Mining matters - Friends of the Earth Netherlands
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Mining matters Unacceptable metal mining in developing countries and the responsibilities of companies in the Netherlands Friends of the Earth Netherlands
Credits
Research: Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie)
Text: Albert ten Kate
Editing: Iris Maher
Production: Joukje Kolff
Design: Ruparo, Amsterdam
© Milieudefensie - Friends of the Earth Netherlands, May 2009
Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie)
Office: Nieuwe Looiersstraat 31, 1017 VA Amsterdam
Post: P O Box 19199, 1000 GD Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Phone: (00 31) (0) 20 5507 300
Email: service@milieudefensie.nl
Website: www.milieudefensie.nl
Special thanks to:
Anne van Schaik (Friends of the Earth Netherlands, FoE NL)
Anne-Sophie Simpere (Les Amis de la Terre, FoE France)
Carina Tertsakian (Global Witness)
Esther de Haan (SOMO/makeITfair)
Jan Willem van Gelder (Profundo)
Päivi Pöyhönen (Finnwatch/makeITfair)
Coca-Cola: Robert Seegers (public affairs & communications manager Netherlands)
Corus: Eric van der Oest (manager public affairs Netherlands)
Corus: René Boulonois (manager sustainable development Netherlands)
Draka: Annette Schermer (manager safety, health and environment)
Draka: Martin de Koning (director corporate communications) Photo cover:
Heineken: Hans Kroes (manager safety, health and environment Netherlands) Miners extracting tin
Philips: Jan Roodenburg (senior vice president supply, development and sustainability) ore from the Bisie
mine in the Democratic
Republic of Congo
This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the
European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsi- © J o h a n S pa n n e r /
bility of Milieudefensie and can under no circumstances be regarded as H o l l a n ds e H o o g t e ,
reflecting the position of the European Union. No v e m b e r 2 0 0 8 .
Contents
Executive summary 4
Conclusion and recommendations 7
1. Trade links from the Netherlands to mining in developing countries 9
1.1 Tin 9
1.2 Bauxite 12
1.3 Copper 14
2. Review of mining practices in developing countries 16
2.1 Tin: Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia and Burma 16
2.2 Bauxite: Jamaica and Guinea 24
2.3 Copper: Chile, Peru, Zambia and Indonesia 29
3. Companies reviewed 37
3.1 Methodology of the review 37
3.2 Cookson / Alpha-Fry Technologies 37
3.3 Corus 39
3.4 Aluminium smelters Aldel and Zalco 41
3.5 Draka 42
3.6 Philips 43
3.7 Heineken 45
3.8 Coca-Cola 47
4. Dutch government policy on supply chain responsibility 48
5. Preliminary research on the use of copper and tin resources 51
Annexes:
A: Abbreviations 56
B: Questionnaires sent to the companies 57
Executive summary
• The Netherlands is a large importer of copper, fuel a terrible war that has already gone on for
aluminium and tin from developing countries ten years. Working conditions in the mines are
• Mining causes major environmental and human extremely poor. Furthermore, tin mining poses
rights violations in developing countries an immense threat to the survival of the eastern
• Dutch companies import and/or use met- lowland gorilla, which is hunted for food by min-
als, but leave problems for planet and people ers and traded by rebels.
unsolved Due to the enormous oppression of Burma’s
• The metals mined are used in cars, electronics, people, the EU has put trade sanctions in force
housing and packaging materials against the military junta, including tin.
Nonetheless, raw tin materials mined from
In this report, mining practices in ten develop- the DRC and to a lesser extent in Burma still
ing countries are reviewed with regard to labour arrive in the Netherlands through Asian smelt-
rights, human rights and the environment. The ers, such as tin from the company Thaisarco
mining products examined are tin, bauxite and in Thailand (supplying 7 per cent of Dutch
copper, metals which have major trade links with imports) which contains tin mined in eastern
companies in the Netherlands. Various compa- Congo.
nies in the Netherlands import and/or use met-
als. This report reviews the supply chain respon- In the Netherlands, the companies Alpha-Fry
sibility towards mining practices in developing Technologies (producer of solder and subsidi-
countries of seven companies in the Nether- ary of the UK-based Cookson group) and Corus
lands. (producer of tinplate and subsidiary of Indian
Tata Steel) are the largest importers of tin.
Tin: mining practices and trade links
Most of the tin imported for further processing Bauxite: mining practices and trade links
in the Netherlands can be linked to serious envi- Alumina is the mineral made from mined baux-
ronmental, labour rights and human rights con- ite; in smelters it is turned into aluminium.
cerns in developing countries. Tin is used mainly Jamaica accounts for 60 to 70 per cent of annual
for solder in electronic products and tinplate (to alumina imports by Dutch aluminium smelt-
make cans). ers. Bauxite mining is the single largest cause of
Tin mining in Indonesia – number one deforestation in Jamaica. The mining industry
exporter of tin to the Netherlands – only takes has stripped thousands of hectares of forest and
place on and off the shores of Bangka island, has caused even larger destruction by creat-
east of Sumatra. The mining damages coral ing access roads into forests, making the forests
reefs; seriously affects fishermen’s income; has accessible to loggers.
created hundreds of toxic craters on the island; Air pollution from the chimneys of the four
causes abrasion of the coastline; and does not bauxite processing plants (mainly particulate
provide a sustainable livelihood for the people matter and sulphur dioxide emissions) cause seri-
on the island. ous health problems, like respiratory diseases,
In Bolivia, which also supplies tin to the Neth- in the communities living nearby. Community
erlands, thousands of children work in under- health risks due to air pollution have been badly
ground tin, zinc and silver mines. According to monitored and as yet no investigation has been
the International Labour Organization (ILO) this carried out. Dust resulting from bauxite mining,
is one of the worst forms of child labour. bauxite processing and port activities is also a
Tin imports to the Netherlands may also origi- big nuisance for people.
nate from the eastern part of the Democratic A matter of great concern are the red mud
Republic of Congo (DRC), where miners are lakes of waste covering hundreds hectares near
subject to oppression by rebel groups and gov- the four bauxite processing plants in Jamaica.
ernment army factions. Revenues from mining The lakes consist of metals, water and alkaline
4
substances. Releases of water from red mud minium smelters Zalco and Aldel
lakes can seriously contaminate ground and sur- • Draka: third-biggest copper cable producer in
face waters. Europe
Most of the bauxite mining in Guinea (Africa), • Philips: user of tin in its electronic and lighting
which is also an indirect bauxite supplier to the products
Netherlands, takes place in tropical rainforests. • Heineken: producer of beer packed in tinplate
The area is one of the world’s most biologically cans
rich, yet seriously threatened, ecosystems. • Coca-Cola: producer of non-alcoholic bever-
The Dutch aluminium smelters Zalco (Zee- ages packed in tinplate cans
land Aluminium Company) and Aldel (Aluminium
Delfzijl) are both owned by the UK-based Klesch Results of the review
& Company. Together they account for all annual Cookson, the aluminium smelters, Draka and
alumina imports into the Netherlands. Corus use massive amounts of mining products.
