consider this:Gold mining poses a cumulativethreat to the planet’s people and places at least equal to that of indust ri a llogging, monocultural agribusiness, orthe big dam-building industry.

Gold mining mostly enriches a few corporate executives—already-wealthywhite men in Australia, Canada,America and England—and results inthe production of jewelry.

G O L D comes from the earth and brings with it a series of social and

environmental impacts. Sadly, few people think about the consequences

of their demand for jewelry which drives the demand for new and larger

mines to be developed around the world. We need to educate ourselves

and our friends about this industry, and organize to change it.

Following you will find a packet of factsheets, testimonies and images

to explain how gold from a once—sacred landscape can become a ring on

your finger. You will also find resources to use in developing your own

campaigns around the gold mining industry—explaining the source of the

problem and how you can make a change.

your mission, should you choose to accept it...

Gold mining produces few jobs(those it does provide only last onaverage about eight years) and theholes in the ground left by theindustry leave long-term liabilitiesfor the community.

Gold mining is non-essential: m o r egold lies in the vaults of the USFe d e ral Reserve — s t e a d i ly depreci-ating—than is known to exist inall the mines in the entire UnitedS t ates including A l a s k a . Th edemand for the ye l l ow metal coulde a s i ly be met through recycl i n gand re-use.

In other words, gold production isone of those industries that goodpeople of the world need to orga-nize around, in order to transformit into a more just and sustainablebusiness.

materialsin this pack will

brief you about:

the global gold business

gold reserves and mineworkers

gold consumption

case studies:

western shoshone

ghana

peru

philippines

cyanide

mercury

acid mine drainage

statement of unity

— — — — — —

G O L D

This packet is designed to inform people fightinggold mines in their community about the global con-text of their struggle, as well as to raise awarenessamongst the general public. With those dual purpos -es in mind, please use it as you see fit for your ownorganizing.

Feel free to photocopy any t h i ng inside or to contactus for mo re copies of this mat e r i a l . In the ye a r2000 we hope to have ve rsions of this info r m at i o nin Spanish and Indonesian. It is on our we b s i t e, a swell as ava i l able in text fo r m at by email—pleasehelp us get it out there!

Below, there are names and contact details for someof the many organizations around the world fightingthe gold mining industry. Whether it is the cyanide-based extraction process that most modern minesuse, or the issue of patriarchy in India that drivesmuch of the demand for gold, these people can helpexplain the problem for you.

But while such information is essential to taking onthese issues, it will not make any difference on theground around gold mines unless we all get orga-nized to oppose the industry’s abuses and changethe nature of gold production. What then can we do?

• Take this information and arm yourselves with thearguments necessary to change the culture of con-sumption around gold;

• Pass this packet onto other people so they canbecome informed and engaged in the movementaround gold mining;

• Divest from gold mining companies, and tell themto generate material for jewelry fabrication fromother sources;

• Demand an end to government and multilateralsubsidies, like those of the World Bank, for gold min-ing companies;

• Join in solidarity with communities affected bygold mining, to protest the impacts of toxic open-pitmining on their home, lives, and livelihoods.

• Sign on to the Statement of Unity in this pack.

• Become a supporter of Project Underground, soyou can stay involved with the movement againstgold mining as it moves from the grassroots up.

please get involved

contact informationCOECO (Friends of the Earth-Costa Rica)Paseo Colon, de la Pizza Hut 250 metrosal norteSan Jose, Costa RicaTel: +506 223 3925email: prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr

ISODEC/Third World Network-AfricaPO Box 19452Accra-North, GhanaTel: +233 21 306069email: WAPPIAH@ighmail.com

Western Shoshone Defense Project PO Box 211308Crescent Valley, NV 89821, USATel: +1 775 468 0230email: wsdp@igc.orgwww.alphacdc.com/wsdp

JATAM (Mining Advocacy Network)Jl. Mampang Prapatan II No. 30RT 015/RW04Jakarta 12790--INDONESIATel: +62-(021)-794 1559email: jatam@jakarta.wasantara.net.id

Federation of Rondas Campesinas ofNorthern PeruUrbanizacion El Bosque,Manzana 4, Lote 7Cajamarca, PeruTel: +51 44 826 143email: ferocafe@net.telematic.com.pe

Minewatch Asia/Mining CommunitiesDevelopment Center111 Upper General Luna Rd., AgpaoaCompoundBaguio City 2600, PhilippinesTel: +63 74 443 9459email: bongcorpuz@phil.gn.apc.org

Mineral Policy Center1612 K St., NW, Suite 808Washington, D.C. 20006, USATel: +1 202 887 1872 email: mpc@mineralpolicy.orgwww.mineralpolicy.org

Mineral Policy InstitutePO Box 21Bondi Junction, NSW 1355, AustraliaTel: +61 2 938 5540email: inform@mpi.org.auwww.mpi.org.au

MiningWatch Canada880 Wellington St., suite 508Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7, CanadaTel: +1 613 569 3439email: mwc@magma.ca

GoldBustersPO Box 368Lismore, NSW 2480, AustraliaTel: +61 2 66 218505email: RRosenhek@aol.comwww.forests.org/ric/

Environmental Mining Council of BritishColumbia201--607 Yates St.Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 247Tel: +1 250 384 2686email: emcbc@miningwatch.org

Project Underground1916 MLK Jr. WayBerkeley, CA 94704

Tel: 510.705.8981Fax: 510.705.8983

email: project_underground@moles.orgweb: www.moles.org

Thanks to:

William Appiah

Andrew Burke

Pratap Chatterjee

Catalino Corpuz

Shubada Deshpande

Andrea Gough

Alison Gibbins

Roman Iwaniec

Devan Pillay

John Young

Alan Young

who all contributed to this pack.

The global gold industry today couldlearn a similar lesson. C o m p u t e r - a i d e dm apping tech n o l ogy and new extra c t i o np r o c e s s e s, l i ke cyanide heap - l e a ch i n g ,n ow allow mining companies to extra c tmore than 99% of gold from ore; i n d e e dm u ch of the gold extracted today comesfrom old abandoned mines where min-e rs missed the smaller particles of gold.Companies are also developing tech n o l o-gies to drill under the seabed and eve nto extract gold from seawater itself. B u tas companies rush to touch these previ-o u s ly inaccessible deserts, fo r e s t s,ri ve rs and seas to turn them into gold,they may want to pay heed to the mes-s age from banke rs and consumers : t h ep rice of gold may crash below that ofe x t raction and production costs.

In the meantime, however, gold miningcontinues to destroy our most preciousand sacred resources through the wide-spread cumulative and toxic impacts ofthe industry’s extraction technologies.

Demandfor global gold

production peaked in 1997, then fell11% to 2,555 metric tons the followingyear. Of this peak demand, jewelry con-sumption constituted 78%, up 102%from 1988 demand. The electronicsindustry, meanwhile, accounted for5.6% of total demand in 1997, a 14%increase over 1988 levels. Most of this

surge in demand was met bya 29% increase in productionbetween 1988 and 1997.

The last few ye a rs have seenbig shifts in the value of gold,l a rg e ly due to the metal’sove rabundance and the moveof many countries to sell partof their gold reserve s. Th eg radual commodifi c ation of

gold has led to a fall in pri c e sfrom US$415 per troy ouncein 1996 to US$285 in May1 9 9 9 . This price collap s eseems like it should have beendisastrous for mining compa-

nies whose productioncosts at the time of thefall ave raged US$300

d o l l a rs per ounce in the US,US$358 in Au s t ra l i a , a n dUS$334 in South A f ri c a .H owe ve r, it has not been ani m m e d i ate disaster for them becausem a ny companies sell their gold produc-tion up to three ye a rs in advance ofd e l i ve ry on the marke t . For example,Au s t ra l i a ’s next three ye a rs’ gold pro-duction has already been sold fo r wa r dat prices ab ove US$400 an ounce.

The gold industry has also reactedquickly by cutting costs aggressively.By 1998, global gold production costsfell to an average of US$193/ounce.Average Australian costs fell toUS$204/ounce, South Africa’s toUS$254, and US costs hit US$163.

Who are the followers of KingMidas today? Measured by total

national output ofgold, South Africa’sproduction is thelargest, followed by theUS, Australia, Canada, andChina, respectively. In terms ofcenters for gold exchange and trading,London and Zurich are the capitals.Canadian companies, meanwhile, main-tain the largest share of explorationactivities around the world.

By far the biggest producer of gold isSouth Africa, which at one point

According to Greek mythology, King Midas asked the god Dionysus for the ability to turn

everything he touched into gold. When his wish was granted, he soon discovered that this

power extended to his food, his clothes and even his daughter, who instantly turned into

the shiny metal as soon as he touched her. When the king realized the folly of his greed,

he asked Dionysus to reverse his wish.

Global Goldthe Midas Curse

current gold production

modern midas

men

global gold

(1971) produced over 79% of theworld’s gold output, according to theSouth African Chamber of Commerce.South Africa has produced over a thirdof the estimated 125,000 metric tonsof global gold production in history,though at steep environmental andsocial costs. Today, the country stillproduces a fifth of global gold, and washost to six of the ten biggest goldmines in 1996.

Elsewhere on the globe, London stillcommands the largest share of bulliontrading, a position it has held since theLondon Bullion Market Association(LBMA) started in 1848. The LBMAstill sets the prices for gold (in US$ pertroy ounce), in accordance with globalmarket fluxes. In addition to theLBMA, however, London is also the cen-ter for the global gold deposit market,which provides an international bench-mark for the pricing of gold loans,deposits, swaps and forward positions.

Zurich, Switzerland isthe other center for thephysical trading of gold,because of the country’sliberal banking laws andthe fact that gold salesin Switzerland do notattract taxation. Also keyare the country’s fourlarge gold refinerieswhich together refine

approximately 60% of current annualglobal production7. As it stands, refin-ing is an elite business: the LBMA onlyaccepts gold bars from 56 refinersaround the world, for whom the qualityrequirements are strict.

Finally, there is Canada, the leadingsource of capital for mineral explo-ration. Canadian companies that investdirectly in foreign mining projects,incurring exploration and developmentexpenses can often deduct 100% ofthese expenses from their taxableincome. In 1996 alone, almost US$6 bil-lion was raised in Canada for miningaround the globe, the most financing ofany country in the world. Mining com-panies in the Vancouver StockExchange alone raised a record US$1billion in equity, mainly for explorationin 1996. Canadian companies haveinterests in 3,400 mineral propertieslocated in 100 foreign countries, withnine out of ten of these interests at theexploration stage.

If there is a continentwhose lands have been cursed by the

Midas touch, it is Africa. Some 60% ofall private investment in Africa is inmining. In some countries, like Zambia,90% is in mining. In 1996, the largerCanadian mining companies doubledtheir 1995 budgets to spend US$75 mil-lion on exploration in Africa. Mining inAfrica has also grown through theWorld Bank and the InternationalFinance Corporation, whose loans in1997 totaled US$21.4 and US$383 mil-lion, respectively. Furthermore, theMultilateral Investment GuaranteeAgency of the World Bank (MIGA) hasnominated mining as its second largestfocus in Africa, writing US$19.85 mil-lion in guarantees in the sector.

Althoughspending on global

gold exploration has more thandoubled since 1992, the recent drop ingold prices has caused these invest-ments to drop significantly in the lastyear. In their latest report, theCanadian consult group MEG (MetalsEconomics Group) estimates that the1998 total expenditures in gold explo-ration dropped 10% from the previousyear. Part of the reason for the drop inexploration dollars is the fact that thebig boys in the gold industry financetheir exploration activities through for-ward sales of gold. As forward priceshave fallen with current prices, thesource of gold exploration funds is alsodrying up. The mining industry is slow-ly learning the lesson that all that glit-ters is not necessarily profitable, letalone gold.

a legacy ofexploitation

explorationexplosion

For thousands of years, gold has been the standard of value; a base against which to measure

currency. But as the end of the millennium nears, gold may finally be becoming just another

commodity. For nearly two decades, the metal’s price has fallen steadily. In real terms, gold is

now worth about one-quarter what it was when its price peaked in 1980, and about the same as it

was worth in 1973. There are two major reasons for this decline: 1) gold is not particularly

scarce—nearly all the gold ever mined is still available for use and only 10% of the annual demand

for gold is for industrial purposes; and 2) no major nation now ties the value of its currency to

gold, and it has been against International Monetary Fund (IMF) rules to do so since 1978.

who makes a living?gold hoards vs. hard work

money to store, and since the early1980s, has performed miserably incomparison to other investments.According to a recent report by theLehman Brothers investment firm, aninvestment in gold made 10 years agohas lost 30% of its value, while aninvestment in long-term governmentbonds has more than doubled, and aninvestment in U.S. stocks has tripled.According to Andy Smith, an economistat Union Bank of Switzerland, theSwiss could earn over US$450 a yearper household if it were to invest itsgold holdings in foreign-governmentbonds. Smith has also estimated that ifall nations’ gold reserves were switchedinto such bonds, they would earnalmost US$20 billion a year.

