Resource Guide

1. A speech given by a Papuan human rights activist, detailing the human rights violations and corruption resulting from mining in Indonesia.  The site also includes many links to other articles and information on mining in many countries.   http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=946
2. This site gives information on how globalization has changed mining, and the impact of this on women.  http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/mining-cn.htm
3. This site details how gold is mined and processed, and the effects of this on surrounding communities.  http://www.grinningplanet.com/2005/02-01/gold-jewelry-gold-mining-article.htm
4. This government site goes over the history of gold mining and the economics involved.  http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/prospect1/goldgip.html
5. A New York Times opinion article covering the cost of diamond mining, and why solving the problem isn’t as simple as just boycotting.   http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/17/weekinreview/17mcneil.html?_r=1
6. An older New York Times article about the many deleterious effects of diamond mining.  http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/14/fashion/14diamonds.html?_r=1
7. An article about how although men are the ones doing the mining in Asia, women are the ones that bear the brunt of its effects.  http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=8739
8. This article explains the link between the mining industry and HIV.  http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=176
9. An overview of China’s mining practices:  http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=43
10. An interesting article about how Wal-Mart is launching a line of “green” jewelry, but using a company currently being sued over thousands of deaths:  http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/07/17/wal-mart-greening-its-jewelry/
11. The details on the lawsuit over mining protest deaths:  http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/37553/story.htm
12. This site explains the proposed Pebble Gold and Copper Mine in Alaska, and how it will be detrimental to the community.  http://www.pebbleminealaska.com/
13. This site gives an overview of indigenous peoples’ opposition to mines.  http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v4n2/hunt42.html
14. An overview of uranium mines and their environmental hazards:    http://www.wise-uranium.org/uwai.html
15. This site contains many links to sites about the health hazards for mine workers, and lists many of the mining disasters that have occurred http://www.minesandcommunities.org/list.php?f=9&all=1

Mining: In Pictures

Most of the gems and metals bought in the United States were mined elsewhere, out of sight.  Let’s shine a light on what goes on overseas.

This is Chuquicamata, the largest open pit copper mine in the world.  It’s more than a mile across, and has been used since 1915.  Heavy pollution from the mine has forced a nearby town to evacuate.  A similar copper mine in Papua New Guinea forced landowners off their land, seizing it, creating a civil uprising that was crushed by the combined efforts of the Rio Tinto mining company and the New Guinea government, resulting in thousands of deaths between 1989 and 1999.

This is a pit filled with cyanide from a gold mine in Khakassia, Russia.  Cyanide is doused over raw ore to leach the gold out.  The pits are poorly maintained, and cyanide often leaks into the water supply, polluting drinking water for the surrounding area.

Chilean children sift for gold in polluted water containing sulfur, mercury, and cyanide.

This man had both his hands hacked off by RUF fighters during Sierra Leone’s brutal civil war, financed by the diamond trade.

While 99% of the diamonds sold today come from conflict-free zones, diamonds are easy to smuggle, and the Kimberly Process, which requires that diamonds have a certificate of origin, is easy to fake.

It’s important to remember that diamonds are not a necessary good — their worth is what we make it.  “Creating new markets is the genius of DeBeers. Getting African-American men to wear bling works for them as well as their 1950’s campaigns to get Japanese brides to demand solitaires.” (Donald D. McNeill, Jr.  New York Times)

Diamond companies are taking steps in the right direction, by supporting trade of conflict-free diamonds and providing adequate pay and healthcare for miners.  But the diamond and other mining companies still have a long way to go.  And the sexist ads definitely aren’t helping.

A History of Mining

Mining has come a long way since the days of the gold rush.  When once miners would go down into underground mines, mining has transformed into large-scale operations requiring huge open pits, devastating the environment and surrounding communities.

As early as the 9th century, mining took place in Africa, with mined gold traded to people as far away as Asia.  An early form of globalization came with colonialism and imperialism, as the United States and European countries realized they could profit off of the gold mined from foreign communities.  Most of us have heard of the horrors that occurred when Spanish conquistadors went after Aztec gold, but many are unaware of the consequences of modern mining.

97% of the metals in the United States were mined from open pit mines.  These mines require all of the vegetation to be removed from a large area, blast a massive hole into the ground, and produce 8-10 times as much waste as underground mines.  In gold mining, the gold is extracted using a cyanide leaching process, which often results in cyanide poisoning surrounding groundwater.  But luckily for Americans, most gold mining occurs outside of the United States, where poor communities and countries in debt allow mining corporations to operate with few restrictions.   Many mining corporations are allowed to enter an area, claim land rights, and clear the area of residents.  In one district of Ghana, more than 30,000 people were displaced between 1990 and 1998.   And working in a mine is no cakewalk either; the International Labour Organization reports that mining accounts for 5% of all workplace deaths each year.

Luckily, there is hope on the horizon, at least where gold mines are concerned.  The “No Dirty Gold” campaign encourages consumers to purchase “clean” gold, gold not mined from pits.  Consumers can also purchase gold from companies that make jewelry from melted down jewelry, or purchase antique jewelry.

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