Moving further down the supply chain, Philips,
Copper: mining practices and trade links Heineken and Coca-Cola use considerably fewer
Most of the copper and copper products mining products themselves, as the mining prod-
imported by the Netherlands probably have ucts used to make their products are spread
their origin in Chile. In this country, the biggest throughout multiple companies.
problems of copper mining are related to the Most companies acknowledged they have
massive amounts of water and energy needed to not yet mapped out the supply chain of their
produce copper concentrates. Often the use of mining products nor have they identified prob-
water for copper mining conflicts with the needs lems related to the environment, human rights
of farmers. Water shortage is a major issue in and labour rights. This means that the compa-
Chile, as well as in Peru, which also exports cop- nies are purchasing metals without being aware
per to the Netherlands. of the consequences of the mining practices.
In Chile, there are plans to build huge hydro- Reporting to the public about their trade
power dams in Patagonia, in the south of the relationships with specific mining practices is
country, to supply energy to the mining industry. not common yet among the seven companies
These dams will flood thousands of hectares of reviewed. In fact, not a single annual report or
native forest in a pristine area. CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) report was
Indonesia contains the biggest and most found including any information on the mining
polluting copper mine in the world: the Gras- practices or the origins of the tin, bauxite and
berg copper and goldmine in West Papua. copper used by these companies.
Massive toxic releases from the mine flow into The situation in the eastern part of the Dem-
natural river systems. The main mining compa- ocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is probably the
ny is Freeport McMoRan, which has also been best known case triggering responsibility among
accused of illegal payments to members of the companies for mining practices. Corus and
Indonesian military. Philips have acted on the DRC issue. Both com-
In Zambia, environmental practices and work- panies now demand that their suppliers exclude
ing conditions in the copper mines are poor. raw tin materials from the DRC from their prod-
The Dutch cable producer Draka is probably ucts. While seeming sincere in their intentions,
the biggest Dutch importer of copper. The com- neither company could guarantee that suppliers
pany accounts for more than 7 per cent of cop- fulfil this demand as no monitoring is carried out.
per imports by the Netherlands. Both companies state they are looking forward
to a broader industry response to the situation in
The seven companies reviewed the DRC.
For this report, seven companies in the Nether- Meanwhile, the biggest importer of tin into
lands were reviewed. The seven companies are the Netherlands, Cookson/Alpha-Fry Technolo-
among the biggest Dutch companies involved in gies, showed no interested in communicating
the supply chain for tin, bauxite and copper. The about the origins of its tin purchases and its
reviewed companies, located in the Netherlands, efforts – if any – to improve mining practices.
are: Though their global tin use may somewhat
• Cookson/Alpha-Fry Technologies: solder manu- less than that of Philips, it is remarkable that
facturer for the electronics industry Heineken and Coca-Cola have no supply chain
• Corus: big producer of tinplate for can makers policy in place regarding their global use of tin
• Klesch & Company: owner of the Dutch alu- for cans.
5
Of all the reviewed companies, Philips had
the best general policy on supply chain responsi-
bility.
Dutch government policy
The Dutch government has several initiatives to
promote supply chain responsibility among com-
panies with regard to the environment, human
rights and labour rights:
• Reporting on corporate social responsibility
(CSR) by companies will be further encouraged
and stricter reporting requirements will be
introduced. This is an initiative, supported by
the government, of the major employers’ asso-
ciations and trade unions in the Netherlands.
• The Dutch government has a procurement
policy stating that in 2010 all purchases of the
state government must be sustainable.
• As an addition to several existing market initia-
tives, the government and several stakehold-
ers have started the Dutch Sustainable Trade
Initiative (IDH), aiming to bring stakeholders
together to work on CSR problems related
to the trade in commodity products such as
timber and other forest products, soy, natural
stone products, cocoa and tea.
• Currently, the government has started research
and discussions with experts and stakeholders
on better options to hold companies liable for
abuses in the CSR chain within their sphere of
influence.
While the government initiatives may be mov-
ing in the right direction, Friends of the Earth
Netherlands thinks the present policies are not
likely to help reduce the severe social and envi-
ronmental problems related to the mining of tin,
bauxite and copper imported into the Nether-
lands.
Preliminary research on resource use
Although it may not be the case for copper in
the immediate future, tin mining resources are
definitely running out. Governments will have to
adopt policies to reduce global metal scarcity.
Preliminary research on resource use for cop-
per and tin shows that the recycling rates of tin
(around 27 per cent) and copper (around 67 per
cent) leave much room for improvement. For
both copper and tin, future resources will be
more difficult to extract, and at higher environ-
mental costs.
6
Conclusion and recommendations
Conclusion ing by companies on environmental, human
rights and labour rights, including criteria for
This report shows that there are huge problems reporting on mining products.
with regard to mining in developing countries, • Freedom of information. In specific cases,
including loss of livelihood and health risks to mandatory reports will always be too general.
communities; devastation of rich ecosystems; When a specific problem exists (environment,
poor working conditions of miners; child labour; human rights and labour rights), there is always
fuelling war and oppression. valuable information which only the company
possesses. At present, companies have the
Several large Dutch companies which import and ability to withhold information that might be
process tin, bauxite and copper are linked with valuable to solve the problem. The govern-
these problems through their supply chain. How- ment has poor mechanisms in place to make
ever, these companies do not yet appear to feel a company comply with specific requests by
a strong responsibility for the mining practices stakeholders. The government should construct
occurring upstream in their supply chains. better regulations for this purpose.
