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Australian uranium companies use taxpayer funds to set up overseas aid, and look good

Paladin, which has been the subject of some controversy in Malawi over job cuts, was last year linked to a funding application through its employees’ charity – Friends and Employees of Paladin for African Children.

 Paladin’s (African) Ltd general manager, international affairs, Greg Walker, who was invited late last year to be Australia’s honorary consul to Malawi, was involved in the process, according to 2012 correspondence from Australia’s ambassador to Zimbabwe, Matthew Neuhaus, to Mr Walker. The letter obtained under freedom of information confirmed Mr Walker’s successful application for the employees’ charity funding proposal.

ethics-nuclearThe Aidwatch director Thulsi Narayanasamy said it was not the place of the Australian aid program to fund the corporate social responsibility programs of wealthy mining companies.

Firms use tax money for aid projects : http://www.smh.com.au/money/tax/firms-use-tax-money-for-aid-projects-20130129-2ditd.html#ixzz2Jbp0RzOT  January 30, 2013 Rory Callinan

WEALTHY resource companies operating overseas are tapping into Australian taxpayer funds to set up aid projects potentially benefiting their corporate social responsibility credentials.

Aid and mining watchdogs have expressed concerns about the practice, arguing the corporations are wealthy enough to bankroll their own aid and that linking donations to controversial mine operations is a conflict of interest.

Nine mining companies all operating in Africa have been linked to the successful applications via the Foreign Affairs Department’s Direct Aid Program – a scheme that allows heads of missions to give up to $30,000 to local causes.

About $215,000 of taxpayers’ money went to the mining company-conceived projects last financial year, including a school for the deaf, providing trade skill training to local workers, establishing women’s groups and digging wells. Two applications involved uranium mining companies, Paladin Energy in Malawi and Bannerman Resources in Namibia. Continue reading →

January 31, 2013 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, Malawi, Namibia, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

France’s military in Niger to protect AREVA’s uranium mines

flag-franceFrance orders special forces to protect Niger uranium: source PARIS Jan 24, 2013   (Reuters)– France has ordered special forces to protect uranium sites run by state-owned Areva in Niger as the threat of attacks on its interests rises after its intervention against rebels in Mali, a military source said on Thursday   Reporting by John Irish, Geert de Clercq, Muriel Boselli, Michel Rose in Paris and Abdoulaye Massalatchi in Niamey; …….

The military source confirmed a report in weekly magazine Le Point that special forces and equipment would be sent to Areva’s uranium production sites in Imouraren and Arlit very quickly, but declined to go into further details.

Defense ministry officials declined to comment on the report and Areva said it did not talk about security issues….

Areva, Niger’s biggest single investor, has about 2,700 workers in Niger and is planning to start up a third mine in Imouraren.

protest-NigerThe planned startup of production in Imouraren was delayed to 2013 or 2014 from 2012, following the kidnappings and a labor dispute.

A Niger army officer said that there were already security arrangements agreed with France since 2011 after the kidnappings in Arlit and they had been reinforced over time.

“We also have our counter-terrorism units in the Agadez region,” he said. “For now, I don’t know of a decision by the Nigerien government to allow French special forces to base themselves in the north.”

An Areva spokeswoman said this month the French government had not asked the company to reduce staffing in Niger. She added Areva has an extensive security plan for its employees and that the plan has been reviewed by the French authorities.

Areva has been mining uranium in Niger for more than five decades and the country provides one third of the group’s uranium supplies.

According to a parliamentary committee enquiring into France’s supplies of uranium, about 18 percent of the raw material used to power France’s 58 nuclear reactors came from Niger in 2008…. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/24/us-mali-rebels-niger-areva-idUSBRE90N0OD20130124

January 25, 2013 Posted by | France, Niger, Uranium, weapons and war | 2 Comments

Re-colonisation of Africa in grab for uranium and other resources

 it’s a uranium issue and how France needs uranium there. And Mali is a big producer of uranium. There are resources there. So, I think France – this is very clear – has economic reasons.

‘Al-Qaeda threat used by NATO as smoke screen for re-colonization of Northern Africa’, RT 21 Jan 13,  The UK is providing logistical air assistance, while the United States is providing surveillance and other intelligence help.