On May 7, 1999, the United Kingdomsent the gold markets reeling by

announcing that it planned to sell 415tons of the metal, two-thirds of its hold-ings. Rather than assailing the move,the Financial Times registered surprisethat the UK did not choose to sell all ofits reserves, calling gold a “lousyinvestment.”

The UK is not the fi rst major industri a lc o u n t ry to sell gold in recent ye a rs. Th eN e t h e rl a n d s, B e l g i u m , C a n a d a ,A rg e n t i n a , and Au s t ralia have all solds i g n i ficant portions of their reserve s. I nfa c t , according to the IMF, c e n t ra l - b a n kholdings of gold have been in slowd e cline since 1965. The 1997 Au s t ra l i a nand Canadian sales, with Au s t ra l i aunloading two-thirds of its reserve s,were particularly surprising to the goldm a rke t s, since the two countries aremajor gold producers.

Even more surprisingly,Switzerland recently amend-ed its constitution to makeit possible to sell some of itsgold. The Swiss hold 2,590tons of the metal, the third-largest national reserve ofgold in the world. Swiss citi-zens may vote in the year2000 to sell more than halfof the country’s reserves, asan expert panel recom-mended in late 1997. TheLehman Brothers reportrecently stated that “thisproposal, by itself, has per-manently changed thedynamics of the gold mar-

ket.” Many observers believe that if theSwiss abandon gold, what remains ofthe rest of the world will be quick tofollow. But how would that affect thosewho work for the mining industry?

Recent announcements by 15 Europeanc o u n t ries to limit gold sales for a fe wye a rs have caused a spike in gold pri c e s.H owe ve r, e ven with these countries act-ing like a cartel to protect the interestsof gold mining companies, the long-termtrend is for more sales of bullion.

The enormous hoards of gold amassedby governments under the gold stan-dard now lie in storage, gathering dust.All told, governments, the IMF, andother international institutions holdmore than 30,000 tons of gold; at leasta quarter of all the metal aboveground. Those holdings are equivalentto about 13 years of world mine pro-duction. Another 10 years of mine pro-duction sits in bars and coins in thehoards of private investors, and anoth-er 25 years worth in jewelry.

Until recently, g overnments have most-ly continued to prop up the price of

gold by sitting on their enormous hold-i n g s. But as the price of the metald e cl i n e s, c e n t ral banke rs appear to berethinking their at t i t u d e. The centra lbanks of seve ral major industrial coun-t ries have sold, or are planning to sell,s i g n i ficant portions of their gold reserve s.

The economic arguments for sellinggold are powerful: Gold holders incur ahuge opportunity cost—what theymight have earned had they put theirmoney into other investments. Also,gold yields little or no interest, costs

the move to sell

central-bank sales

who makes a killing?

— — —

South A f rica is still the largest goldmining country. But the industry is

ve ry different there to the cya n i d e - b a s e dopen-pit processes dominating other coun-t ries’ gold mining sectors. In South A f ri c a ,gold mining is ve ry labor intensive andrequires sending men down shafts 4 milesdeep in the earth. H i s t o ri c a l ly, one wo rke rhas died for eve ry ton of gold produced inSouth A f ri c a .

Gold’s contribution to the South Africaneconomy underlies the historical andsocial fabric of the nation, and is keyin understanding South Africa’s eco-nomic strength as compared with therest of Africa. Should the price of goldcontinue to decline, South Africa will beseriously affected. Gold mining is thelargest sector in the country’s miningindustry: in 1997, gold miningemployed 343,922 employees, out of atotal of 551,677 mining employees.

South Africa holds the largest identifiedresources of gold ore and, in spite ofrecent declines in production, in 1997was responsible for almost a fifth of

world production. In 1997, its identifiedgold resources amounted to 40,154tons, which was 39.1% of total globalidentified gold resources. This figurewas followed by the U.S. at 9.3%,Canada at 7.2%, and Australia at 6.3%.

The big question for South A f rica is howwill the decision of central banks to selltheir reserves affect wo rke rs? A c c o r d i n gto Devan Pillay, the Head of Research fo rSouth A f ri c a ’s National Union ofM i n e wo rke rs, it is estimated that fo re ve ry minewo rke r, there are about ten toe l e ven people who depend on the wo rk-e r ’s wag e. The loss, t h e n , of ap p r ox i m at e-ly 84,000 gold minewo rke rs duri n g1997-1998 affected just under a millionp e o p l e, most of whom reside in rura la r e a s. While some of these wo rke rs actu-a l ly were cut as a result of declining goldp ri c e s, the South A f rican National Unionof Minewo rke rs discovered that thei n d u s t ry was also using the gold price asan excuse to lay off wo rke rs and therebyincrease its profi t ab i l i t y.

Studies by the South African GoldCrisis Committee have shown that mostretrenched mineworkers remain unem-ployed in the generally depressed min-ing towns. Some openly admit that theyengage in criminal activities in order tofeed their families, while others spendtheir retrenchment packages and mea-ger pensions to supplement the insub-stantial living that can be made out ofsubsistence farming.

If the price of gold continues to decline,tens of thousands of South Africanswill become unemployed and destitute.Gold mining companies that have prof-ited from the back-breaking labor ofthese workers need to be held account-able for their retraining. In the globalcontext, the industry must create justtransitions for communities dependenton gold mines if they go bust.

It is impossible to know whether anyof the specific central bank gold sales

n ow being considered will hap p e n , o rw h e n . Just the perception, h owe ve r, t h atc e n t ral banke rs might be willing to liqui-d ate a significant share of their holdingscould be enough to keep the price of goldfrom ri s i n g.S u ch a percep-tion is like ly,g i ven seve ra lrecent deve l o p m e n t s :

• Industrial countries have traditionallyheld a third or more of their interna-tional reserves in gold. However, thenew European Central Bank (ECB), theissuer of the Euro, will only hold 15%of its reserves in gold, even though theECB’s member countries now holdabout 12,000 tons of gold.

• Central banks have tra d i t i o n a l lyv i e wed gold reserves as ‘underva l u e da s s e t s,’ - assets to be held, not managed -listing them on their books at nominalp rices far below market rat e s. One indi-c ation that this view is changing is theg r owing practice of listing gold reserve sat or near market rat e s. The value of

assets priced at market rates is tra cke don a regular basis, making them muchmore like ly to be managed for perfo r-m a n c e. When a large piece of a country ’sassets is seen to be performing poorly,the incentive grows to swap it for inve s t-ments that yield greater returns. F u r t h e r

gold sales will be the death ofm a ny mines.

The greatest my s-t e ry in the gold mar-

kets is whether theUnited States is seri o u s ly consideri n gselling any of its reserves of gold,w h i ch at over eight thousand tons is thewo rl d ’s larg e s t . The country has notsold any of its reserves since the mid-1 9 7 0 s. One indication that the subject ison the table came in 1997, when theFe d e ral Reserve Board published a dis-cussion paper that concluded that theU. S. g overnment would be better off if itsold its gold immediat e ly. The paper alsoc o n cluded that the U. S. e c o n o my as awhole would benefit from such a sale,because it is economically inefficient tocontinue to mine gold when ab ove -ground sources are ava i l abl e.

implications for mineworkers:a look at South Africa

the bottom line:the price of gold

In contrast to projections made by the South African Department of Minerals andEnergy most evidence suggests it is extremely likely that the price of gold will

remain low. Low gold prices have already forced the closure of many high-costmines. According to Lehman Brothers, the average cash cost of production for thegold-mining industry was about US$262 per ounce a year ago; recent mine closureshave brought the figure down to US$200. Such figures imply an extraordinarily lowreturn on equity for gold-mining firms, and make it likely that new mining projectswill find it extraordinarily difficult to attract capital.

There is an intriguing precedent for the transformation of a metal from currency tocommodity. Silver was once a monetary metal, until, in the 1870s, gold replaced itas the standard of value. The price of silver plunged, and took over 90 years torecover, as excessive above-ground stocks of the metal were depleted. Given thatgold has considerably less industrial use than silver, and the large amount of goldalready in circulation, its price might take even longer to recover. As LehmanBrothers observes, few investors are likely to be that patient.

the q u e s t i o n of central-bank

reserves

gold consuption

India is unique among these marketsbecause gold is deeply woven into thesocial, cultural, and religious traditionsand psyches of its peoples.

On her wedding day, a typical middleclass bride wears nearly 32 ounces ofgold—a metal considered pure andsacred.

The importance of gold is deeplyembedded within the family structure,particularly for women, through its roleas marriage dowry, and as a means topass family wealth along maternallines. This social importance, along withIndia’s recent surges in prosperityacross all class lines accounts for thisunusually high demand for gold.

The US’s similar, though less intrinsic,attitudes toward gold’s value and pres-tige, coupled with its leading prosperityin the world account for its gold con-sumption. The US demand for gold rosea record 28% in the first quarter of1999, as compared to the same periodin 1998. The vast majority (82.4%) ofthe gold consumed in the US ends up asjewelry. Most of the remaining amount

is being con-sumed byinvestmentdemand forbullion coins,driven byY2K fears and wor-ries over stock marketdeclines.

In terms of vo l u m e, gold jewe l ry mar-kets in the US are dominated bydepartment stores (i.e. K - m a r t , Wa l -m a r t , M a c y ’s ) , discount chains (i.e.C o s t c o, Fe d e rated Merch a n d i s i n g ) , a n delectronic market retailers (i.e. Q V C,Home Shopping Channel). These outletsm ove ap p r ox i m at e ly 70%. The remain-ing portion is sold through high-endr e t a i l e rs (i.e. Neiman Marcus,Ti ffa ny ’s) and small, independent out-l e t s. People spending US$200-$300, a

“ s m a l l - t o - l a rge pur-chase” as cl a s s i fi e d

by the industry, c o n-sume the majority of

gold in the US. In terms ofm o n e y, h owe ve r, the high-

end markets control thel a rgest proportion of total

spending on jewe l ry. In 1998, t h i stotal reached US$40 billion, w i t h

the high-end markets bringing inUS$23 billion of that .

Americans purchase gold for the samereasons as people in other parts of theworld—its value, more or less, as a sta-tus symbol. Gold is a means, particular-ly among women, for exhibiting wealth,often regardless of one’s actual finan-cial background. In a random survey of1000 consumers, the Taylor NelsonSofres Intersearch research firm found

that more than a third of the partici-pants had purchased gold jewelry inthe final quarter of 1998. Womenbetween the ages of 18 and 45 account-ed for most of the purchases.

Although buying gold may be legitimat-ed by its social significance around theworld, its use has consequences farbeyond raising one’s status or increas-ing family wealth. The ongoing con-sumption of gold also legitimates thelarge-scale mining industry’s furtherexploitation of the resource. The indus-try’s mining processes are notoriousfor violently uprooting and destroyingthe spiritual, cultural, political, social,and economic lives of the people whoseland is being mined, not to mention thedevastation of entire ecosystems inthese areas.

C l e a rly, the past, p r e s e n t , and futuredestruction created by gold mining is notworth the value generated from sales.H owe ve r, until this message reaches andis understood by the consumers of gold,mining industries will continue to calcu-l ate the equation diffe r e n t ly.

Jewelry is consistently the primary consumer of annual gold production. For example, in 1997,

it accounted for 78% of the demand for gold, typical of any given year. The demand for gold

jewelry, however, is not homogenous across the world; some countries and cultures place more

value upon it than others do. According to the World Gold Council, worldwide gold demand is

broken down into twelve ‘key’ markets. The largest key market consumer of gold is India at 815

metric tons in 1998, followed by the US at 428.4 metric tons.