• Resource use. The government should set
This situation is not unique to the tin, aluminium policy goals to reduce the use of metals with
or copper sector. The mining practices and the depleting resources, in order to ensure com-
trade links of tin, bauxite and copper with the ing generations will also be able to utilise their
Netherlands should be seen as a model of the useful applications. There are also many pos-
entire mining sector and their Dutch buyers. Vari- sibilities to create a bigger market for our own
ous other Dutch companies source other mining recycling deposits.
products in large quantities, in which the mining • Chain initiatives. Governments should pay far
process causes huge problems in developing more attention to the severe CSR problems of
countries. mining and trade links. Mining appears to be
an overlooked problem. Governments could
So far, the government has not focused on the set up chain initiatives within host and mining
mining sector at all. Friends of the Earth Neth- countries, with all stakeholders involved. The
erlands strongly appeals to the Dutch govern- government could also address the severe CSR
ment to turn its attention to the severe problems problems in the mining sector through their
in the mining sector which are related to Dutch procurement policy.
companies, and also to develop a policy on the • Liability. It is necessary to legally anchor mini-
use of scarce metals. mum requirements for supply chain responsibil-
ity in order to be able to tackle abuses and free
riders (supply chain liability). It must be made
Recommendations possible to take legal action against companies
in their homelands if they are involved in main-
For governments taining illegal and/or unacceptable practices
• Transparency. Governments should ensure in their supply chains. The Dutch government
that companies report publicly on the supply must work to achieve regulations on supply
chain of their mining products. The reporting chain liability, in the Netherlands and in the EU.
should include: the origin of the mining prod-
ucts; existing environmental, human rights and For companies
labour rights problems; the company’s efforts Companies which use considerable amounts of
to reduce and end the problems. Because mining products in their final products should
experience shows that a lot of companies do take responsibility for the total supply chain
not provide this information voluntarily, the with regard to the environment, human rights
government should institute mandatory report- and labour rights. In order to make this happen,
7
companies should do the following:
• map out the supply chain for their mining
products from the mine level and identify prob-
lems with the environment, human rights and
labour rights along the supply chain.
• take active steps to prevent, reduce or end the
problems by exerting influence on suppliers
• report publicly about their involvement in min-
ing throughout the supply chain, existing prob-
lems, and efforts towards improving the envi-
ronment, human rights and labour rights along
the mining product chain.
8
Chapter 1
Trade links from the Netherlands
to mining in developing countries
This chapter maps the 1.1 Tin
Netherlands’ trade links to the Tin: the metal
mining of tin, bauxite and cop- Tin is a silvery-white metal; its elemental symbol
is Sn. It is obtained chiefly from the grey mineral
per in developing countries. cassiterite (tin ore). Tin ore is transformed into tin-
This was done with the help of in-concentrate in processing plants, and smelters
then heat the tin-in-concentrate to become pure
import statistics from Statistics refined tin. The London Metal Exchange (LME)
Netherlands, US Geological and Kuala Lumpur Tin Market (KLTM) are the key
centres of the worldwide refined tin trade.
Survey global mining statistics
and additional information. Major mining countries
The major tin mining countries are China and
Indonesia, in 2007 accounting for 41 per cent
Printed wire
board
F li ckr / B e ll m a r k
9
and 31 per cent of tin mining production respec- of tin to prevent rust, is second largest use for
tively. Peru, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of tin. Tinplate is primarily used for the packaging
Congo, and Brazil followed, accounting respec- of products, principally food cans, beverage cans
tively for 12, 5, 4 and 3 per cent. In 2007 mining and pet foods.5 Globally, tinplate accounts for 16
production totalled 329,000 tonnes.1 In the last per cent of tin usage.
ten years, tin mining production has increased by
50 per cent.2 Tin imports to the Netherlands
In 2008, the Netherlands imported 14,000
Large tin belts have been found in Asia and tonnes of tin, worth 180 million euros. More than
South America. The biggest starts on the island 30 per cent of exports to the Netherlands come
of Tasmania, off the coast of Australia, and runs from countries that do not mine tin themselves,
up through Indonesia and Malaysia, Singapore but re-export it to the Netherlands, usually after
and further through Burma and Vietnam up to some processing operations.
the outer reaches of China and Russia.3 Tin is For this report it is assumed that Indone-
also found in some African countries, notably the sia imports a bigger percentage of tin than
Democratic Republic of Congo. is accounted for by the Dutch statistics listed
below. This is due to the fact that Indonesia is a
Tin in products main exporter and a main producer of tin.
Tin is the main substance used in solder, a metal China is also a big producer of tin, but not a
alloy used to join the edges or surfaces of two big trader. China’ tin exports have declined over
pieces of metal. In 2007 solder accounted for 53 the years, due to China’s massive demand in its
per cent of global tin use. More than 80 per cent own domestic industries (especially electron-
is used in the electronics industry, for example in ics) and a 10 per cent export duty on refined tin
printed wired boards.4 In the past few years, tin imposed by the Chinese government.6
use as solder has increased rapidly, due to the
growing global electronics industry and regula- The Netherlands’ trade links with the
tions requiring replacement of lead in solder. Democratic Republic Congo
Solder can be found in many products: cars, tel- About 4 per cent of global raw tin materials are
evisions, computers, mobile phones, household mined in the eastern part of Democratic Repub-
appliances, etc. lic of Congo (DRC). The Netherlands’ import
Tinplate, sheet steel covered with a thin layer statistics do not list any imports from the DRC.
But some Dutch imports might nevertheless
Imports of tin and tin alloys to the Netherlands in 20087 originate from the DRC, as most tin ore from the
DRC is known to be exported to Asian smelters.
Country tonnes per cent
Dutch import statistics only list imports of refined
Indonesia 4,136 29 tin after smelting. The tin smelting companies
Thaisarco Smelting and Refining Corporation
Peru 1,875 13 and Malaysia Smelting Corporation Berhad have
both indicated that they buy cassiterite from
United Kingdom (re-export) 1,133 8 the DRC.8 In December 2008, a United Nations
Group of Experts working on behalf on the Secu-
China 1,065 8
rity Council reported it had obtained documents
Bolivia 949 7 showing that an exporter had sold all its mineral
purchases to Thaisarco. The exporter knowingly
Thailand (re-export) 895 6 bought the tin ore from mines in South Kivu con-
trolled by the FDLR rebel group.9
Germany (re-export) 891 6
The Thai company Thaisarco exports a great deal
Singapore (re-export) 682 5
of refined tin to the Netherlands that is likely to
Malaysia (re-export) 633 5 have been mined in the DRC. The company is
part of the UK-based Amalgamated Metal Cor-
Brazil 612 4 poration group. In Thailand little tin mining takes
place and raw material imports from Indone-
Other 1,206 9 sia, common in earlier years, have decreased.10
The Thaisarco tin smelter in Phuket – the only
Total 14.077 100
tin smelter in the country – produced 22,000
10Thaisarco share in Dutch imports of refined tin, period 2004-200813
Sold by Thaisarco to the Tin imports by the
Year Thaisarco share
Netherlands (tonnes) Netherlands (tonnes)
2004 534 9,131 6%
2005 1,272 11,274 11%
2006 1,165 16,049 7%
2007 339 11,318 3%
2008 895 14,077 6%
Total 2004-2008 4,205 61,849 7%
tonnes of refined tin in 2008.11 It therefore must
rely heavily on the import of tin concentrates,
including from the DRC. Thaisarco annually buys
30,000 tonnes of this raw material.12 The table
above charts Thaisarco’s trade link with the
Netherlands. In the period 2004-2008 Thaisarco
accounted for about 7 per cent of imports of tin
by the Netherlands.
