User:Seagull76/Dark side of Gold

Did you know that to mine 750 kg of gold, you need to use 125 tons of poisonous natrium cyanide in the process?

Despite strong opposition from local and national groups, the Philippine government allowed the Australian firm Lafayette to start the extraction of gold, silver, copper and zinc in April 2005 on the picturesque island of Rapu Rapu. On May 19, 2006, a government-commissioned report recommended cancelling the license of Lafayette in Rapu Rapu and a moratorium on all mining on the island. But in July this year the National Government allowed the mine to reopen with a 30-day trial period. (

It did not take long before another massive fish kill occurred in the area. When Greenpeace sent out their employee to take water samples from a creek on public land near the mine, he was arrested and later harassed by police, military and security personnel and the water samples were confiscated. The company’s trial period will most likely be expanded to a permanent one, against the will of the local people. International petition to close the mine

The local people who are opposing the mine are calling for international help to sign this petition to the President Arroyo to close the mine and tell the mining company Lafayette to clean up the site. http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/campaigns/stop-lafayette-from-polluting

The island is a terrible place for a mine since it is situated along the country's typhoon belt and along a major fault, which makes it a high risk area for mining catastrophes. The water around the island has a rich marine biodiversity and contains the feeding ground for whale sharks. It is home to five of the seven known marine turtles in the world and provides local fishermen with a livelihood.

Mining company negligence

Right from the start the mining company’s negligence could be seen, and they did not complete the structural safeguards meant to minimize environmental damage.

According to a Greenpeace report released June 2006, cyanide and other toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, lead, arsenic and mercury escaped from the mine into the marine environment around the island in October and November 2005.

Fish stocks were contaminated and died in masses, seriously affecting coastal communities – about 5,000 households – who rely on the sea for their livelihood. The fish contamination led to a fish scare which lasted from October 2005 to January 2006. Many affected families couldn’t afford to send their children to school anymore as a consequence. Australian mining interests in the Philippines

Local opposition to the Lafayette mine grew after the leakage but the national government of the Philippines, which (after Lafayette) will receive most of the benefits, remains persistent that the mine continues with its operation. This has led to a conflict between the two, but the real beneficiary of the project is the Australian company who takes home 98% of the earnings.

Local employment in the mine has not been that big either only about 300 local people have a fulltime job in the mine. Most workers are migrant workers and bring with them violence and sex trade which has previously barely existed on the island. There has also been a tension between those landowners who wanted to sell their land and those who didn’t.

Source: Fool's Gold: The false economic promises of the Lafayette mining project in Rapu Rapu.

A Report Prepared for Greenpeace Southeast Asia by Risk Asia Consulting, Inc.

June 08, 2006

Downloadable here: []

Pressrelease about latest toxic spill and employee arrest from []