[Xmca-l] Re: Rio Tinto Zinc

[John Cripps Clark]

The destruction of the Juunken Gorge caves (which I assume you are referring to) is a much more villainous act than was originally portrayed and reflects the venal racism not only of the company but also of the State Government. For those not familiar with this shocking crime, the $80b Anglo Australian mining company which on Sunday 24th of May blew up a site sacred to the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) traditional owners and occupied for 46,000 years at least, to extend iron ore mining. "“It’s one of the most sacred sites in the Pilbara region … we wanted to have that area protected,” PKKP director Burchell Hayes. The traditional owners tried desperately to stop the blast once they became aware it was impending.

At the time Rio Tinto claimed "Clearly there was a misunderstanding" but and, after much outrage, the three members of the executive had their multi million dollar bonuses reduced. It has subsequently emerged that Rio Tinto had contracted lawyers to oppose any injunctions before the crime was committed. The chief executive and two of his underlings have resigned.

The crime was legal and was made possible by State Government laws which are stacked in favour of miners. Assessments of the cultural and environmental significance are made with little investigation and remain in place for decades and have rarely been successfully be challenged. No permission to destroy heritage sites in WA has been refused (and there have been 463 applications). https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-31/wa-heritage-destroyed-by-rio-tinto-example-of-national-trend/12305298__;!!Mih3wA!Q80d_k7DkHBzzs0yi4W5IfiSTlRupZ8XOxiOsNcARSHE8ZZrLW7G-oWoAnKstsuUT5a7UQ$ 

It is not as if we didn’t know that this would happen. Norway's pension fund divested their holdings in Rio Tinto in 2008: "Exclusion of a company from the Fund reflects our unwillingness to run an unacceptable risk of contributing to grossly unethical conduct. The Council on Ethics has concluded that Rio Tinto is directly involved, through its participation in the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, in the severe environmental damage caused by that mining operation."
    — Kristin Halvorsen, Norwegian Minister of Finance

A useful background briefing of indigenous rights in Australia: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/features/in-the-shadow-of-terra-nullius/__;!!Mih3wA!Q80d_k7DkHBzzs0yi4W5IfiSTlRupZ8XOxiOsNcARSHE8ZZrLW7G-oWoAnKstssDCtcsSw$ 

On 13/9/20, 12:26 am, "xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of Martin Packer" <xmca-l-bounces@mailman.ucsd.edu on behalf of mpacker@cantab.net> wrote:

    Andy, what on earth has Rio Tinto Zinc been up to??

    Martin



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