Gold Consumptionwho’s who in gold consumption

A m e ricans purchased 428.4 metric tonsof gold in 1998—an 18% increase ove r1 9 9 7 , and the highest increase eve r.

In 1999, US gold consumption isexpected to increase at least 6% over1998 figures.

Although American women between 18-45 purchase the largest volume of jew-elry, consumers between 45-54 spendthe most money on jewelry.

In fiscal year 1998-1999, India spentUS$7 billion to import gold, the secondlargest import next to oil.

It is estimated that India’s unofficialstock of gold, tucked away in privatehands such as households, amounts to10,000 tons, or about US$132.75 bil-lion worth of gold.

Indians also use gold as religious offer-ings: in the year 1997-1998, 70lbs ofprimary gold, 414lbs of gold orna-ments, 15lbs of gold articles, 79lbs ofgold jewelry, 372lbs of gold on copper,and 4.4lbs of gold studded with dia-monds were offered to the Gods .

Of the 2,712 metric tons of gold con-sumed in the key world markets in1998, 80% ended up as jewelry.

Platinum jewelry sales have experi-enced unusually high increases overthe past two years—50% in 1998, and30% in 1999.

In contrast to increased consumption,in inflation-adjusted dollars gold haslost 83% of its value since its 1981price peak.

Project Underground does not seek to blameIndian women for the problems emanatingfrom gold mines around the world, when wepoint out that they constitute the largest blockof gold jewelry consumers. On the contrary, wework in solidarity with Indian women’s organi-zations who are fighting the dowry system.

The pressure to own a dowry of gold—and thesocial reality that one has no rights to anyother forms of security—perpetuates thisoppresive tradition. This IS the golden rod. Asorganizers working around the gold industry,our twin goals should be to redress the abusesof mining for communities living in mineralproducing areas, and to challenge the Indianpatriarchy which forces women to hold gold astheir only fallback in times of scarcity.

Indian women andactivists fighting thed ow ry system withwhom we wo rk haveensured us that theyneed to know about thed a n g e rs invo l ved in thechain of production withw h i ch they are invo l ve d .As we l l , the fact thatthere are substitutes o u r c e s, as re-use andr e c ycling options withinthe gold economy, o ffe rus the chance to tra n s-form the gold economywithout indulging ins t i g m at i z at i o n .

However, as long as there is pressure on thesewomen to hold gold in India, it can be derivedfrom non-virgin production. Mining the vaultsof the so-called "developed world" is a muchmore viable source of gold than the social andenvironmental devastation entailed in mining.Bullion in the bank vaults of a dozen countriescould feed the demand even for India's marketfor years to come.

As for changing market demands, which drivethe opening of new holes in the ground, it isnotable that the United States has the fastestgrowing market share. It is clearly the respon-sibility of consumers there not to create newpressure for mines at the expense of peopleand places across the planet. Organizations inthe North are beginning to advocate "just andsustainable" gold production options, such asre-use or fabrication from small-scale, non-toxic mining operations.

The movement has a long-way to develop toensure the kind of certifi c ation and suretyt h at the ra i n forest movement has ach i e ve din terms of "good wo o d " . H owe ve r, some ofthe market-based incentives for clean andgreen production which have been mar-shalled to stop old-growth industrial logg i n gm ay inform the movement to change the waygold is produced, when it must be. For themost part, reduction in consumption is thefastest route to reducing the dri ve fo rdestruction on the ground.

consumption tidbitsopposing patriarchy

vs. blaming the victima note about indian women

realities

Gold mining today is happening ri g h tat my front door. I sit up in my bed-

room in the morning and the fi rst thingI see through the trees is drill ri g s. I t ’snot a pretty sight. I look at them asd e ath to my people—death to myb e l i e f s. The earth is sacred. The wat e ris sacred. The air is sacred. Gold miningis destroying these things. I t ’s wa s t i n gmillions of gallons of wat e r. Some com-panies put it in ponds. Some justrelease it down the Humboldt Rive r, a n dit leaves the valleys fo r e ve r. In ponds,m aybe there’s a possibility that thewater might eve n t u a l ly find its way

b a ck to where it came from.But I don’t see too much

of that .

They are not mining really heavy con-centrated gold—it’s a microscopic goldwhich you can’t see with your normaleyes. They cyanide leach it. It takestons of ore to get an ounce of gold.What the hell is gold? They tell me,gold goes into your computers, goldgoes into the telephone system, gold isa good conductor of electricity—theyuse it for space flights, and that’s fine!But they tell me that 80% of the goldthat’s extracted from these mines goesinto jewelry. I can’t see destroying theland, and especially destroying thewater, for jewelry. The water will nevergrow back. You can’t grow water.

We look at the land as sacred. We don’tlook at it in the same way that non-Indian societies look at it. To traditionalIndians, you can’t destroy land, because

land is what gives you life. You maynot be destroying your life, but there’sinterconnection between all life. In ourtraditional way, that our people havetold us, the water in the earth’s body islike the blood in your veins. It’s a lifesystem within the earth. And they’retaking that out. What’s going to happenthen? Do you know? Nobody knows!The mining company says, if contami-nation takes place under the earth, “Wewill mitigate it.” How the hell are yougoing to mitigate something that’s hap-pening underground where you can’tsee? How do you mitigate life?

I look at this dewatering as genocide—as the final, complete genocide. Goldmining is killing my way of life. It’skilling my spirituality, because my spir-ituality is on the land. It’s tied to theearth, to the air and to the water.When you lose your spirituality, whenyou lose your culture, who are you any-way? You don’t know who you are!You’re turned into nothingness. Nowyou’ve become one of, maybe, the“Human Resources”. You go out thereand slave for others and they give youa little bit of money and you thinkyou’re rich. Rich in what? Rich inmaterial things? That’s not life! You’velost everything else! You’re no longerthe spiritual person you used to be.

The mining company has offe r e dto buy us out. Th at ’s not going toh ap p e n , not in my walking life t i m e.I have no right to sell this earth. I tbelongs to the children—to life otherthan my s e l f. The Western Shoshone

h ave never given our land to the UnitedS t at e s. I t ’s still Western Shoshone land.Th at ’s why we have a resistance camp,because we want others to look at whathas happened to our people. A lot ofpeople don’t know. They think Indiansc ry around because we want gove r n-ment aid. Th at ’s not what we wa n t .The land is ours—let us take care of thethings we’re supposed to do.

I see men developing land all over inNevada. They have no consideration ofthe migrating paths of the differentanimals, of the waterfowl. The onlything they have a consideration for ishow much money those gold miningcompanies are going to bring—theydon’t think about what they’ll leavebehind. The state of Nevada, whoclaims to own the water, never deniesthe mining companies water rights, nomatter how many millions of gallonsthey pump. I don’t know where theirminds are at. They’re certainly notspeaking for a people that plan to livethe rest of their lives here, or for thefuture generations, because when thefuture comes there’s going to be nowater. The city of Reno and the city ofLas Vegas, they’ve been fighting to getthe water rights to the aquifer upnorth in our area. People are alreadystruggling for water.

Carrie Dann is a Western Shoshone elder. The Western Shoshone’s traditional

territory covers much of Nevada, and stretches into Idaho and California. It

is known to them as Newe Sogobia—the Earth Mother. There are currently over

two dozen gold mines on the Western Shoshone’s land in Nevada and they are

pumping precious groundwater at unprecedented rates, destroying habitat and

desecrating traditional sacred sites.

Western Shoshoneopening the earth’s veins By Carrie Dann

Protest over a Canadian company’s drilling on sacred sites in Newe Sogobia.

I think it’s a wake-up call for people tolook at themselves. There are WesternShoshone beliefs we were taught asyoung people, and since we’ve lived inAmerican society we’ve kind of walkedaway from the instructions underwhich we were supposed to live. It’salmost impossible to live that kind oflife now, because everything is tied tothe economics of the United States. Youcan’t practice certain ways, certainthings, because somebody sees us andthey say, “You’re on my land!”

Well so what! When we started ourcamp, the only thing I said was, we aregoing to follow the Creator’s laws. Wewill put those above man’s laws. Man’slaws will come second, and U.S. lawswill come third.

Anger is there—anger is there. At firstyou cry with tears. After that there’sno more tears: our people used to say,“I’m crying with my heart.” Yourbeliefs keep you going. You talk aboutyour relationships, you talk abouttrust, you talk about the naturalthings. My grandmother used to tell us,

“Any time you feel lonely, you got a lotof relatives out there. You got animalsrunning around, you got plant life.Wherever you’re at, if you need to talkto somebody, talk to them.”

I don’t deal in violence. I’ve heard sto-ries about me carrying a gun— it’s socomical, I just have to laugh! In ourways, we pray. That’s how we’ve beenall through U.S. history. They say vio-lence is the way you get things. Butyou don’t get things like that. We knowthe gift of sharing. Our beliefs say youhave to learn to respect other people,other things, other life, as you respectyourself. I think we have the strongestbelief that there is.

I would like people to actually look atthemselves and ask, what are we doingto respect the very earth on which wewalk? We have to get things from theearth, but it has to be moderately.Whatever you do to the earth is what

you’re doing to yourself.

The people in the mining com-p a n i e s, one day they’re goingto get up and go away and

fo rget about it. But what e ver hap p e n shere will affect them too, in time. Th at ’stalking in the Western Shoshone tra d i-tional way of thinking. I asked a guywho wo rks at a mine about ch e m i c a l s — Is a i d , “ Wh at happens to them? He said,“ They dissipat e.” I said, “ Wh at hap p e n swhen they dissipate?” He said, “ They gointo the air. You never see them aga i n .”“ Ye a h ,” I said, “ They’ll come down ons o m e b o d y, s o m e d ay.” I just hope peoplewa ke up and look at what ’s hap p e n i n gto the indigenous populat i o n . Wh at theydo to us is what ’s eve n t u a l ly going toh appen to them.

My grandmother always used to tell us,“Your world’s going to be different.”She told us what we would see. She toldus about all these material things thatwould affect our eyes and minds. I usedto just dread listening to Grandmothertalk about these horrible things. Whenshe did, I’d escape. But Indians do haveprophecies. The earth is going tocleanse herself, somehow, someway. Thesun is getting too hot, and it’s going todestroy life. It’s happened several timesbefore. The prophecies tell you what to

look for. We are really mistreating theearth. We have to say “Yeah, that’shumans, we’re the cause of it all.”

There’s always hope. There will alwaysbe, I think, people on the earth.

In our area the younger generation arelooking at the importance of land. Iwant to see them have clean air, cleanwater, clean land. And a sun that’s niceand warm—not burning. I’d like to seethe future generations have the oppor-tunity to go out and enjoy and look atthe landscape like I did when I wasgrowing up. Freedom—I had freedomfor so long.

My grandmother always told us, youhave to look out for the unborn thataren’t even here yet. Somebody’s got tospeak up for them. The only thing I cando now is do the best I can—talk toother humans and see if they can be ofany assistance to the earth. Becausethat’s what we’re fighting for now, isthe survival of the earth. I can’t see itany other way.

Taken from an interview with Carrie Dann in “On Indian Land” Spring, 1997.

For more information call or email the Western Shoshone Defense Project or Project Undergroundfor a copy of our joint publication, “Digging Holes in the Spirit”

Newe Sogobia - Western Shoshone land

Mining continues to be a key com-ponent of the economies of many

African countries today, and in somecases, constitutes their economic main-stay. The expansion of mining has alsobeen given renewed impetus by theWorld Bank and the IMF in their struc-tural adjustment programs and policiesfor those countries under their tutelage.A further boost to the mining industryhas also been given by the World TradeOrganization (WTO) in its drive to openup the South to multinationals, includ-ing the big mining companies.

Because of globalizat i o n , the agg r e s s i vee x t raction of pri m a ry resources fromour lands and the massive conve rsion ofindigenous lands into mining areas haswo rs e n e d . G l o b a l i z ation and trade libera l-i z ation have pushed A f rican gove r n m e n t sto provide incentives for foreign inve s t-

ment to come in. This means that eve nthe few existing laws in the few coun-t ries that recognize local people’s landrights are being we a kened or repealed.

Gh a n a — h a r dpressed fo r

r e venues andweighed down by debt—has been quiteprepared to respond to this globalizat i o nagenda set by the WTO and other multi-l at e ral ag e n c i e s. In Ghana’s bid to revivem i n i n g , i nvestments have been dereg u l at-e d , imports libera l i z e d , currency controlsh ave been remove d , while in add i-tion to this the direct role of thes t ate in reg u l ating companieshas been dra s t i c a l lyr e d u c e d .

As Ghana is ri ch in mineral resources,more than half of the FDI has tra d i t i o n-a l ly been oriented towards resource-based activities—a much greater deg r e e

than in other deve l o p i n gc o u n t ri e s.

In Ghana, the miningsector, specifically the

mining of gold for export, has receivedrenewed emphasis. As a result of thedesire to attract investment into thissector, new mining codes have beenintroduced, clearly defining the rightsof foreign investors. Ghana permits upto 80% profit repatriation, and has

removed exchange controls, provid-ed tax and other incentives aswell as removing all the obsta-cles in the way of total foreignownership of concerns in thecountry. New policies havealso extensively privatizedstate-owned enterprisesto aid the process.

Attractive incentives include taxbreaks, flexible labor policy, unreg-ulated repatriation of profits andcheap asset transfers. These haveattracted over US$1 billion in invest-ment, including funds from the

World Bank, and have led to a quadru-pling of gold production over the lastsix years.

All these have led to a big increase ine x p l o ration for new deposits and a

substantial increase in inve s t m e n t .C u r r e n t ly, the activity is particularlyh e avy in the Western region of Ghana,e s p e c i a l ly the Wassa Traditional area.E x p l o ration in Wassa Traditional aread o u bled between 1993 and 1997 andnew mines are being opened all the time.

The renewed gold rush in the Wassaarea, especially in and around Tarkwa,has brought intense competitionbetween large and small, often unorga-nized operators. Following the privati-zation of former state owned mines,there were massive lay-offs of mineworkers. Many of these retrenched

The history of mining in Africa, in particular, and the Third World in general,

is a history of land appropriation, displacement of peoples from their lands,

environmental devastation, and further marginalization and oppression of

people belonging to the lower economic sectors of society, and of women. It

is a perfect example of how countries and nations that are endowed with rich

natural resources are left wallowing in poverty and oppression.

Ghanaa brief case study of

Wassa traditional area

By William AppiahISODEC/Third World Network—Africa

incentives for mining companies

wassa traditional area

workers have joined the local small-scale mining force but have very littlefree land to operate on. They haveresorted to operating illegally on theconcessions of large-scale companies.This has brought increasing confronta-tions between the two foes—large andsmall scale mines.

This has renewed struggles in someareas for land rights and compensationfor the use of land. Communities arebrutally evicted and paid a pittance incompensation for their crops and trees,as foreign firms take over previouslygovernment-owned concessions. Thepeople of Atuabo, Mandekrom and SofoMensakrom, were forcefully ejected andtheir houses demolished by armed sol-diers and police. This was in order tocompel them to move into houses builtby a South African mining company,Goldfields Ghana (GFG), to make wayfor surface mining. Over the last fouryears, more than 4,000 residents inthe three farming communities havebeen stopped by the mining companyfrom farming the lands in the areaswhich are said to be concessionsbelonging to the GFG. Villages whichhave protested have been attacked bymine security and state police. Onesuch community is Nkwantakromwhere 52 mine security and 15 police-men demolished an entire village under

the pretext that the settlement is ille-gal. The fact is that the villagers hadcomplained to the company about theirpolluted water source.

The Mpohor traditional Council resolvedto protect their farmlands, at any cost,against any form of encroachment orinvestment activities that could bringhardship and hazards to the people.The local community therefore chasedaway from the farmlands workers ofAnmereosa Exploration Ghana whichhas been granted 32.8 square kms ofland. In a letter to the MineralsCommission signed by the chief of thetraditional area, on November 4th1998, he stated that “my people, Imust say are bent on resisting anyattempt to release the said area to anymining company. We are well awarethat exploration finally leads to mining,hence our early protest.”

In August 1996, all the 42 chiefs of theWassa Fiase traditional area, holdingplacards, held a demonstration inprotest against environmental hazardscreated by mining companies. Thoughthe government set up a ministerialcommittee to investigate and find anamicable solution, nothing has beenheard, three years after the event.

Mining has brought severe pollution towater resources, air and the living

environment with devastatingconsequences. Andyet the laws thatregulateGhana’s min-ing industryfavor profitover healthand environ-

ment, large companies over informaloperators, minerals over food and bio-logical resources. There is hardly anyrole for communities affected by miningoperators to regulate these activities.

Most of the big tra n s n ational miningc o r p o rations are currently heav i lye n gaged in open-pit surface mining, t h ee nvironmental impact of which incl u d e svisual intrusion, solid waste disposal,a e rial pollution, water pollution, n o i s eand vibrat i o n , soil and land deg ra d at i o n .

As technology advances, and the moreaccessible deposits are exploited, min-ing companies are penetrating moreremote areas. These are usuallyremaining forests, watersheds andmountainous regions. To mine theseareas would be to cause more devastat-ing environmental damage. Most ofthese areas are indigenous peoples’lands, recognized or claimed.

Fo r t u n at e ly, the local people and com-munities affected by such mining activi-ties have begun protesting and resist-i n g. Peoples’ orga n i z at i o n s, fa r m e rsg r o u p s, ch i e f s, wo rking class orga n i z a-t i o n s, religious groups and socialactivists have been in the forefront ofthese moves to defend their homes ande nv i r o n m e n t . A va riety of strat eg i e sand tactics, ranging from the legal tothe extra - l ega l , h ave been and are beinge m p l oyed by those affected in theirfight to defend their human ri g h t s.

A forum was held to make the generalpublic aware of the environmentalproblems facing the 25 communitieswhich form the Wassa Fiase Traditionalarea and also to sensitize them to theneed to protect the environment in thewake of numerous surface miningactivities and their disregard for envi-

ronmental laws and human lives. Thisforum led to the formation of WassaAssociation of Communities Affected byMining (WACAM). Some of the objec -tives of WACAM are to help the com-munities to obtain acceptable compen-sation as well as better outcomes inrelocation and resettlement issues per-taining to mining; to raise public aware-ness about the issues of mining, theenvironment and livelihoods.

A new dimension in this struggle hasbeen the effort to “globalize” it bybringing activists from different partsof the world to share experiences andinformation, to compare strategies andto create networks of solidarity. TheAfrican Secretariat of the Third WorldNetwork (TWN) organized a meeting onMining, Environment and Society inAccra, in March 1998. The meeting cul-minated in the formation of the AfricanInitiative on Mining, Environment andSociety (AIMES) which is being coordi-nated by TWN. Among the objectives ofAIMES are to collate and disseminateinformation on mining, environmentand livelihoods in Africa; develop col-laborations among NGOs in the Southand the North for Advocacy at theinternational level; and contribute togenerating greater sensitivity amongauthorities to this common cause.

There is the desire worldwide on thepart of the local communities for moreactive participation in decisions aboutmining and a greater share in its bene-fits. Often, this is absent from discus-sions of the relationship between localpeoples and mining. There is the needfor direct relationship between commu-nities and mining companies and theneed to establish mechanisms for con-sulting the local people regarding thescope of involvement and barriers toparticipation.

realities

My name is Jo s e fina Morales Rodri g u e z * .I live in the town of Azufre Cruspampa—C o m b ayo. I am 54 ye a rs old.

I sold my land in Azufre Cruspampa—Combayo for the mine Macqui Macqui.The first time I sold land, it was at ahundred nuevos soles a hectare in1993, and the second time I sold at twohundred nuevos soles a hectare in1995. In total I sold 318 hectares.

We have not bought other land becausewe could not afford it. Nothing. It wasonly enough to buy things for my chil-dren like clothes—then it ran out andright now we have nothing, not evenour animals, and we are in poverty.There is no more money. We have saidthat we want restitution but they haverefused us. They told us that when we

sold our land they would give us workfor my children but they haven´t. Theengineer Rosa Ordoñes, the engineerJose Chang, and some other peoplewith titles told us. But they don´t giveus work—they refuse—they said theywould give it to us immediately butthey haven´t. I have ten children. Myhusband is sick and can´t work at all.To get money we can only raise lambsand other little animals. We have nowork and neither does my family.

Now I live nearby in Azufre—Combayowith my small child and we are affect-ed by the mine. For example, in thelast few days of September two of myfive sheep died. They died because ofthe contaminated water which is likeacid. The sickness blackened their

intestines and dried their bones. Theywere sick for three weeks.

Now there are no frogs or fish becausethe water is dirty. The mine has saidwe are going to return to our land, buthow can we return if the land has novalue? The animals are sick, and theland is useless.

We have a small spring called LasPerlitas and a canal called Azufre. Thewater in the canal is yellow and dirtyand is reducing in volume. The water ispolluted with toilet paper, tires andplastic bags. This is since they startedthe mine. The water comes from thefoot of the hill Quiguila, from thelagoon there. Now we have to bringwater in buckets from a tiny springthat is far away.

The Federation of Rondas Campesinas of Northern Peru is fighting Latin America’s biggest gold mine,

owned by Denver-based Newmont. The mine covers thousands of hectares and uses cyanide to leach the

gold out of the ore. Thousands of indigenous campesinos are suffering the environmental, social and

cultural impacts of the mine, and are currently fighting its expansion with the excavation of a new

pit, which has been partially funded by the International Finance Corporation (the private sector

lending arm of the World Bank).

Perumodern day conquistadores

*name changed to protect her identity.

When we sold our land we did notknow that they were going to destroy itbecause the engineers did not tell usthat they were going to damage it. Theyonly told us that they were going to getthe dirt deep down, not that they weregoing to move the land. Not that therewere going to be deep holes. Afterwardswe were going to return to our landsbut now our lands are destroyed. Theydid not explain any of this to us.

We were the fi rst that sold land, and sowe did not know about how to get a goodp ri c e. In that way they deceived us. N owwe don´t know how to support ours e l ve sbecause now there is no land onw h i ch to raise animals, to sowcrops and nor is there wo rk , a n dso now we are in pove r t y.

Lack of sediment control,excavationfor roads and construction ofcyanide heap-leach pads and pondshave devastated the environmentaround Latin America’s largest goldmine. Newmont Corporation’sYanacocha mine in contaminatingwater, killing frogs and fish,and dis-placing indigenous people in theprovince of Cajamarca, Peru.

case study

The key to building a sustained people’sopposition in the Philippines has beenactive research work that uncovers and

analyzes the true natureof the mining

issue. Throughthis, wehave foundthat therestructur-

ing of the country’s mining industry isnot divorced from the new initiative oftransnational corporations (TNCs) torecolonize Third World countries underthe theme of globalization.

M a ny groups of Fi l i p i n o s, s u ch as theC o r d i l l e ra Peoples Alliance (CPA ) , u n d e r-took sustained research wo rk , both onpolicy and mining’s impact on the Fi l i p i n op e o p l e, and then launched an educat i o ncampaign on the mining issue. Our cam-paign focused particularly on the contentand implication of the proposed miningcode and ultimat e ly its final fo r m — t h ePhilipppine Mining Act of 1995. I n i t i a l ly,the education campaign began slow ly in1994 and 1995, but it became broad andwide in the aftermath of the Marcopperspill in 1996. Opposition to mining wa sfurther solidified when, b e fore the 1995mining code had been ap p r oved or dis-cussed in local consultat i o n s, mining com-panies had already begun forcing them-s e l ves into people’s terri t o ries to conducte x p l o ration wo rk .

It was correct to say then and even now,t h at the 1995 Philippine Mining Act is asell-out to foreign inve s t o rs. The miningissue is an issue of the Filipino people’scontrol and wise utilization of the coun-t ry ’s mineral wealth and their defense oftheir terri t o ri e s. In add i t i o n , it is an issuet h at concerns respect for the rights ofindigenous peoples.

Throughout the country, people haves o m e w h at successfully opposed thee n t ry of mining companies into theirt e r ri t o ri e s. In the case ofPa n ay Island, for exam-p l e, local oppositionforced the withdrawa lof Minera Mt. I s a .People have alsoresisted mining companies already intheir terri t o ry doing exploration wo rk .In Kasibu tow n , N u e va Vi z c aya , the peo-ple held a referendum where 2,000voted against and only seven favo r e dthe mining operations of A rimco ofClimax Mining Company.

