"Rio Tinto in Madagascar: “the conflict is not over” as QMM receives more than 8000 complaints from villagers", 9 August 2022

After months of crisis in Anosy following QMM’s mine tailings dam failures and the release of a million cubic metre of QMM mine basin water into the local environment with subsequent fish deaths and fishing ban, Rio Tinto’s CEO agreed to meet and discuss the issues at the London HQ.

Campaign partners Publish What You Pay Madagascar (PWYP MG) and Andrew Lees Trust (ALT UK) attended and, with support provided by London Mining Network, ALT UK also accompanied the Anosy Diaspora representative Tahiry Ratsiambahotra to the meeting to share community concerns directly with the Rio Tinto executive.

The meeting took place on 20th July and provided an opportunity to review pressing matters following the fish deaths and community crisis in Anosy, where thousands of villagers have been negatively affected by the mine, losing lands and livelihoods...

After local protests and road blocks escalated into hostage taking in May 2022, solutions were urgently needed to resolve the crisis. