Newmont Mining Corporation , based in Denver, Colorado, USA, is the world's largest producer of gold, with active mines in Canada, Bolivia, Australia, Indonesia, New Zealand, Turkey, and Uzbekistan. Holdings include Battle Mountain Gold, Normandy Mining, and Franco-Nevada Corp. Newmont produces about 7.5 million ounces of gold annually and holds reserves of about 90 million ounces of gold. Production in the Americas accounts for about 70% of the company's production, but even so Newmont is the lead gold mining operation in Australia. Other metals that the company mines include copper, silver, and zinc.
Newmont is in a joint venture project with Southwestern Resources Corporation for exploration and extraction of many precious metals. Namely, there's the Yunnan Porphyry Copper and Gold Project in China, and the Liam Gold-Silver Project in Peru.
Among other business in the metro Denver area, like Hewlett-Packard and Cooperate Express, Newmont boasts their use of Linux for firewall protection, e-mail, and other tasks. [1]
In December 2004, government officials in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, anticipate the closure of Newmont Canada's Golden Giant mine in about one year. [2]
Controversy
In Indonesia, Newmont Mining Corporation became involved in a controversy pitting their mining operations against the Indonesian Environment Ministry and an emerging grassroots environmental activism movement.
In August 2004, a USD $543 million lawsuit was filed against Newmont by local villagers who claim that pollution caused by the company's mining activities has caused serious illnesses and other health problems, including skin disease, tumors, birth defects, and a decline in fish stocks. At around the same time, the mine was shut down, as regularly scheduled.
Police, soon after, detained five Newmont officials for more than 30 days after an initial investigation found evidence of pollution. These officials were released on October 23, 2004. [3]
In November 2004, an independent report found that sediment and fish in Buyat Bay, located in North Sulawesi province, were contaminated with Mercury and Arsenic as a result of mining at Minahsa Raya. Newmont vehemently denies the findings of this report, which contradicts its own studies, and reports released by Indonesia's former environmental minister. They claim that the decline in Public health is as a result of poor sanitation and other meager living conditions.
[4] Intense public pressure has forced police to bring charges against six Newmont managers – including three expatriates – who now face up to 15 years in prison on environmental charges.
Wayne Murdy, Newmont's CEO, has admitted that his company underestimated its opposition in this case. He remarks about the "tremendous statement for freedom" in Indonesia, but also says that freedom has its costs. "Our reputation has been tarnished by this," he continued, "and our reputation is very important." [5]
See also
- Peruvians sue Newmont Mining Company over mercury poisoning on Wikinews
Contact information
- 1700 Lincoln St. Denver, CO 80203, USA
- Phone: (1) 303-863-7414
- Fax: (1) 303-837-5837
- Official Website