The experience of the indigenous peo-ples in Itogon in their struggle againstBenguet Corporation’s open pit mininghas also been turned into a positiveexample. People from all over the coun-try have come to witness the possiblefuture of their communities, if left tostrip-mining. These visitors also lis-

tened to the experiences of local elderson how they were able to stop BenguetCorporation’s other two open-pit miningprojects, and limit the expansion of itspresent operation.

Today the people’s struggle againstmining has spread to many provincesof the country, giving it a nationalcharacter. Before, many of these strug -gles were fought on a community level.But because of the wide area beingsolicited by mining companies—currentlyone third of the land surface, and the

evolving education campaign, thepeople are developing means ofinter-barangay, inter-municipal orinter-provincial cooperation.

The nature of these people’s strugg l e shas also evo l ved on a militant leve l .I n i t i a l ly, the people’s responseto the 1995 Mining A c tranged from petitions andd e l egations to local gov-ernments units ando ffices of the Departmentof Environment andN at u ral Resources( D E N R ) , to confrontat i o n swith company offi c i a l s.This was particularly themeans of protest from1994 to 1997. N u m e r o u sp r ovincial or regional car-avans were also launch e d

s u ch as those in the Cordillera ,N eg r o s, Pa n ay Islands and Fa rSouth Mindanao.

After ye a rs of protesting andexhausting all legal means, h owe v-e r, the people were pushed toreassess their methods of opposi-t i o n . Some regions openly avowe darmed resistance as a last resort tod e fend their terri t o ri e s. In Ap ri l1 9 9 8 , t ribal leaders and elders in the

C o r d i l l e ra Region fo rged a Unity Pa c t ,w h i ch maintains the use of armed resis-tance as a just means of defending theirt e r ri t o ri e s.

These moves toward militant oppositionh ave escalated recently in two examples.Fi rs t , the Pasaka Lumad Confe d e rat i o nin Southern Mindanao has openly vowe dto wage a rebellion if the Constitution isamended to relax rules on ow n e rship ofland in the country. The second exam-ple is in Zamboanga del Norte, w h e r ethe ongoing Subanen struggle aga i n s tthe exploration wo rk of TVI resulted ina picket on August 30, 1 9 9 9 . Just 8d ays lat e r, on September 6, some 40Subanens were beaten up by suspectedthugs of T V I , d u ring the fo r c i ble disper-sal of the picke t .

the people’s

position

The free flow of capital in the mining industry under global policies of

deregulation, privatization and liberalization has caused major changes in the

Mining Codes of more than 70 Southern countries. This is the result of strong

lobbying by major mining companies, and by the Chamber of Mines of these

countries. In the Philippines, the active intervention of the Chamber of

Mines of the US, the UK and Australia resulted in the enactment of the

Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

Philippinesa case study on mining in the global economy

By Catalino Corpuz,Minewatch Asia/Mining

Communities Development Center

thepeople’s

struggle

Barricade against Benguet Corporation’s open-pit expansion, July 1996,Loakan,Itogon

In the years before the PhilippineMining Act of 1995, the mining

industry was in a defensive position,largely as a result of indigenous strug-gles around the country. Nevertheless,the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 waspassed, giving the industry new life,and inspiring it to regroup around agrand PR initiative.

The first step wasthe formation of theCommittee onEnvironment (COE). This is the activepropagandist institution for thePhilippine mining industry. One way inwhich it fulfills this role is by contact-ing the sponsors of forums where“anti-mining” speakers are invited.They ask to also be included so thatboth views on mining are presented, ashappened during the Seminar onEnvironmental Law in 1997. Membersof the COE came in full force, loadedwith propaganda and video materials.The COE has also joined forces with theMines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB)of the national government, to hold

The Philippine Mining Act of 1995creates a new environment for the

mining industry where foreigninvestors are given bigger equityshares and better fiscal incentives. Thisis one of the pro-for-eign laws that formerPresident Ramospassed and which hissuccessor, PresidentEstrada, pledged to abide with underthe era of globalization.

Just before he left office, PresidentRamos also signed into law theIndigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA).Contrary to the pro-community soundof this policy, the IPRA is actuallybeing used by mining companies to cir-cumvent more difficult routes to accessindigenous lands, because companies donot need the approval of indigenouscultural communities (ICCs).

The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) isanother government policy to attractTNCs. The initial investment in a min-ing project is huge and requires up to 6years of exploration work before amine becomes productive. It is a high-risk investment, especially when anunstable political atmosphere is takeninto account. Thus, the VFA provides apolitical insurance system, by securingthe intervention of foreign troops fromimperialist countries under the guise

of “joint military exercises.”

Estrada’s current effort tochange the country’s

Constitution is the final stept owards making the country

more conducive to foreign investors.Relaxing the constitutional restrictionon foreign ownership of land will enticeforeign mining corporations to intro-duce capital and technology to our min -

ing industry. TheEstrada administra-tion has also placed apro-mining Secretary,Antonio Cerilles, in

the Department of Environment andNational Resources (DENR), in spite ofthe most unprecedented public opposi -tion in the history of the Commissionon Appointments.

Both the National Council ofChurches and the Catholic Bishops

Conference of the Philippines haveissued a strong resolution against thePhilippine Mining Act of 1995.

In a landmark measure, the ProvincialBoard of Capiz declared a 15-yearmoratorium on all large-scale miningactivities and applications in Capiz.

In Au r o ra prov i n c e, the Provincial Boardbanned mining in wat e rshed areas.

In March 1998, Senator Sergio OsmenaIII of the Liberal Party filed a bill call-ing for the repeal of the PhilippineMining Act of 1995.

Ifugao Congressman BenjaminCappleman has introduced House Bill2825, seeking the repeal of the 1995Philippine Mining Act.

On October 12, 1998, Mt. ProvinceCongresswoman Josephine Dominguezexpressed support for the people’sopposition against the entry of large-scale mining ventures in the province.The Mt. Province Provincial Board alsopassed a resolution opposing the entryof mining companies into the wholeprovince.

A long period of research and public education about mining has led to mass mobilization against foreign gold mining companies.March against the Mining Act,Manila Philippines.

seminars and disseminate pamphletson mining. Examples include “AResponse to the Issues RaisedAgainst Mining”, which was distrib-uted at the 1998 National Workshopon Indigenous Peoples.

Fi n a l ly, the COE has relentlessly prop-agated the concept of “sustainabl ed e velopment in the mining industry ”and “socially and env i r o n m e n t a l lyr e s p o n s i ble mining”. With these as a

shield against cri t i c i s m ,the COE has also recent-ly drawn up a Code ofConduct for Philippine

mining companies to sign, in accor-dance with these alleg e d ly env i r o n-m e n t a l ly sustainable concepts.

As it stands, the battle between pro-mining policies and indigenous rightsis at a critical stage. The successes ofthe industry’s propaganda war, cou-pled with the continuing onslaught ofglobalization, makes it difficult forthese communities to maintain theground that they’ve gained. But withincreasing support from networksand other indigenous peoples acrossthe world, there still is hope that themining industry can be held off.

supporters ofthe people’sopposition

government imposition

the propagandaoffensive

Benguet Corporation’s gold mine in the Cordillera,Phillipine

cyanide

The term “cyanide” refers to numer-ous compounds, both natural and

human-made, having the chemicalgroup CN, that is one atom of carbonand one atom of nitrogen. Hydrogencyanide is a colorless gas or liquid witha faint, bitter almond odor. Sodiumcyanide (the processing chemical whichmining companies use) is a colorlesssolid which also has a slight odor ofbitter almonds.

In 1994 there were 36 companies oper-ating 44 hydrogen cyanide productionfacilities with a total production capaci-ty of over one billion kilograms in theUnited States, Western Europe andJapan. DuPont is the dominant worldproducer with about 38% of total capac-ity, either totally or partially owned; noother producer has above a 7% worldcapacity share.

Cyanide combines with up to 97% ofgold, including particles of gold that

are too small to be seen by the nakedeye. This makes ita very efficientprocess chemicalfor the extractionof the metal. Themost popular tech-nology that utilizes this chemical prop-erty, cyanide leaching, has gained wideuse since the 1960s, after it was pro-moted by the United States Bureau ofMines to replace the older mercuryamalgamation processes.

C yanide leaching invo l ves spraying asodium cyanide solution (at 250 to 500

Popular concern over this techniquehas focused on the lethal impact of

cyanide. A teaspoonful of two-percent solution ofcyanide cankill a humanadult. Cyanide blocks the absorption ofoxygen by cells, causing the victim toeffectively “suffocate.” Human expo-sure to high levels of cyanide for ashort period harms the central nervoussystem, respiratory system, and cardio-vascular system. Short-term exposureto high levels of cyanide (110 parts permillion) can cause coma and/or deathwithin 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Cyanide impacts fish at far lower con-centrations. Concentrations as low asfive micrograms per liter have beenfound to inhibit fish reproduction, andadverse impacts have been reported atlevels of ten micrograms per liter. Thistoxicity increases with any reduction indissolved oxygen below 100%, andincreases three-fold with a 12 degreecelsius decrease in temperature.

deadly doses

what the mining companies say . . .

Mining and regulatory documents often state that cyanide in water rapidlybreaks down in the presence of sunlight and oxygen, into largely harm-

less substances such as carbon dioxide and nitrate. They also insist there havebeen no reported cases of human death from cyanide spills. Also scientificstudies show that cyanide swallowed by fish will not “bio-accumulate” whichmeans it does not pose a risk to anyone who eats the fish.

Cyanide is the most popular chemical used by mining corporations to extract

gold from ore, despite the fact that leaks or spills of this chemical are

extremely toxic to fish, plant life and human beings. In recent years

communities in Montana and Turkey have successfully challenged this deadly

practice, setting standards for the rest of the world.

cyanidegold’s killing companion

parts per million) on fi n e ly ground oreor on old waste rock , k n own as tail-

i n g s. The gold forms a wat e r - s o l u-ble chemical compound with the

c yanide called a “pregnant solu-tion” which is then run over activat e dcarbon to extract the gold. The cya n i d ewaste that is left over is supposed to bestored in lined and covered ponds top r e vent contact with local animals andb i r d s. Some companies process the orein vats allowing the cyanide to be recy-cl e d . Most operations store the wa s t ec yanide in ponds with plastic liners thatbreak easily, a l l owing the solution toc o n t a m i n ate the ground wat e r.

poison-based

mining

Cyanide leach pad and ponds at the Yanacocha mine in Cajarmarca, Peru.

Although cyanide solution eventuallybreaks down in the presence of

sunlight and air at pH neutral condi-tions, it will not do so when it seepsunderground, under cloudy or rainyconditions such as are seen in tropicalcountries, or during winter in coldcountries when lakes or streams mayhave snow and ice cover and tempera-tures are reduced. If the cyanide solu-tion is slightly acidic, it can turn intocyanide gas, which is extremely toxic.Furthermore, if the solution is alkalinethe cyanide does not break down.

Robert Moran, a geochemical expert,has found cyanide-contaminated sedi-ments at a cobalt-nickel mine inMissouri that contained many mil-ligrams per kilogram of total cyanidemore than 25 years after all processinghad ceased. Samples of bricks, concrete,plaster and mortar from buildings atthe Auschwitz-Birkenau concentrationcamps collected about 45 years afterall use of cyanide ceased still showeddetectable concentrations of cyanide.

Furthermore, even in perfect condi-tions, not all of the cyanide used inmineral processing breaks down quick-

ly into largely harmless substances.Many of the breakdown compounds,are still toxic to aquatic organisms, andmay persist in the environment for sig-nificant periods of time. Some of thesetoxic breakdown forms include the freecyanides, metal-cyanide complexes,organic-cyanide compounds, cyanogenchloride, cyanates, thiocyanates, chlo-ramines, and ammonia.

Of these, cyanate is the main form ofcyanide resulting from most cyanidedecomposition processes employed atmineral extraction sites. Cyanate maypersist in water for significant, butundefined periods of time. Ammonia,another breakdown product, is consid-ered to be about as toxic to fish ascyanide. Some data indicate that thecombined effect of ammonia andcyanide is greater than would beassumed on the basis of their individ-ual toxicities. Thiocyanates cause “sud-den death syndrome” in trout, partlyas a response to stress, and because,unlike free cyanides, thiocyanate isaccumulated. Other breakdown chemi-cals like cyanogen chloride may bemore toxic to fish than free cyanides.

