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LOCAL Commentary :: Environment : Globalisation
Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
Author
Date Created
- 20 Jun 2007
Danyl Strypes comments on the multinational mining company Rio Tinto's recent air surveying of the west coast of Te Ika a Maui, the northern island of Aotearoa.
According to an article in the NZ Herald, a survey plane was flying over prospective mining areas off the west coast on Wednesday. The plane was paid for Rio Tinto, a multinational mining empire infamous in the pacific for environmental destruction and the suppression of indigenous people in the vicinity of its operations, such as the Panguna copper mine on the island of Bougainville.
Rio Tinto also owns Comalco, which runs the Tiwai Point aluminion smelter near Bluff, at the bottom of Te Wai Pounamu, the south island. This smelter is the single largest user of electricity in the country, much like their Bay Bell smelter in Tasmania which uses around 40% of the state's electricity. Aluminium is used mainly for vehicle parts, building supplies and food packaging. All uses which could potentially be avoided and other materials substituted.
According to an article in the NZ Herald, a survey plane was flying over prospective mining areas off the west coast on Wednesday. The plane was paid for Rio Tinto, a multinational mining empire infamous in the pacific for environmental destruction and the suppression of indigenous people in the vicinity of its operations, such as the Panguna copper mine on the island of Bougainville.
Rio Tinto also owns Comalco, which runs the Tiwai Point aluminion smelter near Bluff, at the bottom of Te Wai Pounamu, the south island. This smelter is the single largest user of electricity in the country, much like their Bay Bell smelter in Tasmania which uses around 40% of the state's electricity. Aluminium is used mainly for vehicle parts, building supplies and food packaging. All uses which could potentially be avoided and other materials substituted.
Click on image for a larger version
Do we really need to put so much electricity into smelting aluminium, with the associated production of greenhouse gases? Certainly it is in Rio Tinto's interests to convince us that we do and the minerals industry are well aware of their need to sell themselves to the public.
On the other side of the argument are environmental groups like Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Māori groups concerned about damage to the landscape and life-supporting capacity of the coast. Karl Flavell of Ngati Te Ata told the Herald the iwi had not even been approached about the survey. Clearly Rio Tinto are trying to quietly get their foot in the door before activists can publicly challenge them on their shameful lack of environmental and social responsibility in previous and current operations.
That this news comes out within a week of my last commentary on the use of the seabed for electricity generation is ironic. As with the marine power and aquaculture issues, the right to make final decisions on whether these powerful business interests will be allowed to proceed was claimed by the NZ state, when they passed legislation asserting their unconditional ownership of the foreshore and seabed. Now it seems only careful monitoring and targeted public pressure can prevent the raping of our marine environments for private profit.
On the other side of the argument are environmental groups like Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and Māori groups concerned about damage to the landscape and life-supporting capacity of the coast. Karl Flavell of Ngati Te Ata told the Herald the iwi had not even been approached about the survey. Clearly Rio Tinto are trying to quietly get their foot in the door before activists can publicly challenge them on their shameful lack of environmental and social responsibility in previous and current operations.
That this news comes out within a week of my last commentary on the use of the seabed for electricity generation is ironic. As with the marine power and aquaculture issues, the right to make final decisions on whether these powerful business interests will be allowed to proceed was claimed by the NZ state, when they passed legislation asserting their unconditional ownership of the foreshore and seabed. Now it seems only careful monitoring and targeted public pressure can prevent the raping of our marine environments for private profit.
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Comments
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
Very scummy indeed!
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
www.blacksands.org.nz/ (KASM website)
also they own Comalco who runs the aluminium factory at the bottom of the south island at Invercargill.
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
Qui Bono - Who Profits ?
by Corporate Plunder Watcher Saturday June 09, 2007 at 12:38 PM
> Whoever gets elected at local Council, State Government or
Commonwealth Federal level they follow the profit hungry Corporations
like in theis case the world's largest mining/earth rape racketeers.
Like the Barrick Gold protests if you want to fight and even land a
few blows on these parasites then you have to
globalise/internationalise extend whatever you want to call the campaign beyond Oz to bring in other indiegnous people and their
supporters...
> www.sea-us.org.au/corpfilez/riverofblood.html
>
> Rio Tinto PLC / Ltd - The Merger of CRA & RTZ
>
> The multinational mining giant, Rio Tinto, has grown out of the
> former Australian and United Kingdom mining conglomerates, CRA and
> RTZ, respectively. They have been actively involved in uranium mining
> since the dawn of the nuclear industry for over 50 years. In the
> 1950's, CRA managed the disastrous Rum Jungle uranium mine south of
> Darwin, NT (although it was owned by the Commonwealth Government),
> while RTZ controlled and operated the controversial Mary Kathleen
> uranium mine in the Mt Isa region of Queensland. Both mines shut down
> in the late and early 1960's, respectively, although Mary Kathleen was
> re-opened in the late 1970's for a further 6 years.
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
and the Jabiluka Uranium Friends of the Earth - www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/20020905144845.html lease in the Northern Territory of Australia
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
RPG, RPG
I can hear the people all shouting out with glee
And when I look up to the sky
I can't help but wonder why
That helicopter's circling above right over me
www.davidrovics.com
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
I imagine we will have to do more than keep watch on them though...
ajxkmetp
Re: Rio Tinto Looms Over Te Ika a Maui
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