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Article

16 Apr 2009

Author:
London Mining Network

Rio Tinto attacked from all sides

Yesterday’s Rio Tinto AGM was full of dissatisfied shareholders, and not only the usual suspects...Objections were raised in relation to the Eagle project in Michigan, USA, the Grasberg joint venture project in West Papua, involvement with the Muriel Mining Corporation in Colombia and the Ranger mine in Australia...[B]oth Chairman Paul Skinner and CEO Tom Albanese avoided giving straight answers to simple questions. Repeatedly, they responded to issues of Indigenous Peoples’ rights by stating that some people were opposed to the projects in question, others in favour, that they would create jobs and that they would therefore go ahead with them. They refused to deal with the underlying issue of contention – the pursuit of mining projects on Indigenous land against the express wishes of Indigenous communities.