The current United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency

(EPA) water quality criterion forcyanide, set in 1986, is 5.2 microgramsper liter (g/L) for freshwater aquaticlife, and 1.0 (g/L for marine aquaticlife andwildlife. Yet nocriteria exist for other toxic cyanide-related compounds, including cyanate,thiocyanate, cyanogen chloride and themetal-cyanide complexes.

Cyanide levels in the workplace areregulated by the United States

Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA). OSHA has alegally enforceable exposure limit of 5milligrams of cyanide per cubic centime-ter of air (mg/cm3) for cyanide and 11mg/cm3 (or 10 ppm) hydrogen cyanide

in air for an 8-hourworkday, 40-hour work-

week. The United States NationalInstitute for Occupational Safety andHealth (NIOSH), however, recommendsthat employee exposure to hydrogencyanide and cyanide salts should not bemore than 5 mg/m3 in air for a 10-minute sampling period.

Cyanide and heavy metal leaks from theSummitville gold mine killed all aquatic lifealong a 27 kilometer stretch of the Alamosariver in the San Juan mountains of southwest-ern Colorado by the time the mine was shutdown in December 1992. The total clean-upcosts have exceeded US$150 million.

Over 11,000 fish were killed along an 80 kilometer stretch of the Lynches River by acyanide spill from the Brewer gold mine inSouth Carolina in 1992.

Ten miners were killed when a disused slime damat the Harmony mine in South Africa, operated byRandgold, burst its banks and buried a housingcomplex in cyanide-laced mud in Feburary 1994.

More than 3.2 billion litres of cyanide-laden tailings were releasedinto Essequibo river in Guyana when a dam collapsed at the Omai

gold mine in August 1995. Studies by the Pan American HealthOrganization have shown that all aquatic life in the four kilometer

long creek that runs from the mine to the Essequibo has been killed.

Failure of a leach pad structure at the Gold Quarry mine in Nevada releasedabout a million liters of cyanide-laden wastes into two creeks in 1997.

On May 29, 1998 six to seven tons ofcyanide-laden tailings spilled into WhitewoodCreek in the Black Hills of South Dakota fromthe Homestake Mine, resulting in a substan-tial fish kill.

On May 20,1998, a truck transporting cyanide to the Kumtor mine inKyrgyzstan plunged off a bridge spilling 1762 kilograms of sodium cyanide

into local surface waters. Local people have reported at least four deathsthat they claim resulted from the spill. Hundreds of people also checked into

local hospitals complaining of health problems following the spill.

A History Of Accidents

. . . and what mining companies don’t tell you

The community of Bergama, Turkey, was the first to win a legal ban on cyanide. InMay 1997 the highest Turkish administrative court overturned approval given bythe Department of Environment for a proposed gold mining project after a rally by10,000 local people with 1,000 tractors occupied the mine site. The judgement wasbased on the TurkishConstitution and itsguarantee of ahealthy and intact environment. The court found that a cyanide-based mining tech-nology was at odds with these constitutional rights.

And vo t e rs in the north-western U. S. s t ate of Montana ap p r oved a ballot measure onN ovember 3, 1998 banning the use of cyanide to extract gold. The community decidedto take this initiat i ve after ye a rs of suffe ring dozens of toxic leaks from local mines.For example, the indigenous Assiniboine and Gros Ventre peoples had to battle fo rye a rs in court to force Pega s u s, a Canadian gold mining company, to clean up cya n i d ewaste on the Fort Belknap reservation in the Little Rocky Mountains of Montana.Although the community won the lawsuit in 1996 the company declared bankruptcythe fo l l owing year thwarting clean-up effo r t s. In October 1999, the Montana SupremeCourt ruled against cyanide-based gold mining as a violation of the stat e ’s constitution.

0fficial standards

two communities fight back

Mercury

MercuryMercury: the shiny killer

Small-scale miners use mercurybecause it can dissolve as much as60 percent of gold out of ore intoa physical solution, known asamalgam. This amalgam can bebroken down quickly and easily byburning off the mercury ratherlike the way salt can be recoveredfrom seawater.

This mercury vapor gets trapped inat m o s p h e ric moisture and precipi-t ates down into local water supplieswhere it can poison fish and ani-mals higher up in the food ch a i n .

The California Gold Rush of 1849,left a deadly legacy of an estimat-ed 7,600 tons of mercury in thelakes, rivers, and sediments of thestate. Currently, thousands of tonsof mercury are being dumped bysmall miners in the fragile rain-forests of the Amazon, South-EastAsia, and West Africa.

Just one gram of mercury pouredinto eighty million liters of wat e rwould be cause for concern underUnited States fe d e ral humanhealth standards for dri n k i n gwat e r, as it is enough to con-t a m i n ate a small lake.

The most famous incident of mercurypoisoning is the disaster at

Minamata Bay, Japan, where an esti-mated 1,800 people died between 1940and 1960 from eating fish that werecontaminated by mercury wastedumped in to the local water.

In California, Chinese workers in the1849 Gold Rush who mined mercury inthe San Jose Area frequently died fromcentral nervous system diseases. Eventoday, eating fish from some of the oldgold rush regions in the western UnitedStates, like Clear Lake, California, andCarson River, Nevada, is strictly prohib-ited because of the threat of mercurypoisoning.

I n o rganic mercury, w h i ch is found inn at u r e, and metallic mercury, u s e din bat t e ri e s, t h e r m o m e t e rs, a n ddental amalga m s, are both

p o i s o n o u s. But the most toxic form ism e t hy l ated mercury, w h i ch can be creat-ed when mercury is exposed to decay i n go rganic mat t e r. S u ch matter is oftenfound in tidal marshes or in dam reser-vo i rs, w h i ch has the effect of conve r t i n gthe metal into organic methy l - m e r c u ry.This is a highly like ly scenario dow n-stream of gold mining areas where mer-c u ry is being used.

This

mercury madness

M e r c u r y, a deadly poison, has been used to extract gold for centuries because it ischeap, easy to use, and relatively efficient. Unfortunately, the impact of mercury

also lasts for centuries because it is a persistent toxin, which can destroy fetuses,

the human central nervous system, reproductive organs and the immune system.

monitoring and prevention

The United States Environmental Protection Agency recommends that tests for mer-cury poisoning should be conducted if mercury levels exceed 0.012 parts per bil-

lion (ppb), although the agency will allow levels in water as high as 2 ppb. Streamsnear old mercury mines in Alaska, however, have shown levels as high as 5,000,000ppb!

Another way of measuring toxic exposure to mercury is to test the mercury concen-trations in food like fish. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recom-mends that mercury levels in fish used for human consumption should not exceed 0.5parts per million (ppm). This standard is not considered sufficient for communitiesthat eat large quantities of fish such as indigenous communities in the Amazon or inboreal areas.

The impact of mercury in small-scale gold mining can be reduced significantly byusing a small apparatus to capture the mercury vapor when it is heated off. This con-denses the vapor, allowing it to be recycled. Unfortunately, this method is not verypopular because of mercury’s low cost.

This organic mercury is stored in ani-mal fat and is excreted slowly. Whenanimals consume large quantities ofsmaller prey lower down on the foodchain, the bigger animal accumulates aquantity of mercury that is proportion-al to the amount in the prey. As aresult of this phenomenon, known asbioaccumulation, levels of mercury infish can be one million times higherthan the surrounding waters.

Because organisms (including humans)can ingest mercury more rapidly thantheir bodies can eliminate it, theamount of mercury in their body accu-mulates over time. If, for a period of

time, an organism does not ingest mer-cury, its body burden of mercury willdecline. If, however, an organism con-tinually ingests mercury, its body bur-den can reach toxic levels.

The rate of increase or decline in bodyburden is specific to each orga n i s m . Fo rm i c e, about half the body burden ofm e r c u ry can be eliminated in seven toeight days if no mercury is ingestedd u ring that time. For humans, the ave r-age time for the body to eliminate halfthe body burden is 70 day s, but in cer-tain organs it can take much longer. Fo re x a m p l e, the ave rage half-life of mer-c u ry in the human brain is seven ye a rs.

quick facts about mercury

US EPA maximum permitted: 2.00 parts per billion (ppb)

Level at which mercury has a chronic effect on aquatic life: 0.012 ppb

Half-life in human bodies: ten weeks

Half-life in human brain: seven years

drainage

Acid Mine Drainage:

• devastates fish and aquatic habitat,

• is virtually impossible to reversewith existing technology, and

• once started, costs millions of dollarsannually to treat and can continue forcenturies.

AMD occurs when sulphide-bearingminerals in rock are exposed to air and water, changing the sulphide to sulphuric acid. This acid can dissolveheavy metals found in waste rock andtailings such as lead, zinc, copper,arsenic, selenium, mercury, and cad-mium, into ground and surface water.Certain bacteria, naturally present, cansignificantly increase the rate of thisreaction. AMD and heavy metals pollu-

tion can poison ground and drinkingwater. AMD can destroy aquatic lifeand habitat. Ore bodies commonlymined that pose AMD risk are: gold,silver, copper, iron, zinc, lead (or multi-metal combinations), and coal.

Acid drainage can and does occur natu-rally at specific sites. It happens whensulfide minerals are exposed to weath-ering and react with water and oxygento produce sulfuric acid, which is car-ried away in runoff. This process iscalled acid rock drainage (ARD). Inmining, however, the scale and impactof the acid generation (here usuallycalled acid mine drainage) can bepushed far beyond natural limits.

Acid generation results from exposureto air and water. This means that themore surface area of rock exposed, thegreater the amount of acid. During themining process, hundreds, sometimes

thousands of tons of rock are dug upand crushed each day. The acid thenleaches through the ground and releas-es heavy metals such as lead, zinc, cop-per, arsenic, selenium, mercury andcadmium.

The Equity Silver mine near Houston,will require treatment for AMD for atleast the next 500 years. OnVancouver Island, the Mt. Washingtonmine operated for only three years.However, it has left a deadly legacy ofacid and heavy metals that has virtual-ly eliminated what was a $2 millionannual fishery on the Tsolum River.

Acid mine drainage can develop at sev-eral points throughout the miningprocess: in underground workings, openpit mine faces, waste rock dumps, tail-ings deposits, and ore stockpiles. Acidgeneration can last for decades, cen-turies, or longer, and its impacts cantravel many miles downstream. Roman

mine sites in Great Britain continue togenerate acid drainage 2,000 yearsafter mining ceased.

As concerned individuals committed tothe protection and respect of our natur-al world, we can:

* identify operating or abandoned minesites in our regions,

* learn about how mine sites are beingmonitored, what permits have beenissued, and how citizens are involved indecision making,

* get more information about AMD andother mining issues in our community,and

* insist that prevention of AMD is theo n ly acceptable and responsible strat egy.

Industry, labor, government, and environmentalists agree on one issue:

that Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is the number one environmental problem facing the mining industry.

A.M.D.acid mine drainage

By Environmental MiningCouncil of British Columbia

L i fe, l a n d , clean water and clean air are

more precious than gold. All peoplesdepend on nature for life. The right to lifeis a guaranteed human ri g h t . It is, t h e r e-

fo r e, our responsibility to protect all ofn ature for present and future generat i o n s.

L a rge-scale gold mining violently uproots

and destroys the spiri t u a l , c u l t u ra l , p o l i t i-c a l , social and economic lives of peoples as

well as entire ecosystems. H i s t o ric andcurrent destruction created by gold miningis greater than any value generat e d .

Commercial gold mining projects aremainly on indigenous lands. By violatingtheir land rights mining companies are

denying the right to life of those indige-nous peoples, whose relationship to landis central to their spiritual identity and

survival. We need to support the self-determination of indigenous peoples and

the recovery, demarcation and legalrecognition of campesinos, tribal andindigenous peoples’ lands.

Communities in mining-affected areas,following a democratic and open decision-

making process, have rights to the use,control and management of resources;prior informed consent to any proposalswhich affect their land and/or resources;and to reject any proposal that impactstheir human rights. There must be par -ticipatory processes to build and main-tain sustainable economies at all levelsas an alternative to the current destruc-tive patterns of development, includinggold mining.