Companies and countries reviewed for
this report
The companies Cookson/Alpha-Fry Technolo-
gies and Corus were reviewed for this report.
These companies are the largest importers of tin
into the Netherlands. Alpha-Fry Technologies in
Naarden (a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Cook-
son group) produces solder. Alpha-Fry accounts
for 15 to 20 per cent of the European solder
market. It can thus be assumed that the compa-
ny bought around 3,500 tonnes of refined tin in
2007 (for the calculation, see endnote).14
Corus Packaging Plus in IJmuiden (a 100 per
cent subsidiary of Tata Steel) has one of the larg-
est European plants producing tinplate for the
can-making industry. The company buys about
3,000 tonnes of tin annually. In 2008, 30 per
cent of its tin originated from recycling sources;
in 2009 the percentage has risen to 65 per cent
according to the company.15
In addition to Cookson and Corus, down-
stream users (users which are further down in the
supply chain) of tin Philips, Heineken and Coca-
Cola were reviewed for this report.
For this report the following mining coun-
tries were reviewed: Indonesia, the Democratic
Republic of Congo, Bolivia and Burma. Togeth-
er these countries are estimated to account for
more than half of the imports of tin to the Neth-
erlands.
11tonnes in 2008, worth 206 million euros. In 2008
1.2 Bauxite as well as in previous years, Jamaica and Spain
were the main exporters of alumina to the Neth-
Bauxite: aluminium ore erlands.
Bauxite, which looks like gravel, is the most
important ore for aluminium extraction. Alumina
(also known as aluminium oxide) is made from Percentage of Dutch imports alumina
bauxite in a refinery. Alumina is converted into originating from Jamaica and Spain in the
aluminium in smelters. On average, two kilo- period 2004-200822
grams of alumina can be made from four kilo-
grams of bauxite, which in turn can be smelted Year Jamaica Spain
into 1 kilogram of aluminium.16
2004 70% 16%
Main production countries
2005 61% 31%
In 2008, bauxite was mainly mined in Australia
(31 per cent), followed by China (16 per cent), 2006 65% 25%
Brazil (12 per cent), India (10 per cent), Guinea (9
per cent) and Jamaica (7 per cent).17 2007 58% 32%
Main bauxite areas 2008 65% 22%
The following map shows where most bauxite is
found in the earth’s crust.18
Globally, in 2008, aluminium was mainly smelt- Spain
ed in China (34 per cent), followed by Rus- Spain does not itself mine bauxite, but it does
sia (11 per cent), Canada (8 per cent), United have a huge refinery that processes bauxite into
States (7 per cent), Australia (5 per cent) and alumina, the San Ciprián facility, with a produc-
Brazil (4 per cent).19 tion capacity of 1.5 million tonnes of alumina
per year. The bauxite arrives at San Ciprián har-
Aluminium in products bour from the Alcoa mines in Conakry, Guinea,
In addition to cars, trains, planes and other and Brazil.23 The plant is owned by the Ameri-
means of transport (25 per cent of all alumini- can aluminium giant Alcoa and is the only plant
um use), aluminium is widely used in construc- producing alumina in Spain. In 2005 and 2006,
tion (18 per cent), for beverage cans and other Spain accounted for about 10 per cent of Guin-
packaging materials (18 per cent), in electrical ea’s export revenues. Bauxite mining and alu-
equipment and machinery (14 per cent) and for mina production provide about 80 per cent of
various consumer products (6 per cent).20 Guinea’s foreign revenues.24 For this report, it is
assumed that most of the bauxite that arrives at
Alumina imports to the Netherlands the San Ciprián facility originates from Guinea.
Dutch imports of alumina totalled 685,000
Companies and countries reviewed for
this report
Imports of alumina to the Netherlands in Nearly 700,000 tonnes of alumina reach the
200821 Dutch harbours of Flushing and Delfzijl each
year. The Zalco and Aldel aluminium smelting
Country tonnes per cent companies were reviewed for this report, both
of which are owned by the UK-based Klesch &
Jamaica 447,588 65
Company. These countries mine most of the
Spain 142,448 22 bauxite that is eventually imported into the
Netherlands as alumina.
Surinam 42,274 6 The Zeeland Aluminium Company (Zalco),
located near the harbour of Flushing in the
Ireland 35,797 5 south-east of the Netherlands, produces more
than 300,000 tonnes of aluminium annually, aug-
Other 16,580 3
mented partially with recycled aluminium.
Total 684,687 100 Aluminium Delfzijl (Aldel), located near the
harbour of Delfzijl in the north-west of the Neth-
12© R i c a r d o S t u c k e r t/PR , A pr il 2 0 0 6
President Luiz
erlands, annually produces over 115,000 tonnes Inácio Lula
of new (or primary) aluminium. Re-melting da Silva of
production waste and scrap produces another Brazil visits
an aluminium
50,000 tonnes. Can-users Heineken and Coca-
plant in Brazil
Cola were also reviewed for this report.
The mining countries Jamaica and Guinea
were reviewed for this report. In these countries
most of the bauxite is mined that eventually is
imported into the Netherlands as alumina.
13per.30 A great deal of heating equipment uses
1.3 Copper copper components. Copper is also used for
roofs and cladding.
Copper: the metal • Industrial use: surface and underground
Copper is a chemical element with the sym- cables, ships, rail, aircraft, plants, machinery,
bol Cu (Latin: cuprum), known for its excellent ammunition, etc.
electrical conductivity. Copper is mined in large, • Electrical and electronic equipment: This
open-pit or underground mines.25 includes everything with a pin contact or bat-
teries. The list of products is endless: micro-
Main mining countries waves, televisions, computers, vacuum clean-
Chile is by far the leading copper mining coun- ers, refrigerators, mobile phones, wires for
try. In 2007 the country mined 36 per cent of the lighting, etc. Copper is used in cables, wiring,
world’s copper, followed by Peru (8 per cent), motors, circuit boards, etc.31 Consumer elec-
United States (8 per cent), China (including Mon- tronics like DVD players and audio equipment
golia, 7 per cent), Australia (6 per cent), Indone- have on average 400 grams of copper con-
sia (5 per cent) and Zambia (4 per cent).26 tent.32
Over the past five decades, the volume of • Vehicles. On average, a car contains 20 kg of
copper mined globally has increased by an aver- copper (electronic devices, radiator, motor,
age of 2.6 per cent annually.27 In 2007, 15 million brakes, etc.)33
tonnes of copper was mined globally; in the year
1900 the total was less than 0.5 million tonnes.28 Copper imports to the Netherlands
In 2007, the Netherlands imported almost
Copper in products 300,000 tonnes of copper, copper alloys and
Average residents of wealthy nations require copper objects with a total worth of 1.5 billion
about 200 kg of copper per person to fulfil their euros (copper waste trade excluded). Almost
needs.29 Copper is used in four main sectors: 40 per cent of copper imported into the Neth-
• Housing and other buildings. These are sup- erlands came from Chile. Chile mainly exports
plied with copper wires and cables in the elec- refined copper.
