courts have set damages at $27bn (£16.5bn). Chevron, which inherited the case when it bought Texaco, does not deny the original spills, but says the damage was cleaned up.
Back in the Niger delta, Shell was ordered to pay $1.5bn to the Ijaw people in 2006 – though the company has so far escaped paying the fines. After settling with Ogoni families in New York this week, it now faces a second class action suit in New York over alleged human rights abuses, and a further case in Holland brought by Niger Delta villagers working with Dutch groups.
Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil is being sued by Indonesian indigenous villagers who claim their guards committed human rights violations, and there are dozens of outstanding cases against other companies operating in the Niger Delta.
"Indigenous groups are using the courts more but there is still collusion at the highest levels in court systems to ignore land rights when they conflict with economic opportunities," says Larry Birns, director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs in Washington. "Everything is for sale, including the Indians' rights. Governments often do not recognise land titles of Indians and the big landowners just take the land."
Indigenous leaders want an immediate cessation to mining on their lands. Last month, a conference on mining and indigenous peoples in Manila called on governments to appoint an ombudsman or an international court system to handle indigenous peoples' complaints.
"Most indigenous peoples barely have resources to ensure their basic survival, much less to bring their cases to court. Members of the judiciary in many countries are bribed by corporations and are threatened or killed if they rule in favour of indigenous peoples.
"States have an obligation to provide them with better access to justice and maintain an independent judiciary," said the declaration.
But as the complaints grow, so does the chance that peaceful protests will grow into intractable conflicts as they have in Nigeria, West Papua and now Peru. "There is a massive resistance movement growing," says Clare Short. "But the danger is that as it grows, so does the violence."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/13/forests-environment-oil-companies
Govt allows CRZ draft to lapse; new version may be out this month itself
NEW DELHI: What activities harm the 7,000-kilometre-long Indian
coastline and what should be permitted? Should ports and airports be
allowed to
come up freely or should even small patches of mangroves be saved at all costs?
Questions like these could soon be answered in a new set of
regulations with the environment ministry preparing yet another draft
notification to regulate development activities on the coasts.
Almost a year ago, the government proposed to replace the existing
coastal regulatory regime of 1991 with a coastal management zone
notification. The draft notification, based on the recommendations of
the expert committee headed by M S Swaminathan, was put out for public
debate.
But it got muddled in discussions with neither the industry lobby nor
the environmentalists happy with it. The ministry of environment and
forests, caught in the crossfire, held on to the draft unable to
notify it finally.
The parliamentary standing committee on science and technology, and
environment and forests also took interest in it and in a report
tabled in Parliament on Monday recommended that the 2008 notification
should be held in abeyance. It noted several lacunae in the
notification, including the fact that it did not address either the
concerns of the fisherfolk or the environmentalists.
It has said in its report that important definitions used in the
proposed norms are subjective and vague. It has even gone a step ahead
and recommended a legislation to ensure the protection of the rights
of the coastal communities along the lines of the Forest Rights Act.
The standing committee's wishes may come true with the environment
ministry now toying with the idea of allowing the 2008 draft
notification to lapse and to propose yet another one.
Sources say the notification could be a marriage of the existing 1991
rules and the 2008 proposed norms.
There have been some discussions with environmentalists from Mumbai to
help create norms that would have sunset clauses allowing the
provisions of the older notification to fade in fixed time after
formal notification and new ones to set in.
The ministry, sources said, was at the moment preparing a draft which
could be put out in public this month itself.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Govt-allows-CRZ-draft-to-lapse-new-version-may-be-out-this-month-itself/articleshow/4632638.cms
Water crisis mainly result of mismanagement rather than of scarcity: Experts
Jun 14th, 2009 at 10:43 pm | By NVO Bureau | Category: Chandigarh, News, Top Story
Chandigarh: Experts in a seminar on ‘Water, community and Media’ today agreed that water crisis in India is mainly a result of mismanagement rather than of scarcity. In a seminar on ‘Water, Community and Media’ organised by Chandigarh Chapter of Indian Media Centre and N-W Regional Centre of ICSSR, Panjab University jointly, these experts said the best way to avoid the problem from becoming a nightmare is to conserve water, use it wisely and reclaim used water for reuse.
Mr RK Srinivasan, from Centre for Science and Environment News Delhi, Prof KP Singh of Geology Department, Panjab University, Dr Nirmal Singh of Jalandhar based organisation Punjabi Satth, and well known Journalist Mr Bajinder Pal Singh, discussed the issue of ‘Water Crisis and role of media in creating a people’s movement’ in the seminar. They agreed that media must play a bigger role in spreading information about need for sensible and sensitive approach to water both at personal and community level.
Bajinder Pal Singh an Erasmus scholar on environment and a journalist with 15 years in India’s top media houses said Punjab exports “virtual water” worth 20.9 trillion litres every year. The state is closely followed by Uttar Pradesh which exports 20.8 trillion litres, and by Haryana which exports 14.2 trillion litres of virtual water annually. Explaining the concept of “virtual water” which calculates the water embedded in any food item he said International organizations now estimate that every kilo of wheat requires around 1000 litres of water for production. Water used for production of any product is known as virtual water, this concept is used by Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UN. He said Punjab, UP and Haryana which contribute the maximum amount for the national food pool, are indirectly exporting water used to grow these foodgrains. The export of virtual water is ‘surprising’ as North West India is regarded as a water stressed region. FAO estimates that to produce 1 tomato, 13 litres of water is used, for an orange amount of virtual water is 50 litres. India, along with US and Canada are regarded as the largest virtual water exporters in the world, while China is a net virtual water importer.
Dr Nirmal Singh the spirit behind Punjabi satth a community endeavour concerned with the survival of holistic Punjabi life style. He is pained that water and land have become contaminated, posing a serious danger to all creatures. The “green revolution” foisted on India and orient by the western agriculture science has proved to be a curse for the people of Punjab, as the land, air and water had been polluted to the great detriment of the people struggling with infirmities. He wanted all Punjabis, indeed humans everywhere, to join hands to face this challenge of pollution, and also hinted at the problem of a larger sense of pollution in cultural, social and ethical spheres.
R K Srinivasan, Coordinator of City water and waste management unit in Centre for Science and Environment, said Chandigarh and Delhi are already providing more water to citizens than 172.5 Litre PCD (per capita per day) recommended by Centre for Public health engineering and environment organisation (CHPEEO). He underscored the need to utilise water wisely and avoid wastage in transportation and utilisation of water.
Prof KP Singh of Geology department of Panjab University urged media to inform, educate and motivate society to use water in such a way that water needed by for the future generations is not depleted. He underscored that women have a major role in reducing water consumption by the families.
Prof KN Pathak, Chairman of Chandigarh Chapter of Indian Media Centre, introducing the subject said water is the most important requirement for the survival of society and individual. Ashok Malik, Gen Secretary of the IMC Chapter said this seminar was a part of Chandigarh Chapter’s focus on environment issues. IMC, he said, is an effort to forge a link between the media and civil society, it has chapters in 19 Indian states.
http://nvonews.com/2009/06/14/water-crisis-mainly-result-of-mismanagement-rather-than-of-scarcity-experts/
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