Large-scale and small-scale, toxic chemi-cal-dependent gold mining damages land-scapes, habitats, biodiversity, humanhealth and water resources. Water espe-cially is contaminated by cyanide, acidmine drainage, heavy metals and mer-cury from gold mining. Additionally, thehydrologic cycle is changed and watersources are grossly depleted by pumpingwater from aquifers.

Most governments continue to representthe interests of mining corporat i o n sagainst people. They have made laws tot a ke away land and rights from people tofa c i l i t ate gold mining. We need to ach i e ve

s e l f - d e t e r m i n ation and wo rk towards locals e l f - s u fficiency in order to break thechains of dependency on external sources.At a national level we reject the debt-ri d-den economic model of mineral extra c t i o n .

It is the responsibility of governments ofc o u n t ries where the multinational corpora-tions come from to hold them accountabl e,w h e r e ver they operat e, to their domestice nvironmental and social protectionr e q u i r e m e n t s. This is to ensure no doubl es t a n d a r d s. S h a r e h o l d e rs and inve s t o rs ingold mining companies must be heldr e s p o n s i ble for their corporations’ actions.

I n t e r n ational and domestic laws shouldsupport the rights of local communities,t ribal and indigenous peoples and theright of all people to ecological securi t y,not the security of corporat i o n s.O p p r e s s i ve laws and macroeconomic poli-c i e s, s u ch as those pushed by the Wo rl dTrade Orga n i z at i o n , are imposed on peo-ples and places. These influences must ber e s i s t e d , and all laws and policies made inaccordance with customary and humanrights law and the balance of ecosystems.

Given that gold is indestructible, known

reserves could provide for market

demand for the foreseeable future. The

current trend to sell gold reserves by

central banks therefore offers an alter-

native to gold mining to provide for mar-

ket demands, but must be considered

carefully in light of its social and eco-

nomic ramifications. In particular, there

must be just transitions for workers who

lose their jobs and livelihoods whenever

gold mines close. After closure of a mine,

companies have a duty and mandatory

obligation for social, environmental, and

economic rehabilitation of the community

and the miners.

Although some consumers of gold are

victims of social and economic systems,

their consumption drives the develop-

ment of gold mines with all their

negative impacts. Gold-dependent com-

munities must be supported in making a

transition to economically and environ-

mentally sustainable and nondiscrimina-

tory forms of economic activity.

• a moratorium on exploration for gold.

• a ban on new, large-scale and toxic chemical-depen-dent gold mining.

• that where the peoples and/or environment demandscl o s u r e, the mine should be immediat e ly decommissionedin an env i r o n m e n t a l ly and socially responsible manner.

• that gold mining companies set up community-con-trolled funds to pay for the just transitions of wo rke rsr e t r e n ched from the sector; for the creation of healthy,a l t e r n at i ve economies; and to pay for cl e a n - u p, m o n i t o ri n gand remediation of gold mines, long after they are cl o s e d .

• an end to all military, paramilitary and mercenaryactivity used to repress people and secure mining.

• that international financial institutions must not fundnew gold mines or gold mining companies.

• that governments stop their support and subsidies ofgold mining companies.

• sustainable alternatives for communities in place ofgold mining as the primary economic activity.

• that governments must demarcate the lands andrespect the complete territorial rights of campesino,indigenous and tribal peoples.

* that any gold mining that does occur should be man-aged only in the strictest environmentally and socially-safe way, and should not include submarine or riverinetailings disposal nor seabed extraction.

To ensure that these demands are realized, peoples’ orga n i-z ations commit to make a coordinated ap p r o a ch to add r e s sthe environmental and social threats of gold mining.

Unity StatementSan Juan Ridge, California, June 2 - 8, 1999

We demand:

(For more information about the Peoples’ Gold Summit, please con

tact Project Underground, phone 510 705 8981 or email

project_underground@moles.org.)

e, the participants of the Peoples’ Gold Summit,

have concluded that

The participants of the Peoples’ Gold Summit. This was a meeting of 100 people from 21 countri e s, a l lof whom were in some way affected by gold mining. It took place in California from June 2-9, 1 9 9 9 .

This statement represents the fi rst political consensus of communities at the front line of the globalgold mining industry. It is clear in its call for an end to larg e - s c a l e, poison-based tech n o l ogies and thee x p l o i t ation of communities, e nvironments and wo rke rs.

To sign on to the Statement of Unity, please email <project_underg r o u n d @ m o l e s. o rg> or call +1 510 705 8981, or visit our we b s i t e : w w w. m o l e s. o rg.

What’ s the definition of a Gold Mine?

A hole in the ground owned by a Liar

Mark Twain

Project Underground1916a Martin Luther King Jr. WayBerkeley, CA 94704510.705.8981(phone) 510.705.8983 (fax) project_underground@moles.orgwww.moles.org

Over 85% of gold mined

today will end up as jewelry

tomorrow.

Gold mining is not an essential indus-

try like the harvesting of food or even

paper production. It is certainly not sus-

tainable, nor is it just.

Yet the cumulative impacts of gold mining

worldwide, on local economies and ecosystems,

is at least as bad as that of industrial

forestry and agri-business. With more than

66% of all new mining

exploration in the hard-rock sector cur-

rently focused on gold1, the problems

are going to get worse for people

and places around the planet.

Here’s just a sample:

2

Project Underground1916a Martin Luther King Jr. WayBerkeley, CA 94704510.705.8981(phone) 510.705.8983 (fax) project_underground@moles.orgwww.moles.org

3

1genocidegenocide

Every major

gold rush has

meant death and

devastation for local

people at the hands of

fortune-seekers. The Mayans

believed the Conquistadors

ate gold — how else could they

explain their insatiable lust

for it? Californian Indian

nations were decimated; first by

the disease the 49ers brought

with them, and then by the new

Californian state government which

put bounties on the heads of native

people. The new government paid out a

million dollars from its gold

revenues for scalps in 1851 alone.

From the Sioux of the Black Hills, to

the Aborigines around Bendigo in

Australia, the history of gold is

tainted with blood; and today

Amazonian tribes, like the Yanomami

and Macuxi, the Galamsey of West

Africa, and the Igorot of the

Philippines are similarly

endangered.

2water

Damage to water and water resources is

the worst environmental consequence of

gold mining. From California’s Sierra

Nevada in the 1850s to the lands of

the Pemon in Venezuela today, rivers

have been ruined by people panning for

gold, using high pressure hoses to

spray down river banks and sift through

the sediment for gold. The effects flow

downstream, destroying plant and fish

life. But modern mining is even more

destructive of water resources: the

gold industry in Nevada — where most

gold in the US is mined — consumes

more water than all the people in the

state2. The water table has fallen as

much as 1,000 feet around some of the

largest open pit gold mines in north

— eastern Nevada, says the U.S.

Geological Survey. One of the

mines consumes 100 million gal-

lons per day — as much as the

city of Austin, Texas. And

that’s not all: water systems

around mines are contaminated

by cyanide and other process

chemicals, and the acid

mine drainage that runs

off exposed rock3.

4

3w a s t er o c k

waste rock

4c o r p o r a t ew e l f a r e

f r e ea c c e s s

To make a simple gold wedding

band, at least 2.8 tons of earth

are excavated. The gold mining

industry generates an enormous

amount of waste compared to its

product: the 2,402 tons of gold

produced in 1997 resulted in 725

million tons of waste, which was

contaminated with metals, acids,

and solvents, according to

Worldwatch Institute. The standard

ratio of waste production in the

United States gold mining

industry is one to 3 million,

meaning that for every ton of

gold produced there are three

million tons of waste rock.

Most of the unsightly mess

left behind is exposed to

weathering and will

ultimately leach acid and

heavy metals associated

with the gold into the

local area at great

ecological cost.

In many countries,

gold mining companies

are allowed “free

entry” to public lands

— the most incredible

corporate welfare — for

mineral exploitation. In

the US, it’s not entirely

free — but the companies

need only pay $5 an acre to

“patent” a patch of federal

land. This means the title is

transferred to this private

interest and is open to mining,

ignoring any other values whether

these be ecological, recreational

or spiritual. Since 1872 the

government has “sold” land

equivalent in size to the state of

Connecticut, under this law4. This

land contained $245 billion worth of

minerals! Developing countries are

adopting similar land access policies

as well, pushed by corporate advisors:

since 1994, more than 70 countries

have changed their laws to attract

foreign gold mining companies. As a

result the gold mining industry in the

global South is booming: between 1991

and 1997, exploration investments

expanded 6 times in Latin America,

quadrupled in the Pacific region, and

doubled in Africa. Since a new “pro-

development” mining act was adopted in

1995 in the Philippines, over a

quarter of the land surface of the

country has been handed over as

gold mining prospects.

5

h u m a nr i g h t sIn the United States — the

second biggest producer of

gold in the world — more

than 70% of gold is ripped

from native lands. The

Western Shoshone, whose

traditional domain covers

most of Nevada, are the

unhappy hosts to more

than three dozen open-

pit gold mines on their

land, many at least a

mile wide and a mile

deep, with toxic ponds

at the bottom. The

Western Shoshone have

continually been denied

their land and treaty

rights, as the United

States increasingly

allocates Nevada to

multinational mining

companies rather than to

the rightful owners. The

story is repeated around

the globe. In Ghana, in

the mid-1990s, thousands

of traditional farmers were

evicted and replaced for

World Bank-sponsored gold

mining operations covering

hundreds of square kilometers.

It is now estimated that 50% of

gold produced in the next 20

years will come from indigenous

peoples’ lands.

i n d i g e n o u sr i g h t s

5

6

7m e r c u r yp o i s o n i n gmercury

6c y a n i d el e a c hi n g

cyanide

Cyanide is the

chemical-of-choice for

mining companies to extract

gold from crushed ore. Very low-

grade ore, with minimal residues of

gold, is crushed and piled on the

ground, then sprayed with a cyanide

solution. No mine has ever avoided

leaking cyanide-laced water and waste

into the ecosystem. In Kyrgyzstan, a

major cyanide spill in 1998 resulted

in 4 deaths and the evacuations of

thousands of people living downstream

of a Canadian-owned gold mine. At

one U.S. mine, Summitville, taxpayers

have already paid out $100 million

in a few years for the EPA to

simply contain — not clean up —

contamination of local rivers.

Meanwhile, a spill of billions of

gallons of cyanide laced-waste

from the Omai mine in Guyana

caused the death of thousands

of fish and scores of other

animals downstream.

For centuries, mercu-

ry has been used to

chemically separate

gold from ore, leading

to major public health

problems for miners and

communities living around

mineral districts. During

the California Gold Rush,

7,600 tons of mercury were

released into local rivers

and lakes, resulting in

neurological disorders and

deaths amongst people exposed to

this deadly toxin — at that time,

mercury poisoning was known as

“mad

hatter’s disease”. More than 50% of

mercury exposure today in the San

Francisco Bay area is an

historic legacy of the 1849 gold

rush. Furthermore, millions of

small-scale miners use mercury,

from the Amazon5 — where they

have invaded indigenous

reservations — to the

Philippines, resulting in the

worst outbreaks in recent his-

tory of what we now know as

Minamata Disease, and many

other horrors. Of 500,000

“garimpeiros” (gold miners)

tested in Brazil, more than

30% of them showed mercury

levels above the World

Health Organization’s

tolerable limits.

7

9badbet

dud i n v e s t m e n t

8patriarchydowry

According to Merrill

Lynch, gold is “the

duddest of dud investments”6.

Ever since the US dollar was

decoupled from the gold standard,

gold as a commodity has had no

special value, with only 280 tons

going to industrial uses per year,

and yet some people continue to hoard

it. The price of gold has been slowly

dropping and is now well below

the price of its production at many

modern mines, which means companies

mining new or “virgin” gold are a bad

investment. Even the 35,000 tons of

gold bullion held in central banks

have lost 30% of their value over

the last decade — a huge waste of

taxpayer assets.