tricity and phone network. In the Netherlands, A large portion of Dutch imports originate
Copper pipe
stocks
90 per cent of water pipes are made from cop- from countries like Germany, Belgium and the
F li ckr / P ul p o l ux, O ct ob e r 2 00 8
14United Kingdom. These countries have no cop- Imports of copper, copper alloys and copper objects to
per mines themselves, but process copper the Netherlands in 2007 (copper waste trade excluded)34
before exporting it to the Netherlands. There-
fore, the mining origin of the copper imported Country tonnes percentage
to the Netherlands is difficult to extract from the
statistics. Chile 115,804 39
Companies and countries reviewed for Germany (re-export) 57,056 19
this report
Belgium (re-export) 34,082 11
The only company reviewed in this report is the
Dutch cable producer Draka, probably the big- Peru 15,586 5
gest Dutch importer of copper. Draka’s head-
quarters are in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Russia 13,404 5
Draka annually processes about 22,000 tonnes of
copper wire in the Netherlands, thus accounting United Kingdom (re-export) 13,347 4
for more than 7 per cent of copper imports to
France (re-export) 8,310 3
the Netherlands. Only primary copper is used in
cables; no recycled copper is used in cables.35 Brazil 7,567 3
The reviewed countries are Chile, Zambia, Peru Canada 6,101 2
and Indonesia. Together these countries account
Other 25,669 9
for about 55 per cent of global copper mining
production.
Total 296,926 100
15Chapter 2
Review of mining practices
metres below sea level.38 In March 2009, Abrun
2.1 Tin Abubakar, corporate secretary of Timah, stated:
‘Currently, we have three suction vessels and hire
more than 20 vessels of this type from our part-
Indonesia ners, which operate in our concessions.’39 The
company wants to boost offshore mining from
Almost all tin produced in Indonesia originates 30 to 50 per cent of its tin production. In 2009
from and around Bangka Island, located just it intends to invest $21 million in new bucket-
east of Sumatra. Bangka-Belitung is one of the wheel dredgers,40 which may be capable of dig-
33 provinces of the Republic of Indonesia, and ging down to 70 metre depths.41 While present
Bangka is the biggest island of the province. The offshore resources in depths up to 50 meters
amount of tin mined in Indonesia in 2008 has are being depleted and onshore operations are
been estimated at 100,000 tonnes.36 constrained for geographical, environmental,
and sociological reasons, Timah considers the
PT Timah area extending to 70 metre depths as a major
The leading producer of Indonesian tin is the PT resource for the future.42
Timah Tbk company (Timah). Timah produced
almost 50,000 tonnes of refined tin in 2008.37 IHC Merwede
The Indonesian Government owns 65 per cent The Dutch company IHC Merwede has a long
of the company, while the other 35 per cent is tradition of delivering dredgers to Indonesia
owned by private shareholders. The company for tin mining and the company is currently still
is listed on the Jakarta, Surabaya and London involved in this business. In 2005, IHC delivered
Stock Exchanges. the Pulau Tujuh (seven islands) dredger to Timah.
The Pulau Tujuh will be used by Timah for remov-
Timah operations ing sediment above the tin deposits, which will
subsequently be mined by Timah’s huge bucket
dredgers.43 Timah also works with IHC Merwede
to dredge at depths of more than 50 meters.44
Timah markets
The company produces mainly refined tin as an
end product. Its buyers are traders or manu-
facturers of downstream products like solder,
tinplate and chemicals. ‘If you ask about our
markets, they are mostly in Asia,’ says Wachid
Usman, President Director of Timah. ‘About 55
per cent goes to Asia, 30 per cent to Europe,
Timah mines both on and offshore Bangka and about 8 per cent to North America. The
Island and has a very large tin smelter in Men- domestic market is very small.’45 Timah’s web-
tok, Bangka. Offshore mining presently accounts site reports: ‘Export destination in Asia Pacific:
for about 30 per cent of its mining production. Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Singapore;
Timah has a number of dredgers that operate Europe: England, Netherlands, France, Spain
several kilometres offshore in depths of up to 50 and Italy; and also America and Canada.’46 PT
16REUTERS /B e aw i h a r ta , F e b r u a ry 2 0 0 7 .
A worker
Timah’s financial report 2008 shows the follow- Arcelor Espana and S.A Westmetal Gmbh &
holds an ingot
ing main debtors as of 31 December 2008: Mit- Co.KG.47
of 99.99%
subishi Shoji Light Metal Corp, Indelberg Trad- tin at a PT
ing & Service PTE Ltd, Pan Light Corporation, Other tin companies on Bangka Timah smelter
Daewoo International Corp., Cookson Electron- Many small artisanal miners are still engaged in Mentok
ics. Wilhelm Grillo Handelsgesellsschaft GmbH, in illegal mining on Bangka. In recent years the on the
Indonesian
island of
Bangka.
Päi vi P ö y h ön e n , F i n n Wat ch/ m a ke ITfa i r ,
One of the
hundreds of
toxic lakes on
Bangka
17government has tried to clamp down on the checked, government monitoring to prevent and
illegal mining, but in October 2008 Bangka- clean up damage from mining activities is weak.
Belitung’s police chief reported that mining was Hundreds of deep craters and small lakes
still going on in prohibited areas, including pro- containing acidic water cover the landscape of
tected forests.48 Bangka. Most of the onshore mining uses gravel
PT Koba Tin (Koba), which operates in South pumps, and the tin ore containing alluvium is
Bangka, is the number two company active in washed with running water. This water becomes
mining and smelting on Bangka. The Malay- acidic when it is mixed with the grey-black tin
sia Smelting Corporation Berhad owns 75 per ore extracted from the earth.53 Reclamation and
cent of Koba, while Timah owns the rest. Koba re-vegetation of mined areas is almost never
produced 7,200 tonnes of refined tin in 2008.49 done. The two main mining companies have
Its production was low compared to previous re-vegetated only a few of their former mines.