Washington also announced it will supply transport planes for French forces and consider sending refueling tankers for French warplanes.

Canada has joined with the allies to support the on-going military intervention by dispatching a heavy-lift military transport. The country is also making an indirect contribution by training counter-terrorism operatives in neighboring Niger.

Italy is ready to offer logistical support for air operations, but it will not be joining French troops on the ground. The country’s defense Minister Giampaolo Di Paola told the Senate on Wednesday that Italy’s offer was confined to air operations only.

Journalist Neil Clark told RT he believed economic reasons were behind every single western military adventure of the last 30 years – and Mali was no different. Continue reading →

January 23, 2013 Posted by | Mali, politics international, Uranium | 1 Comment

In the West’s grab for resources, it’s convenient to blame Al Qaeda

RT: Africa has plenty of untapped natural resources. Which countries appear most interested in securing and possibly expanding their interests there? And how could those interests clash?

NC: Very possibly, because I think obviously France from Mr. Hollande’s point of view – their economy is in a very bad state in France – and I think that he is hoping that a successful intervention in Mali would boost his popularity ratings back home. So, it’s a uranium issue and how France needs uranium there. And Mali is a big producer of uranium.

the west wants resources, the west wants to get control of resources in this region

‘Al-Qaeda threat used by NATO as smoke screen for re-colonization of Northern Africa’, RT 21 Jan 13,

The UK is providing logistical air assistance, while the United States is providing surveillance and other intelligence help. Continue reading →

January 21, 2013 Posted by | AFRICA, Mali, politics international | Leave a comment

In Mali – a war for grabbing resources – especially uranium

uranium-enrichmentUranium: encouraging signs and exploration in full swing. Exploration is currently being carried out by several companies with clear indications of deposits of uranium in Mali. Uranium potential is located in the Falea area which covers 150 km² of the Falea- North Guinea basin, a Neoproterozoic sedimentary basin marked by significant radiometric anomalies. Uranium potential in Falea is thought to be 5000 tonnes. The Kidal Project, in the north eastern part of Mali, with an area of 19,930 km2, the project covers a large crystalline geological province known as L’Adrar Des Iforas. Uranium potential in the Samit deposit, Gao region alone is thought to be 200 tonnes.

The War on Mali What You Should Know: An Eldorado of Uranium, Gold, Petroleum, Strategic Minerals  SPY GhanaBy   R. Teichman, News Beacon Ireland, 17 Jan 13

The French government has stated that: …… We have one goal. To ensure that when we leave, when we end our intervention, Mali is safe, has legitimate authorities, an electoral process and there are no more terrorists threatening its territory.” [1]

So this is the official narrative of France and those who support it. And of course this is what is widely reported by the mainstrem media.

France is supported by other NATO members. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta confirmed that the US was providing intelligence to French forces in Mali. [2]  Canada, Belgium, Denmark and Germany have also publicly backed the French incursion, pledging logistical support in the crackdown on the rebels. [3]

If we are to believe this narrative we are misled again about the real reasons. A look at Mali’s natural resources reveals what this is really about. Continue reading →

January 18, 2013 Posted by | indigenous issues, Mali, politics international, Reference, Uranium, weapons and war | Leave a comment

It’s the uranium, stupid! France’s war in Mali

Although Niger has been France’s primary uranium trading partner in the region, investors are currently estimating 5,200 tonnes of untapped uranium sources in Mali, making the requirements of a favourable government and a suppressed civil society all the more urgent.

protest-Niger The curbs on civil liberties in the West which the so-called War on Terror forces upon citizens is part of the same struggle that activists in West Africa are fighting against uranium mining corporations

Blood for Uranium: France’s Mali intervention has little to do with terrorism http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/blood-uranium-frances-mali-intervention-terrorism/ Adam Elliott-Cooper looks at the geo-strategic and economic interests shaping the current French intervention in Mali. 17 Jan 13, France opened 2013 with a series of airstrikes on Northern Mali to prevent “the establishment of a terrorist state”. At the time of writing, 11 civilians (including two children) have been killed, and according to the UN, an estimated 30,000 have been displaced. The morbid irony of the France’s leaders bombing people in order to prevent a “terrorist state” appears to be lost on them, but this may be due to their eyes being on something far more important – Mali’s economy. (Picture: Activists in Niger protesting uranium mining company AREVA) Continue reading →

January 18, 2013 Posted by | indigenous issues, Mali, politics international, Reference, Uranium, weapons and war | 3 Comments

War in Mali – to preserve France’s control of uranium resources?

eyes-surprised French mining company Areva, had lost its almost complete exclusive right to Niger’s uranium. This could easily explain why France could not afford to lose Mali as well.