Most gold is sold as jew-

elry and most of that is

consumed in India. This is

not however a simple tale of

vanity or non-essential,

excessive consumption. The

women who wear it are them-

selves victims of the yellow

metal: it is given as part of

their dowry in wedding ceremonies

and it remains the only form of

wealth most Indian women are

allowed to own and control. The

repression of women in India is

wrapped up in gold. Their emancipa-

tion may be advanced by rejecting the

system of hoarding wealth in the form

of gold jewelry — a phenomenon which has

boomed with the growing disposable income

of the country’s middle-class — and

paying it as a fee to get a

man’s hand in marriage.

8

1 0envi

ronmente c o s y s t e mi m p a c t s

Contamination and waste of

water, destruction of

habitat and biodiversity,

industrialization of

wilderness, roadbuilding,

and the dumping of huge

volumes of waste in mined

areas all negatively

impact the environment

around gold mines.

“Frontier forests” — the

last remaining old growth

stands — are under seige

by gold exploration.

Fisheries suffer from

heavy siltation and toxic

run-off into waterways

from gold mines. Today, all

mines scrape away and dig

up more earth than do the

world’s rivers through

natural erosion! The impact on

wildlife is hard to calculate

but between 1980 and 1990 seven

thousand birds were found dead

near cyanide-laced ponds at gold

mines in California, Nevada and

Arizona alone — the tip of the

iceberg of gold mine — related deaths.

THE SOLUTION

9

STATEMENT OF UNITY

Life, land, clean water and clean air are more pre-cious than gold. All peoples depend on nature forlife. The right to life is a guaranteed human right.It is, therefore, our responsibility to protect all ofnature for present and future generations.

Large-scale gold mining violently uproots anddestroys the spiritual, cultural, political, social andeconomic lives of peoples as well as entire ecosys-tems. Historic and current destruction created bygold mining is greater than any value generated.

Commercial gold mining projects are mainly onindigenous lands. By violating their land rightsmining companies are denying the right to life ofthose indigenous peoples, whose relationship toland is central to their spiritual identity and sur-vival. We need to support the self-determination ofindigenous peoples and the recovery, demarcationand legal recognition of campesinos, tribal andindigenous peoples’ lands.

Communities in mining-affected areas, following ademocratic and open decision-making process,have rights to the use, control and management ofresources; prior informed consent to any proposalswhich affect their land and/or resources; and toreject any proposal that impacts their human rights.There must be participatory processes to build andmaintain sustainable economies at all levels as analternative to the current destructive patterns ofdevelopment, including gold mining.

Large-scale and small-scale, toxic chemical-depend-ent gold mining damages landscapes, habitats, bio-diversity, human health and water resources. Waterespecially is contaminated by cyanide, acid minedrainage, heavy metals and mercury from goldmining. Additionally, the hydrologic cycle ischanged and water sources are grossly depleted bypumping water from aquifers.

Most governments continue to re p resent the inter-ests of mining corporations against people. Theyhave made laws to take away land and rights fro mpeople to facilitate gold mining. We need to achieveself-determination and work towards local self-suff i-ciency in order to break the chains of dependencyon external sources. At a national level we reject thedebt-ridden economic model of mineral extraction.

It is the responsibility of governments of countrieswhere the multinational corporations come from tohold them accountable, wherever they operate, totheir domestic environmental and social protectionrequirements. This is to ensure no double stan-dards. Shareholders and investors in gold miningcompanies must be held responsible for their corpo-rations’ actions.

International and domestic laws should support therights of local communities, tribal and indigenouspeoples and the right of all people to ecologicalsecurity, not the security of corporations.Oppressive laws and macroeconomic policies, suchas those pushed by the World Trade Organization,are imposed on peoples and places. These influ-ences must be resisted, and all laws and policiesmade in accordance with customary and humanrights law and the balance of ecosystems.

Given that gold is indestructible, known re s e r v e scould provide for market demand for the fore s e e a b l ef u t u re. The current trend to sell gold reserves bycentral banks there f o re offers an alternative to goldmining to provide for market demands, but must bec o n s i d e red carefully in light of its social and eco-nomic ramifications. In particular, there must be justtransitions for workers who lose their jobs and liveli-hoods whenever gold mines close. After closure of amine, companies have a duty and mandatory obliga-tion for social, environmental, and economic re h a b i l-itation of the community and the miners.

In June 1999, people affected by gold mining in 21 countries — includingworkers from South Africa and women’s rights activists from India — cametogether to share infromation and strategize around their common cause.This is their consensus.

e, the participants of the Peoples’ Gold Summit, San Juan Ridge, California, June 2 - 8, 1999, have concluded that:W

10

Although some consumers of gold are victims ofsocial and economic systems, their consumptiondrives the development of gold mines with all theirnegative impacts. Gold-dependent communitiesmust be supported in making a transition to eco-nomically and environmentally sustainable andnondiscriminatory forms of economic activity.

We demand:

• a moratorium on exploration for gold.

• a ban on new, large-scale and toxic chemical-dependent gold mining.

• that where the peoples and / or environmentdemands closure, the mine should be immediatelydecommissioned in an environmentally and sociallyresponsible manner.

• that gold mining companies set up community-controlled funds to pay for the just transitions ofworkers retrenched from the sector; for the creationof healthy, alternative economies; and to pay forclean-up, monitoring and remediation of goldmines, long after they are closed.

• an end to all military, paramilitary and mercenaryactivity used to repress people and secure mining.

• that international financial institutions must notfund new gold mines or gold mining companies.

• that governments stop their support and subsi-dies of gold mining companies.

• sustainable alternatives for communities in placeof gold mining as the primary economic activity.

• that governments must demarcate the lands andrespect the complete territorial rights of campesino,indigenous and tribal peoples.

• that any gold mining that does occur should bemanaged only in the strictest environmentally andsocially-safe way, and should not include submarineor riverine tailings disposal nor seabed extraction.

To ensure that these demands are realized, peoples’organizations commit to make a coordinatedapproach to address the environmental and socialthreats of gold mining. (For more information aboutthe Peoples’ Gold Summit or a copy of theProceedings, call Project Underground at 1 510 7058981 or email <project_underground@moles.org>).

For centuries, people have understood that gold mining is a big problem for both land and people.

The good news: there is an answer to the plague ofgold mining sweeping the globe. If people want towear gold, use it to fill cavities, or for micro-circuitryin computers and cell phones, that’s fine — but takeit from recycled sources. We should mine the bankvaults first.

Of the 125,000 tons of gold ever dug out of the gro u n d ,m o re than 35,000 tons of it lies in the vaults of centralreserve banks,at places likeFort Knox. Infact the US Federal Reserve owns 8,145 tons of gold7 —about 6% of all the gold ever mined — and the govern-ment’s own studies show there is a net economic bene-fit in selling some of this stock.

Enough gold for more than 350 years of current, so-called “essential” use lies above the ground in bank

vaults — we can recycle this stock for the few uses forwhich there is no substitute. Otherwise, all that bullionwill keep gathering dust in the bowels of Fort Knox —w h e re it doesn’t even accrue interest — while natural andhuman communities’ homes are dug up for jewelry.

To compoundthis waste, the Fed’s gold reserves havedepreciated by 30% in the last decade. Every marketindication predicts that the decline will continue, withsmart governments around the world selling off theirstock. Our advice: dump gold before it dumps you.Belgium sold a third of its gold in the last two years and

Australia dropped 200 tons onto the market — that’s whythe price per ounce went below US$300. England, sur-prized some in May 1999, but Luxembourg, the CzechRepublic, and A rg e n t i n a8 have all realized how muchthey can benefit from selling gold holdings re c e n t l y.

Switzerland will hold a referendum in the year 2000 onselling two thirds of the national gold reserve.According to the Union Bank of Switzerland8, a muchsmarter investment by the government, such as US

Treasury bonds, could earn the average Swiss household $400 a year, generating major spendingpower and economic benefits throughout Europe.

A downside of the sale of central gold reserves isthat the first mines to close may be those in

South Africa — the last labor-intensive goldmining sector in the world. This will affect

hundreds of thousands of miners directly,and millions more who are dependent on

the cash income these men bring home.The South African gold mines have not

been good to these men — being a pillarof South Africa under apartheid, andthe cause of one death and a dozen

A SOLUTION:MINE THE VAULTS FIRST!

“Notwithstanding the almost inconceivable value attached to these masses of silver andgold, it is probable that they are really of no benefit to the world. They are obtained at theexpense of immense toil, severe privation, and prodigious waste of life. The labor bestowedupon the pursuit of humbler minerals, or even in agriculture, would doubtless have yieldedmore solid advantages to mankind.”

(from “Enterprise, Industry and Art of Man,” Boston, 1848.)

Advice to investors: dump gold before it dumps you.

WORLD GOLD HOLDINGS, END 1997

12

GOVERNMENTAND MULTILATERALINSTITUTIONALHOLDINGS 1965 - 1995

REFERENCES1. Vital Signs 1998, by Lester R. Brown, Michael Renner, Christopher Flavin; published

by Worldwatch Institute, 19982. Billions of gallons of water from gold mines flowing downstream”; Scott Sonner,

Associated Press, 30th March 1999.3. “Golden Dreams, Poisoned Streams”, Mineral Policy Institute,Washington DC, 1997.4. “Mining Industry Subsidies”, Mineral Policy Center Fact Sheet – Mining Law Reform

Series. 5. “After the Gold Rush”, unpublished article by Dominic Hamilton, San Francisco.6. “The Gold Rush in Reverse”, The Spectator of London, Edward H Amory, August

22nd, 1998.7. “Mineral Commodity Summaries”, United States Geological Survey, January 1999.8. Gold as a Reserve Asset, Background Information, World Gold Council website, 1998.9. “Losing the Midas Touch”, The Economist, November 22nd, 1997.

injuries for every ton of gold produced — but they doprovide a source of livelihood.

H o w e v e r, re g a rdless of whether governments of the world choose to dump their stocks of bullion on the openmarket, South Africa’s mines cannot compete withcyanide-based open-pit, capital-intensive operations in therest of the world.The writing is on the wall for these deep-shaft mines. The companies which have profited from oneh u n d red years of back-breaking work in South A f r i c ashould be held responsible for the re-training of minersand the creation of schemes for just transitions of all thosemembers of the community dependent on mining.

13

CONTACT LIST:COECO (Friends of the Earth-Costa Rica)

Paseo Colon, de la Pizza Hut

250 metros al norte

San Jose, Costa Rica

Tel: +506 223 3925

email: prsj2cr@sol.racsa.co.cr

ISODEC/Third World Network-Africa

PO Box 19452

Accra-North, Ghana

Tel: +233 21 306069

email: WAPPIAH@ighmail.com

Western Shoshone Defense Project

PO Box 211308

Crescent Valley, NV 89821, USA

Tel: +1 775 468 0230

email: wsdp@igc.org

www.alphacdc.com/wsdp

Mining Advocacy Network (JATAM)

Jl. Mampang Prapatan II No. 30 RT 015/RW04

Jakarta 12790--Indonesia

Tel: +62-(021)-794 1559

email: jatam@jakarta.wasantara.net.id

Federation of Rondas Campesinas

of Northern Peru

Urbanizacion El Bosque,

Manzana 4, Lote 7

Cajamarca, Peru

Tel: +51 44 826 143

email: ferocafe@net.telematic.com.pe

Minewatch Asia/Mining Communities

Development Center

111 Upper General Luna Rd., Agpaoa Compound

Baguio City 2600, Philippines

Tel: +63 74 443 9459

email: bongcorpuz@phil.gn.apc.org

Mineral Policy Center

1612 K St., NW, Suite 808

Washington, D.C. 20006, USA

Tel: +1 202 887 1872

email: mpc@mineralpolicy.org

www.mineralpolicy.org

Mineral Policy Institute

PO Box 21

Bondi Junction, NSW 1355, Australia

Tel: +61 2 938 5540

email: inform@mpi.org.au

www.mpi.org.au

MiningWatch Canada

880 Wellington St., suite 508

Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7, Canada

Tel: +1 613 569 3439

email: mwc@magma.ca

GoldBusters

PO Box 368

Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia

Tel: +61 2 66 218505

email: RRosenhek@aol.com

www.forests.org/ric/

Environmental Mining Council

of British Columbia

201--607 Yates St.

Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 247

Tel: +1 250 384 2686

email: emcbc@miningwatch.org

Project Underground

1916A MLK Jr Way,

Berkeley CA 94704 USA

Tel: +1 510 705 8981

email: shanna@moles.org