More on the NGO "dirty gold" campaign

[mike04456]

Two NGOs target gold for smear campaign




Will be interesting to see if this gets any traction in the mainstream media...

 

[DavidEmslie]

Interesting, wonder if they knew that about 70% of gold used in the US is from recycled gold...And that world wide its been recycled for over 6000 years.

Makes me wonder if they know that there are not that many gold mines left either. Most of the gold produced is bi-product of other mining operations. I know here in Colorado we get some of our gold for our designes from sand and gravel operations, the sand and rocks go to landscaping, concrete, and home foundations, and a little bit of gold is extracted as a bi-product by simple washing and sorting gravels.

 

[stevereno]

It's good that there's lots of gold recycling in the US but I don't think it's as high as 70%, In any case, globally the picture's quite different--recycling supplies only about 20% of jewelry demand according to Gold Fields Mineral Services (the poobahs of gold production and use statistics). There may be fewer mines, but they're way bigger--huge open pit operations--and this is the problem.

Then there's the human rights problems associated with gold mining. A good example has just occured a few days ago in the Philippines:

URGENT NEWS RELEASE MARCH 17,2004
>
> MININGWATCH CANADA
>
> PARAMILITARIES GUARDING CANADIAN MINE SHOOT
> PROTESTORS IN PHILIPPINES
>
> Paramilitaries guarding a mine development owned by
> TVI Resources, a
> Canadian mining company, opened fire on a peaceful
> blockade at 5 pm today,
> wounding four.
>
> A report from Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte,
> Philippines filed by the
> Diocesian Committee today states that large numbers
> of Special (Citizen
> Armed Forces Geographical Unit CAFGU) Armed
> Auxiliary (SCAA) of TVI
> Resource Development Philippines (TVI), a Calgary
> Canadian-based mining
> firm stormed and surrounded the protesters at around
> 5:00 pm and fired
> their armalite automatic rifles into the group.
>
> The protestors were on a road leading to the
> minesite at Canatuan, 3
> kilometers from the town of Siocon and 20 kilometers
> from the proposed
> mine. The farmers, Subanon indigenous people, fisher
> folk, fishpond
> operators and a church group started the barricade
> on March 14 at around 4
> pm. All are members of a multi-sectoral group
> organized in Zamboanga del
> Norte called "Save the Paradise and Watershed"
> movement.
>
> They are trying to stop the building of an open pit
> heap leach gold mine in
> the mountains above the town of Siocon. The mine is
> on land belonging to
> the Subanon indigenous people and has been hotly
> disputed since its inception.
>
> The SCAA troop was led by a Retired Col. Edang, a
> TVI SCAA commander. The
> SCAA is employed by TVI to guard their site.
>
> Four of the victims suffered multiple gunshot
> wounds. Wounded were: Subanon
> Chieftain Macario Salacao, President of the Siocon
> Federation of Subanon
> Tribal Council (SFSTC) Edie Cayabyab, and
> supporters, Juan Veloria and
> Dakbot Lorete.
>
> The Mayor of the Town of Siocon downstream of the
> mine has been seeking an
> injunction to stop it. In 2002, the Municipal
> Council of Siocon passed a
> resolution banning any form of environmental
> destruction, especially large
> - scale mining.
>
> The four wounded were brought to the Siocon
> Emergency Hospital for
> treatment. One of these has a bullet lodged in his
> knee.
>
> The protesters say they are invoking their
> constitutional rights to block
> TVI equipment, because TVI has failed to get social
> acceptability from the
> local government of Siocon, from the Indigenous
> People, the Subanon, who
> hold a legal and legitimate Certificate of Ancestral
> Domain Claim (CADT),
> and from the other local governments. On September
> 2003, during the
> environmental forum sponsored by the local
> government unit here through the
> Department of Interior and Local Government in
> partnership with DIOPIM
> Committee on Mining Issues, a declaration was passed
> banning any form of
> environmental destruction passed and signed by 181
> barangay officials from
> all over Siocon.
>
> The protestors are demanding that the government to
> cancel TVI's Mineral
> Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) and order the
> company to vacate from
> area without conditions. The Save Paradise movement
> is calling all concern
> people all over the world to support their demand to
> cancel the Mineral
> Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) of the company
> and to instead
> support improved the agriculture in the area.
>
> For more information: Contact Tito Natividad
> Fiel, Coordinator,DIOPIM
> Committee on Mining Issues,
> G/F, Diocesan Pastoral Center, Sicayab, Dipolog
> City,Tel/Fax: (065)
> 212-3678 [email protected]
>
> Geoff Nettleton, PIPlinks, 136-771-8889,
> [email protected]
>
> or Joan Kuyek, National Co-ordinator, MiningWatch
> Canada , 1-613-569-3439,
> [email protected]
>

----------------
On 2/28/2004 7:32:27 AM DavidEmslie wrote:

Interesting, wonder if they knew that about 70% of gold used in the US is from recycled gold...And that world wide its been recycled for over 6000 years.

Makes me wonder if they know that there are not that many gold mines left either. Most of the gold produced is bi-product of other mining operations. I know here in Colorado we get some of our gold for our designes from sand and gravel operations, the sand and rocks go to landscaping, concrete, and home foundations, and a little bit of gold is extracted as a bi-product by simple washing and sorting gravels. ----------------

 

[stevereno]

PS:

Readers might be interested in looking at the Jewelers of America's "Social, Ethical and Environmental Initiative" :

http://www.jewelers.org:8080/3.consumers/ethics/statement.shtml .

It seems to me (and the J of A) that insuring that good environmental and human rights practices are part of every piece of beautiful jewelry will lead to marketing opportunities in North America and Europe.