As it nears two years of a Bankwatch visit to the copper smelter in Namibia and the uncovering of an unsafe arsenic disposal site, a planned expansion has revealed so far undisclosed environmental information.
Based on a visit to Namibia this report assesses the environmental and social standards at the Tsumeb smelter, acquired by Canadian Dundee Precious Metals in 2010. The smelter specialises in working with some of the dirtiest copper concentrates half of which sourced from the Chelopech gold and copper mine in Bulgaria. The concentrates are extremely rich in arsenic and according to our calculations most of the toxic arsenic trioxide that comes as a by-product of the smelting is being dumped in Namibia, leading to severe health impacts for locals.
Prague; Khanbogd Soum, Mongolia - A large new copper mine in Mongolia could cause irreversible damage to terrain and deprive water from some of the world’s last remaining nomadic herding groups, finds a new report released today by Oyu Tolgoi Watch, the Bank Information Center, CEE Bankwatch Network and Accountability Counsel.
Following Bankwatch’s revelations about toxic pollutants at the Tsumeb smelter in Namibia, the smelter’s owner, Canadian mining company Dundee Precious Metals (DPM), contested our findings in Namibian news reports. Without substantiating its claims with facts, however, and in light of the results of local health surveys the company’s reassurances ring hollow and meaningless.
Last week Namibian news outlets reported on Bankwatch's findings on the potential impacts of Dundee Precious Metals' (DPM) operations in the country. Yet, in light of the company's response we believe a number of points need to be stressed.
The case of the Tsumeb smelter in Namibia demonstrates how European pollution is exported to the Global South with indirect help of public development money.
New civil society recommendations for the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia illustrate that much more than the bottom line needs to be considered to avoid development at the expense of local communities.
A look at mining projects in Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia reveal a need to carefully revise the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s involvement in the exploitation of natural resources.
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