Indonesian lawsuit against global mining

  Christina Hill [Mining Advocacy Coordinator, Oxfam Australia]: “It has been reported that local communities in the Indonesian province of West Papua have filed a $30 billion lawsuit against the local subsidiary of US mining company Freeport-McRoRan Copper & Gold – operator of the giant Grasberg mine. The company is being sued for environmental and human rights violations. As reported by the JURIST, Freeport has been a frequent target of environmental and human rights groups who allege human rights abuse and environmental damage.

 

Back in 2006, Freeport was excluded from the $300 billion Norwegian Government Pension Fund’s investment portfolio on ethical grounds. Freeport’s mining activities at Grasberg were found [PDF file] to “involve an unacceptable risk of complicity in severe and irreversible damage to the natural environment” while the “company’s practice of riverine [tailings] disposal is in breach of international standards.” Freeport is not the only mining company to be blacklisted by the Pension Fund for causing severe environmental damage due to the practice of dumping mine waste into rivers. Barrick Gold and Rio Tinto – which has a stake in the Grasberg mine – have also been excluded from the Fund’s investment portfolio for this reason.Read More