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The truth about the world’s biggest mining company

World’s biggest mining company under fire‘Alternative report’ questions environmental, human rights record of world’s biggest mining company One World.net 27 October 2009 London-based BHP Billiton plc is not a household name in Britain, but the activities of the BHP Billiton group have a massive impact on communities all around the world. Those are part-funded by high street banks and pension funds investing money provided by millions of working people in the UK.The company will present its own report on its activities at its London AGM on Thursday 29 October. It will claim to work to the highest corporate responsibility and environmental standards in the industry. But two days before this, critics of the company will present an alternative report outlining the negative impacts of many of the company’s operations – in Australia, West Papua, PNG, the Philippines, South Africa, Canada, Colombia and Chile. The report is the work of organisations from many countries working with directly impacted communities.

The report catalogues abuses of human rights, particularly of affected communities, issues of worker health and safety, livelihood and food security, and environmental problems. It also raises issues around climate change and BHP Billiton’s commitment to increased extraction and promotion of both coal and uranium for power production
At the launch, representatives of communities in Colombia being removed to make way for expansion of the world’s biggest opencast coal mine, Cerrejon (one-third owned by BHP Billiton) will describe their own experience with the company……………..

World’s biggest mining company under fire

October 27, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, 2 WORLD, spinbuster | antinuclear, nuclear costs, uranium