Newmont urged to reform

They also call for independent research to monitor Newmont's activities and their impact.

In Choropampa, Peru, 400 people were hospitalized after mercury was spilled in the environment near a Newmont gold mine in 2000. In Indonesia, the Ministry of Environment commissioned an investigation into pollution around a Newmont mine in the Buyat Bay area in 2004, since the amount of mercury and arsenic in drinking water exceeded legal norms. In Ahafo, Ghana, the construction of a dam to support mining operations in the area has deprived many communities of access to water. Newmont has refused to recognize nor address these complaints. They also asked the company to permanently cancel plans for new, open-pit mines on densely populated farmland in Romania (Rosia Montana) , in a Ghanaian forest reserve, and at a mountain in Peru that is a source of community drinking water ( Yanacocha ). The visiting representatives included Nur Hidayati of FoE Indonesia, who criticized Newmont's dumping of mine waste in Buyat Bay.

indonesia: buyat bay community not giving up on justice

An official Indonesian government investigation has found that Buyat Bay is polluted, due to US mining giant Newmont ‘s practises of dumping millions of tons of mining waste into the bay. The technical team, comprised of stakeholders and experts listed 10 key indicators of pollution in the bay, including arsenic and mercury pollution in the seabed, fish and other marine life, which poses an unacceptable risk to the local community and will need to be monitored for 30 years. No protective ‘thermocline' was found in the bay – a claim made by Newmont in their original Environmental Impact assessment. The dumping also breached toxic waste law and the report recommended legal action should be taken and ocean dumping of mine waste should not be permitted in future. Highlights of the report are at: www.walhi.or.id/eng/buyat_team_summary

An Indonesian court recently dismissed the civil suit brought against Newmont, the world's largest gold miner, on technical grounds. The environment ministry said it may appeal the decision or take its case to another forum.

The Buyat Bay community has not dropped its lawsuit against the gold mining company Newmont, despite a December 28 th 2004 Newmont press release stating that the civil suit had been dropped and that the community had conceded that they had no evidence that the company had sickened the citizens with their mine waste.

"We never stated that we want the charges dropped against Newmont dropped and that we have reached a peaceful agreement with Newmont. We feel very heavy and disadvantaged by the statement by Newmont in the media" stated Buyat Bay community representatives in their December 31st letter to the South Jakarta court. The company's Indonesian subsidiary Newmont Minahasa Raya dumped 2000 tons of mine waste daily into Buyat Bay from 1996 to 2004. Shortly after the disposal began, Buyat fishermen experienced a sharp decline in their fish catch and strange diseases appeared frequently in the community.

A Rocky Mountain News story reported that Nur Hidayati of Walhi traveled from Indonesia's Buyat Bay to Denver to confront Newmont Mining, the gold producer accused of polluting the bay and poisoning villagers. The article explains: “But she doesn't want to meet Newmont executives. She wants to talk directly to Newmont shareholders during the company's annual meeting in downtown Denver today. ‘We feel there won't be any progress if we talk with Newmont in meetings,' the 31-year-old activist said. ‘In previous meetings, they have shown no good will to solve the problem. We want the shareholders to know that Newmont makes profit at the cost of environment and sufferings of communities.'”

More information:

press release police shut us-owned polluting gold mine in indonesia
Nur Hidayati, WALHI, and www.eng.walhi.or.id/kampanye/tambang/buanglimbah/court_nmr/