A consortium of Canadian and
Mongolian organisations has filed a complaint with the Canadian government over
apparent violations of Mongolian law and international corporate responsibility
guidelines by Centerra Gold Inc. in its Mongolian operations.
MiningWatch Canada and its Mongolian
partners, the United Mongolian Movement of Rivers and Lakes (UMMRL) and OT
Watch lodged a complaint with the Canadian Government”s National Contact Point
for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises concerning Toronto-based
Centerra Gold Inc. and its alleged failure to respect Mongolian laws. The
complaint is supported by the US-based Southwest Research and Information
Center and the British NGO, Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID).
The NGOs allege that Centerra Gold”s
operations at the Boroo Mine and its Gatsuurt gold deposit in Selenge Province,
Mongolia are in violation of key provisions of the OECD Guidelines. Forty-two
OECD and non-OECD governments, including Canada, have adopted the Guidelines,
which are seen as the leading international instrument for the promotion of
responsible business conduct.
The Guidelines clearly state that
“obeying domestic laws in the first obligation of enterprises.” Centerra”s
proposed mine is situated in a forested area in the headwater of the Gatsuurt
River, where mineral exploration and mining operations are prohibited. The law
protecting the forests and rivers was passed in July 2009. In 2010 the
Mongolian Cabinet issued a list of 254 licences to be revoked, among them
Centerra Gold”s licences for the Gatsuurt project. By the end of that year the
company had already completed extensive mine working and a 55-kilometre haulage
road from Boroo to Gatsuurt.
During 2010, the company was
notified on at least two occasions by the authorities that its Gatsuurt licence
might be revoked and that until a decision had been taken, it should halt its
activities. Despite these formal notifications, according to UMMRL and OT
Watch, who visited the Gatsuurt site in July 2011, the company has continued
extensive forest cutting and disruption of the Gatsuurt River.
“The company seems to be trying
to present the Mongolian government with a “fait accompli”, said Sukhgerel
Dugersuren of OT Watch. “At the same time it is lobbying hard to have the
law amended.”
Herders complain that the forest
cutting and use of explosives have released arsenic and other heavy metals into
the Gatsuurt River, which is now too contaminated to be safe to drink.
Livestock have developed lesions and local people suffer from skin disorders
that they attribute to the company”s activities.
The Gatsuurt ore has high
concentrations of arsenic, according to a Centerra technical report, raising
pollution concerns. Paul Robinson, an environmental expert based at Southwest
Research and Information Center, explains: “If Gatsuurt proceeds,
groundwater contamination problems will only get worse. Centerra plans to
dispose of the spent ore at the existing tailings pile at Boroo where the
arsenic release to groundwater has already been detected.”
The NGOs warn that Centerra Gold”s
practices, in addition to flouting international guidelines, augment the risk
of increasing social tension and conflict in Mongolia as a result of the rapid
expansion of mining activities and weak regulation. Their petition calls on the
Canadian NCP to intervene to resolve the problems with Centerra Gold.
Source: http://www.marketwatch.com