years, because the police had closed down the Many holes have been left by the illegal mining
company’s operations for some time in 2008 of small-scale miners.54
due to allegations that it had bought tin from Tin mining is also the main cause of damage
illegal sources.50 All charges against the defend- to the coral reef ecosystem around the island
ants have been dropped, but an investigation of Bangka. The head of the Bangka-Belitung
by the Forestry Department into Koba’s use of Marine and Fishery Service, Dr. Yulistyo, has
protected forests for mining operations is still stated that about 30 per cent of the coral reefs
pending.51 in Bangka-Belitung waters have been damaged
Apart from Timah and Koba, some 20 to due to offshore tin mining and fish poaching
30 smaller tin smelters operate on the islands activities using explosives. He has further assert-
of Bangka and Belitung. In late 2007, a new tin ed that on Bangka Island, coral reefs have been
smelter with a capacity of 12,000 tonnes of tin mainly damaged due to tin dredging activities
per year, was put into operation by Singapore in the coastal area, naming losses in Lepar and
Tin Industries (which is 51 per cent owned by the Pongok (South Bangka) and Tanjung Ular (West
Chinese Yunnan Tin Company).52 Bangka).55 Another negative consequence of off-
shore mining is abrasion of the coast area, due
Environmental damage to the number of holes at the bottom of the sea
Tin mining causes severe environmental damage. caused by coastal mining.56
Though dredging ships are sometimes halted and Coral reefs along the coast, extending up
One of the
tin dredging
boats of PT
Timah
Päi vi P ö y h ön e n , F i n n Wat ch/ m a ke ITfa i r , 2 0 0 8
18Pä i v i P ö y h ö n e n , F i n nWatc h / ma k eITfa ir , 2 0 0 8
Tin miner on
to 50 metres deep, are the tropical rainforests of these ships are able to suction around 1000 Bangka with
of the sea: there are no other sea areas where cubic metres of sand per hour.60 gravel pump
so much biodiversity can be found.57 As fish-
ing grounds, they are thought to be 10 to 100
times as productive per unit area as the open
sea.58 It is estimated that about 20 tonnes of
fish can be obtained each year, enough to
feed 1,200 people in the coastal areas, on one
square kilometre of healthy coral reef. Even
when dredging associated with mining only
takes place in the area around the coral reefs, it
causes water turbidity which can reach the coral
reef area and damage it.59
The Indonesian environmental organisation
Walhi (Friends of the Earth Indonesia) reported
in early March 2009, after field visits, that the
income of fishermen in the Permis, Rajik and
Sebagin villages in South Bangka has decreased
by 80 per cent, due to offshore tin mining.
According to Walhi, a newly built road along the
coast also suffered damage due to abrasion of
the coastline.
Three tin dredgers owned by Timah have
been active in this specific region of South
Bangka since the beginning of 2004. Another tin
dredger has also been conducting activities in
the waters since the end of January 2009. Some
19Mines in control of armed groups
Democratic Republic of Congo Rebel groups as well as units and commanders
of the Congolese national army have had con-
Tin mining in eastern Congo trol over mines or have imposed ‘taxes’ in the
About 4 per cent of global tin mining takes place form of minerals or cash at the mines, along the
in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). roads or at border crossings since 1998. These
Cassiterite (tin ore) is found in various parts of revenues enable them to keep fighting.64 Among
eastern Congo, mainly in the provinces of Manie- other groups, mine revenues are extracted by:
ma, North Kivu and South Kivu. It is estimated The Forces Democratiques de Liberation du
that exports from the Kivus amounted to 18,000 Rwanda (FDLR). The group is descended from
tonnes of cassiterite in 2007 and 25,000 tonnes Hutu rebels responsible for the 1994 Rwandan
in 2008. The export value of the cassiterite sold Genocide. It controls mines in Walikale, in the
from the Kivus in 2008 has been estimated at Kahuzi-Biéga National Park in the South Kivu
$200 million.61 province and also lots of other mines in North
and South Kivu.65
Adapted The non-integrated 85th Brigade of the Forc-
from a map es Armées de la République Démocratique du
in a report Congo (FARDC, the Congolese national army).
by Global
In December 2007, the DRC’s Vice-Minister of
Witness:
‘Undermining
Mines, Viktor Kasongo, stated that the 85th
peace’, June brigade was not under the control of the ‘état-
2005 major’, while it should be under the control of
the government and army structure. One of the
mines it controlled was the Bisie mine, which is
the largest mine in the Walikale region. The 85th
brigade was moved away from Bisie in March
2009; a FARDC/ex-CNDP (Le Congrès National
pour la Défense du Peuple) brigade replaced the
85th brigade.66 Walikale is the main cassiterite
production area of DRC, estimated to account
for about 9,000 tonnes of cassiterite exported
from Goma (North Kivu’s trading capital).67
War The Tutsi-dominated CNDP. One of the prin-
War was waged in eastern Congo during the cipal sources of revenue for CNDP has been con-
period 1998-2002, leading to extreme violence, trolling Bunagana customs on the DRC/Uganda
massive population displacement, widespread border.68 In December 2008, a United Nations
rape and the collapse of public health services. report accused Rwanda of supporting CNDP-
Despite the signing of a formal peace agree- leader General Laurent Nkunda.69 This has led
ment in December 2002, conflict and erup- to aid cuts (among others from Sweden and the
tions of violence have persisted in the eastern Netherlands) and threats from donors. The pres-
provinces, causing severe loss of life. Approxi- sure may have led to the fact that on 22 January
mately 500,000 Congolese have continued to 2009 General Nkunda was arrested by Rwan-
die each year, mostly due to easily preventable da. In March 2009, the Congolese government
and curable conditions, such as malaria, diar- reached an agreement with CNDP: the group
rhoea, pneumonia, malnutrition, and neonatal said it would give up violence and in exchange
problems.62 Rape, murder and pillage are still was promised the release of all prisoners taken
committed regularly in eastern Congo; children in the war, accorded a political party status and
are still being recruited to join the rebel groups. an all-important clause granting amnesty to all its
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic members (including some serious criminals) who
Republic of Congo (MONUC) has been engaged have fought since 2003.70
in the area since February 2000, and currently
has about 20,000 peacekeepers in the country.63 Workers’ conditions
MONUC and the Congolese government have The consultant Nicholas Garrett has widely
not yet managed to gain control of the region, published about mineral trade in the DRC and
though some progress has been made. has advised several organisations including the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative,
20Miners
extracting
cassiterite
from the Bisie
mine
© J o h a n S pa n n e r /H o l l a n ds e -H o o g te , No v e mbe r 2 0 0 8
World Bank and German government. He has are generally in breach of commonly acceptable
extensively studied working conditions at the labour standards and many injuries and acci-
Bisie Mine in North Kivu. The mining is subdivid- dents – some of them fatal – occur regularly.
