6/18/07

Rio Tinto rape the Tai Tokerau




I've been putting off putting this stuff up. I have been gutted to know that Rio Tino are surveying for mining some of our families ancestral lands. Some elders from the NT are talking in Melbourne tonight. (7pm Old Council Chambers Trades Hall)we will be sure to welcome and support their struggles against earth raping Mining companies.



Rio Tinto to acquire Iron Ore NZ interest in Prospecting Permit
The renewal documents for the prospecting permit #39287 include the
immediate acqisition of a 60% interest the the permit previously held
by John Rutherford owned Iron Ore NZ Ltd. The permit renewal also
indicates a future total transfer of the interest to Rio Tinto Mining
and Exploration Ltd - a newly formed company #1918541 reg 16 March 2007

Rio Tinto (parent and subsiduary companies) have the attention of
environmental watchdogs in Indonesia WALHI ,in Madagascar Friends of
the Earthand the Jabiluka Uranium Friends of the Earth lease in the
Northern Territory of Australia

While still raising the ire of the conservation and environmental
lobby, Rio Tinto has developed policy to address the environmental
effects of their mining operations. Rio Tinto Environmental Policy.
The proof of the adequacy will be in the historical audit of the
mining operations when compared with the policy.

Let us hope there is no white wash.

http://www.blacksands.org.nz/new/home.htm


Closeup looks at the issues of the anti seabed mining lobby KASM and
questions representitives from Iron Ore NZ, Crown Minerals and
Taranaki Regional Council

http://www.blacksands.org.nz/new/media/sandmining_241105_128k.wmv

Northland region may have valuable untapped mineral resources.

> 5:00AM Thursday June 14, 2007
> By Wayne Thompson
>
> One of the world's largest mining companies has begun an airborne
> survey of 1200sq km of mineral-rich ironsand deposits along the west
> coast of the North Island.
>
> The Rio Tinto company is managing the hunt for iron and other metals
> in a joint-venture with Iron Ore New Zealand, which won the
> prospecting permit from the Crown Minerals Group in the Ministry of
> Energy.
>
> As the survey aircraft yesterday flew low and slow over the permit
> area - at Mokau, north Taranaki and the west coast of south Auckland -
> iwi and environmental groups and the Auckland Regional Council
> scrambled for more information about the venture.
>
> Fears were expressed for the impact of any dredging on the maui's
> dolphin, a species considered critically endangered, found only off
> the west coast from Northland to New Plymouth.
>
> Ngati Te Ata environment manager Karl Flavell said he had scant
> information about the prospecting.
>
> "We have not been consulted although we are the tribal authority for
> the area from Manukau Heads to Maioro, the north side of Port Waikato
> Heads."
>
>
> ARC environment chairman Dianne Glenn said she raised three chief
> concerns about the prospecting at this week's council meeting. "As a
> result the ARC will write to the Government's conservation, economic
> development and fisheries ministers.
>
> "One of our concerns is that the maui's dolphin has a particularly
> strong presence in the permit area - the Waikato River mouth to
> Manukau Harbour.
>
> "We are also concerned at extra erosion of the coast if there is
> extraction of sand."
>
> Mrs Glenn said another concern was any mining interference with the
> build up of the Auckland construction industry's future sand supplies
> in the Kaipara Harbour. A further concern was the effect of sand
> extraction on Franklin's surf beaches - Sunset Beach, at Port Waikato
> and Karioitahi.
>
> Kiwis Against Sand Mining spokesman (Kasm) Bill McNatty said he felt
> the Rio Tinto joint venture was more "ominous" than previous seabed
> prospecting bids on the west coast because of the powerful company's
> environmental record in its operations internationally.
>
> Kasm raised 15,000 signatures for a petition calling for a blanket ban
> on ironsand mining of the seabed. The petition was presented to
> Parliament in February and is being considered by the Local Government
> and Environment Committee.
>
> Mr McNatty said Kasm had sought information from Rio Tinto and it
> would make strong representations to Crown Minerals if the prospecting
> advanced to the next stage - applying for an exploration permit.
>
> ARC coastal project leader Andrew Benson said the site within the
> Auckland Coastal Marine Area was about 480sq km, extending from the
> northern side of the Waikato River mouth along the Awhitu Peninsula to
> the South Head of Manukau Harbour.
>
> The landward boundary of the prospecting area was the line of mean
> high-water mark. The offshore boundary was a line more or less
> parallel to the Awhitu Peninsula, 15km off shore.
>
> Mr Benson said that the Auckland Regional Coastal Plan allowed
> prospecting that involved the taking of a small quantity of material,
> subject to conditions.
>
> Coastal permits - a resource consent allowing prospecting activity -
> had not been sought.
>
> However, the company advised they might take physical samples early
> next year and would then assess their need for coastal permits to
> provide for prospecting.
>
> A spokeswoman for Rio Tinto Iron ore, Joanna McKenzie, said last night
> from Perth that the aircraft was conducting aeromagnetic surveys over
> sites in the permit area.
>
> The company owns Comalco, which has the aluminium smelter at Bluff, in
> the South Island.
>
> The survey conducted by Auckland-based Kiwi Air and Perth-based UTS
> Geophysics will take a fortnight and the survey plane will fly at a
> minimum of 20m above the sea and follows grid lines 200m apart

> >
> > 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...
> >
> > http://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.

"Marakita_Mehme wrote:
> > >
> > > Caution urged over mining potential
> > > The Bay Chronicle | Thursday, 7 June 2007
> > >
> > >
> > > The announcement of Northland's billion dollar mining potential has
> > > drawn a guarded response from Far North Environment Centre
coordinator
> > > John Kenderdine.
> > > He says extra economic activity is always welcome if it will add to
> > > the well-being of a community but he fears any movement toward
> > > weakening the Resource Management Act to accommodate exploration and
> > > mining companies.
> > > "The environment is the life support system for all life on this
> > > planet so we have to ensure that additions to our economy, on
which we
> > > base our welfare, is good for everyone in the long term."
> > > Mr Kenderdine said he spent three summers working for exploration
> > > companies in British Columbia, where he heard exaggerated reports on
> > > what had been found: "This was to jack up the share price to suck in
> > > more punters looking for a quick buck, but it was only ever the
> > > manipulators who made the money. While I have no doubt there are
many
> > > reputable exploration companies around, I doubt that our local
> > > councils have the expertise to recognise the cowboys before they do
> > > irreparable damage."
> > > Last week's announcement, based on a study by GNS Science and the NZ
> > > Institute of Economic Research, said $28 billion of non-metallic and
> > > $5.2 billion of metallic mineral deposits were potentially
present in
> > > Northland.
> > > The Foundation of Research Science and Technology funded the
> > > assessment, while the study of the economic effects was supported by
> > > the Crown Minerals Group of the Ministry of Economic Development and
> > > the Far North and Whangarei District Councils, with Enterprise
> > > Northland facilitating the process.
> > > GNS Science and NZIER identifies potential for aluminium, coal,
> > > copper, gold, lead, mercury, nickel, peat, phosphate and zinc
and says
> > > Northland?s mineral revenue could increase from about $100 million a
> > > year to $354 million.

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