EARTHblog » Payal Sampat
Moms Lead the Charge Against Dirty Gold Mining
It’s almost Mother’s Day! Whatever your feelings about manufactured holidays, it’s always a good idea to give thanks to mom. So call her, take her out to lunch, send her (fair trade) flowers, or have your kids make her a handmade card.
But think twice before buying her a shiny piece of gold bling. Mother’s Day is the second largest gold-jewelry buying day of the year in the United States. But many of us buying jewelry for our moms may unknowingly be hurting mothers and children who live in places where the gold is mined. Producing enough gold for a 0.3 ounce gold band generates 20 tons of mine waste — much of which is contaminated with chemicals such as cyanide or mercury. Massive pollution, huge open pits, devastating community health effects, worker dangers and, in many cases, human rights abuses have become hallmarks of gold and metals mining in countries such as Peru, Indonesia, Ghana, Guatemala and parts of the United States.
Tagged with: mining, gold, mothers day
Over 80 groups sign statement opposing intimidation and forced displacement of mining protesters in Peru
This week, Newmont Mining Co. held its annual shareholders’ meeting.
As it has done for the past several years, the event took place at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, more than a thousand miles from its headquarters in Colorado, and far from the protesters and media attention that typified its meetings when they were held in downtown Denver.
But despite keeping its shareholder meeting under wraps, Newmont has not escaped either controversy or protesters.
Tagged with: gold mining, human rights, newmont, peru, water, fpic, conga, cajamarca
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