ed into alluvial, open pit and hard rock mining in Health hazards result from occupational hazards,
167 different pits, tunnels and alluvial sites. Allu- poverty, poor sanitation and a lack of access to
vial and open pit mining is undertaken on the protection and health support. Environmental
surface; hard-rock mining goes on underground. degradation includes pollution, erosion, defor-
Hard-rock mining accounts for the large major- estation, poaching, etc.72
ity of production volume, with a cross-checked
estimate of 75 per cent, suggesting a far higher Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
yield in the tunnels. This extra productivity is an The Kahuzi-Biéga National Park in eastern Congo
incentive for tunnel owners to drive the tun- is a World Heritage Site and home to the eastern
nels ever further into the mountain; some up lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei ssp. Graueri).
to 150 meters deep, which is far beyond the 30 This subspecies of gorilla is endemic in the DRC
meters stipulated as ‘safe’ in DRC mining regula- and 86 per cent of the population, some 14,500
tions. Mining activities are accompanied by seri- animals, live in the Kahuzi-Biéga National Park
ous safety hazards, such as mudslides, naturally and the adjoining Kasese forests. However, about
occurring CO2 in the tunnels, or mine collapse. 25 per cent of the population is said to have
Even on a productive day, the income of the disappeared. Most of these gorillas have been
workers in the Bisie mine does not exceed $5. killed for bush meat for the thousands of mining
Communities around the mine subsist in abso- labourers and for sale by armed rebels.73
lute poverty. In Bisie, the FARDC’s non-integrat- The gorilla is an endangered species. In
ed 85th brigade used to prey on the miners. eastern DRC, the eastern lowland gorillas face
Low-ranking soldiers were exploited by their substantial threats to their survival. Firstly, agri-
commander to steal cassiterite on his behalf. At culture and grazing are leading to massive loss
the time of research, no children under the age and fragmentation of forest habitat. Secondly,
of 10 were identified on the mining sites in Bisie, widespread illegal mining activities in the forests
but a minimum of 300 youths (estimated 10-18 increase the demand for bush meat, includ-
years) were present. ing consumption of gorillas. Thirdly, infants are
Garrett estimates that the province of North illegally captured, often causing other group
Kivu has up to 200,000 artisanal miners. Allow- members to be killed. Ongoing political unrest
ing for five dependants per worker, this means and military activity, including the occupation of
up to one million people in North Kivu could be national parks and killing gorillas for food, have
dependent on artisanal miners for their liveli- compounded the problems.74
hoods.71 The working conditions in most mines
21in the south-western departments of Oruro and
Bolivia Potosí, and in gold mining in the subtropical area
around La Paz.79 Another estimate states that
Bolivia’s mining sector accounted for about 4.5 3,800 children – 10 per cent of the total min-
per cent of the country’s gross domestic product ing workforce – work in tin, zinc and silver mines
(GDP) in 2006. Zinc, gold, tin and silver were the in the Ururo (which incorporates the Huanuni
main products mined.75 mine), Potosí and La Paz departments.80
The International Labour Organization (ILO)
Yearly, Bolivia produces some 18,000 tonnes of defines the mining work done by children in
tin-in-concentrate, making it the world’s fourth- Bolivia as one of the worst forms of child labour,
largest tin producer (after China, Indonesia and and states that its elimination should be a prior-
Peru). Almost half of the production originates ity. Article 3d of ILO Convention 182 describes
from the Posokoni mine near the city of Huanu- this hazardous work as ‘work which, by its nature
ni, the remainder from smaller mines.76 In 2006, or the circumstances in which it is carried out,
small-scale, cooperative and artisanal miners is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of
accounted for about 62% of tin production in children.’81
Bolivia. An estimated 41,800 miners were offi- A 2006 study on child labour in the Boliv-
cially registered with a cooperative in 2006, but ian mining sector states the following about the
it is assumed there are more artisanal small-scale health conditions for children working in the
miners.77 Most of the mined tin-in-concentrate underground Posokoni mine: ‘Mining children
is processed in the Vinto tin smelter, which pro- who work in the mine are exposed to reduced
duced 9,500 tonnes of tin in 2008.78 oxygen and poisonous gases that affect their
health, particularly their nervous system. Contin-
Miners at Child labour uous exposure to dust causes silicosis (the most
work in an It is estimated that more than 13,500 children common occupational lung disease worldwide),
underground and adolescents in Bolivia work in traditional as well as nose and eye irritation. The high levels
mine at mining (extraction of tin, silver and zinc), mainly of noise produced by the drills and explosions
Potosí
can produce deafness. (...) None of the children
that were interviewed go to the doctor since
they have no money, or because they ignore the
pain.’82
© W. J . R u i t e r, O ct o b er 2 0 0 8
22Log truck in
Burma. The
export of logs
from Burma
to the EU is
prohibited.
© M i l i e u def e ns ie , 2 0 0 8
Burma indications that the recent European sanctions
have had no impact on the export of Burmese
EU regulations timber. Sanctions are a means to put more
In response to the brutal repression of the pressure on the junta in order to work towards
peaceful protesters of the Saffron Revolution in democratisation. Therefore it is highly important
September 2007, the European Council decided that sanctions are effective and monitored on a
to strengthen their position against Burma’s mili- regular basis by the European Council.
tary junta. Among other measures, the import
into the European Union of several goods origi- Tin trade link Burma – Netherlands
nating or exported from Burma was prohibited: The Netherlands does not directly import tin
round logs, timber and timber products, metals ores/concentrates and refined tin from Burma.
and minerals, as well as precious and semi-pre- Refined tin is however imported from China, Sin-
cious stones. Banned tin products included tin gapore and Thailand. Tin smelters in these coun-
ores and concentrates; unwrought tin (refined tin tries may source tin ore and concentrates from
before further processing); tin waste and scrap.83 Burma. Some examples:
The new regulations came into force in March • China imported 7,000 tonnes of tin ore and
2008. concentrate in 2008.85 In 2008, China’s main
The regulations have not yet had any effect import sources were Vietnam (39 per cent),
on tin imports originating in Burma to the Neth- Bolivia (31 per cent) and Burma (17 per cent).86
erlands. This is due to the fact that according to In 2007, as well as 2008, the Netherlands
EU Import Customs Regulations, the country of was the biggest importer of refined tin from
origin changes if goods have been processed. China.87 Both refined tin as well as electronic
Therefore, if tin ores and concentrates from Bur- products containing tin solder from tin mined in
ma are processed into refined tin outside Burma Burma may end up at the Dutch market.