On Monday, French foreign minister Laurent Fabius said… Key interests were at stake for us, for Africa, for Europe, so we had to act quickly,” said Fabius. Could one of the key interests mentioned by Mr. Fabius be uranium?

Uranium is indeed France’s key energy resource… , the country is heavily dependent on uranium..

 Mali: France’s Neo-Colonial War for Uranium? News Junke Post, By  15 Jan 13  In late December 2012, the  United Nations Security Council approved the dispatch of an “African-led intervention force” to Mali’s to help the army reconquer the north of the country from Tuareg separatists and their allied Islamist militants. But in recent days, it is not the African-led troops who have been operating in Mali. Instead, troops from former colonial power France have been unilaterally deployed to fight the rebellion in the north….

Recipe for a failed state Continue reading →

January 17, 2013 Posted by | AFRICA, France, Uranium, weapons and war | Leave a comment

South Africa – a voice for nuclear weapons sanity

peace cExiting the nuclear club
http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/09/exiting-the-nuclear-club/ The
world believes that Iran, despite its denials, is trying to join the
handful of nations around the world that possess nuclear weapons.

flag-S.AfricaOver the past two decades, that list of countries has been growing,
with nations like Pakistan and India publicly acknowledging their
nuclear weapons.

There has been just one exception.

Just as Nelson Mandela was emerging from prison over 20 years ago to
lead South Africa out of the wilderness of racial hatred, his country
was in the midst of another change that could be a model for the rest
of the world.

By 1991, the Rainbow Nation had become the only country to dismantle
and destroy its own nuclear arsenal. That decision, along with the end
of apartheid, helped restore South Africa’s international legitimacy.

It also made the country a leading voice for nuclear sanity.

Today, South Africa’s weapons-grade uranium left over from the
apartheid era is being turned into medical isotopes that can detect
cancer and other diseases.

Swords into plowshares.

January 10, 2013 Posted by | South Africa, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Wind and solar bringing energy independence to Africa

Early this year, the Rio+20 conference saw increased calls for a green economy that would help African governments cease being net energy importers through the use of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar.

Greening Africa: The turbines turn http://www.africareview.com/Special-Reports/Greening-Africa-The-turbines-turn/-/979182/1654236/-/uuxs6a/-/index.html
December 30  2012 
This month, the UK’s Blue Energy announced it would sink $400 million into building sub-Saharan Africa’s largest photovoltaic solar power plant in Ghana, to meet six per cent of that country’s energy needs.

The planned 155MW Nzema project places Ghana among a growing list of African countries that have recently looked to tap into clean energy to meet their huge power deficits, to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and by extension secure their very existence. Continue reading →

December 31, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, renewable | Leave a comment

Ghana’s The 155-megawatt Nzema solar energy project

155MW Solar Farm For Ghana http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3533   30 Dec 12, A UK company will construct Africa’s largest solar panel based power plant; which will be fully operational in 2015.

The facility will be developed by Blue Energy; a firm majority owned and funded by members of the Stadium Group, one of Europe’s largest private asset and development companies.

The 155-megawatt Nzema project will be the first utility scale solar project to get the green light under Ghana’s 2011 Renewable Energy Act. Continue reading →

December 31, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, renewable | Leave a comment

Indigenous community resisting nuclear reactor in Eastern Cape, South Africa

indigenousthe Gamtkwa community still feels marginalised
and establishing a nuclear reactor atop a priceless heritage site is
likely to alienate them further.

There goes the neighbourhood…and here comes nuclear, Mail and
Guardian, Africa,
flag-S.Africa21 DEC 2012 05:00 – LIONEL FAULL

What happens when government plans to build a nuclear plant in your
hometown? Lionel Faull went to the Eastern Cape to find out.The
process of rolling out a massive nuclear power expansion programme
gained momentum in November when the Cabinet endorsed electricity
utility Eskom as the owner and operator of the proposed new nuclear
power stations. But the plan still faces an uphill public battle, not
least from the people in whose back yard the first new nuclear
behemoth is going to be carved out.

The Mail & Guardian went to Thyspunt in the Eastern Cape, where Eskom
is finalising the environmental plan for its preferred site, to hear
what locals have to say about living next door to nukes……. Continue reading →

December 22, 2012 Posted by | indigenous issues, South Africa | Leave a comment

Malawi protest against uranium mining company called off. Why?

Malawi group gets Paladin’s K0.9 million to publicize aborted protest … The Maravi Post-14/11/2012 Malawi group gets Paladin’s K0.9 million to publicize aborted … MZUZU–Paladin (Africa) Limited has provided funds amounting to K900, 000 … subscribers only

Paladin accuser recants threat allegation; Kyungu’s point man ... The Maravi Post-26/11/2012 MZUZU–Karonga Youth for Justice and Development (KYJD) has recanted the allegation made against Paladin (Africa) Limited, owners of … subscribers only  http://www.maravipost.com/malawi-news/society/2331-paladin-accuser-recants-threat-allegation-kyungu%E2%80%99s-point-man-praises-mining-firm.html

December 14, 2012 Posted by | Malawi, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | Leave a comment

Solar power enables vegetables to be grown in the Sahara

Cucumbers In The Sahara – Thanks To Solar Powerby Energy Matters, 10 Dec 12The first cucumbers produced in the Sahara desert using seawater and solar power were served up to participants at UN Climate Negotiations in Doha.

Cucumber may be a warm-season vegetable, but the Sahara desert is a rather extreme environment even for this sun loving plant as it is also quite thirsty.

The Sahara Forest Project has combined saltwater-cooled greenhouses, concentrated solar power (CSP), solar panels and desalination technologies to produce the crop from what is otherwise barren land. Salt created from the process is on-sold to third parties. Key to the project is not so much any individual technology, but how they work together….. http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3507

December 13, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, renewable | Leave a comment

Economic doubts about South African govt’s nuclear power programme

Do we really need a nuclear fleet?, Business Report, Mike Kantey, November 25 2012   Despite protestations by thousands of South Africans, our ANC-led government seems determined to spend over R1 trillion on a nuclear fleet, including a uranium enrichment plant, a fuel assembly plant, a reprocessing plant and a high-level waste management facility.

How has this impossibly expensive project been motivated and by whom? Continue reading →

November 26, 2012 Posted by | politics, South Africa | Leave a comment

Algeria’s program; renewable energy at home and for export

Algeria Targets 22,000 MW Of Renewable Energy By 2030 http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/22/algeria-targets-22000-mw-of-renewable-energy-by-2030/ NOVEMBER 22, 2012 BY ADAM JOHNSTON

North African country Algeria is upping the ante in the renewable energy game. According to a recent PV-Tech article, the country hopes to have 22 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy online by the year 2030, with a good part being exported on the international market. State-owned utility Sonelgaz, is expected to build 4.2 GW of renewables itself, providing underlying support towards Algeria’s goal.

Next year will see the first phase of the ambitious project, which will eventually include solar photovoltaic energy, concentrated solar power, and wind energy. As noted by PV Tech:

The first phase, which is expected to start in 2013, will include 1,228MW from PV power plants, followed by 2,475MW of concentrated solar (CSP) and 516MW of wind energy by 2022.

Besides Sonelgaz’s commitment to wind and solar, the utility also has a deal with the Desertec CHP project, to look at possibly exporting 1 GW to European countries.

With lots of sun to harness, Algeria, if it succeeds, could be a renewable energy market to watch out for in the years to come.

Clean Technica (http://s.tt/1uuid)
Read more at http://cleantechnica.com/2012/11/22/algeria-targets-22000-mw-of-renewable-energy-by-2030/#rZLuYkJV7RGcRxAr.99

November 23, 2012 Posted by | AFRICA, renewable | Leave a comment

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