and the EU, the tin is simply allowed onto the EU • About 5 per cent of tin imports to the Nether-
market. lands come from Singapore. In 2007, the Sin-
Earlier this year, Friends of the Earth Neth- gapore Tin Industries Pte Ltd tin refinery relied
erlands (FoE NL) conducted research on timber on supplies of crude tin from Australia, Burma,
traded from Burma to the European Union.84 India and Vietnam. Most of their refined tin
Based on a first round of interviews and field output was exported to the United States and
work in Burma, FoE NL has found several strong European countries.88
23Burma also has some tin smelting facilities. In
November 2002, the newly built Lonhtan (or 2.2 Bauxite
Long Tan) tin smelting plant started operations,
very close to the border with Yunnan, China.89
No information on the capacity and recent pro- Jamaica
duction of this plant could not be found for this
report. Bauxite and alumina in Jamaica
Tin ore is also being refined at the Thanlyin In 2008, Jamaica was responsible for 7 per cent
tin smelting plant. The tin ore for this plant is of global bauxite mining.94 The country mines
sourced from the Heinda mine through a joint about 14 million tonnes of bauxite, which it par-
venture between the military junta (No. 2 Min- tially exports and mainly uses to produce about
ing Enterprise) and the Thai company Myanmar 4 million tonnes of alumina.95 There are no alu-
Pongpipat Co Ltd In 2008 production of refined minium smelting facilities in Jamaica.
tin and tungsten was around 600 tonnes, which The mining and processing of bauxite is a
reportedly was distributed to the domestic mar- major sector of the Jamaican economy, account-
ket.90 ing for about 10 per cent of GDP (gross domes-
How much tin is mined, refined or exported tic product). Bauxite and alumina are the third
in Burma is not known, due to lack of independ- earner of foreign revenue, after remittances and
ent information. The US Geological Survey esti- tourism. It is a capital-intensive industry and,
mates that production by state-owned mines as a consequence, directly employs only 3,400
was 923 tonnes (tin content of ores and concen- workers.96 Due to the financial crisis, in May 2009
trates) in 2006, based on statistics from the jun- three of the four alumina plants will be closed for
ta.91 In 2007 and the first three quarters of 2008, an extended period of possibly 12-18 months.97
the amount of tin mined in Burma has probably
risen due to stronger demand and higher tin Producing companies
prices. Jamaica has four bauxite mining and alumina
Some Asian companies have been looking producing companies which may be supplying
into investing in the Burmese tin mining indus- alumina to Dutch aluminium smelters:
try. Singapore Tin Industries said it also planned • Jamalco (55 per cent US-based Alcoa, 45 per
to set up a smelter with an annual capacity of cent Jamaican government). Jamalco has a pro-
12,000 tonnes in Myanmar in 200892, but to our duction capacity of around 1.4 million tonnes of
knowledge the company has not proceeded with alumina per year.98 The company has a refinery
this plan. The Tongkah Harbour PCL mining com- at Halse Hall in Clarendon parish.
pany from Thailand recently stated it was con- • Windalco (93 per cent Russia-based RUSAL, 7
sidering taking over or forming a joint venture per cent Jamaican government). The produc-
with a tin business in Myanmar, to be effected in tion volume of Windalco is 1.2 million tonnes of
2009.93 alumina annually.99 Windalco has two refineries:
one at Ewarton in Saint Catherine parish and
the other at Kirkvine in Manchester parish.
• Alpart (65 per cent RUSAL, 35 per cent Nor-
way-based Hydro). Alpart has a production
capacity of around 1.65 million tonnes of alu-
mina per year.100 The company has a refinery at
Nain in Saint Elizabeth parish.
• St Ann Bauxite Ltd (SABL) is a Jamaican baux-
ite mining company which is owned by a 50/50
joint venture between Canada-based Century
Aluminum and US-based Noranda Aluminum.
SABL, in turn, is a 49 per cent owner of St Ann
Bauxite Partners with the remaining 51 per cent
owned by the Jamaican government. Approxi-
mately 60 per cent of the bauxite mined at St
Ann is shipped to an alumina plant in the USA.
The remainder is sold to a single third party.
The current annual bauxite production capacity
at St Ann is 5.1 million tonnes of ore.101
24Environmental problems
There are several environmental, health and
social problems related to the bauxite mining
and alumina refineries in Jamaica:
• Forest loss. Bauxite mining is the single larg-
est cause of deforestation in Jamaica. The
bauxite mining industry has stripped thou-
sands of hectares of forest. Up to 2006, a total
of 7,400 hectares of land had been disturbed
since the commencement of mining activi-
ties in Jamaica. Only 4,800 hectares, however,
had been rehabilitated, and most forests were
not restored. For rehabilitation, material from
the surrounding hillsides is often used to fill
holes, a procedure which destroys hillsides and
watershed areas.103 Bauxite mining also affects
water quality.
Bauxite mining has caused even greater forest
destruction by opening access roads.104 Not
only are forests cleared in order to make way
for these access roads, but once they exist,
loggers move in and illegally remove trees in
and around the mining areas. According to
the Jamaican Bauxite Institute, access roads
present bauxite mining’s most serious threat to
the forest cover on the island.105
• Air pollution. The bauxite industry is the larg-
est emitter of particulate matter and sulphur
dioxide in Jamaica.106 ‘Bunker C’ heavy oil is
used to process bauxite into alumina in refiner-
ies. In 2007 about 9 million barrels of this oil
were used for this purpose.107 Bunker C, mostly
used for seagoing ships, has a sulphur content
of at least 3 per cent. Therefore, the oil refiner-
ies emit a great deal of sulphur dioxide (SO2)
and particulate matter. When it comes in con-
tact with moisture, SO2 can result in acid rain, • Red mud pools. Because the processing of Map: adapted
which damages crops. Some communities are bauxite produces at least as much residue as from the
Jamaican
located very near to the four Jamaican refin- alumina, large storage ponds are built next to
Bauxite
eries. These residents will have more respira- refineries. The Jamalco refinery at Halse Hall Institute map
tory and cardiovascular diseases than people in Clarendon, for instance, currently has four of February
exposed to cleaner air. Long term exposure to active residue disposal areas (red mud pools) 2007.102
particulate matter is especially unhealthy. San- covering 214 hectares in total.109 The mud
dra McLean, living near the Alpart refinery in pools consist of metals (mainly iron ore), water
Nain, St Elizabeth, states: ‘You know how long I and strong alkaline substances left over from
have flu and it can’t get better? The white acid the use of caustic soda during bauxite process-
from the plant is killing us slowly. My niece is ing into alumina.110 The greatest risk of the red
suffering from asthma, four to five times a year mud pools is spillage, which may contaminate
they go to a hospital.’108 both groundwater and surface water sources,
Community health risks due to air pollution such as ponds, streams and rivers. This caus-
have been badly monitored and not yet inves- es damage to humans, plants and animals.
tigated. The government and refinery-owning For instance, the red mud lake around Mount
companies do not report the amount of health- Rosser was used for over 30 years, until 1991,
related emissions released into the air by the by the mining company Alcan to collect resi-
refineries. This information cannot even be dues from alumina processing. The pond area
found in environmental impact assessments. is continuously fed by stormwater run-off from
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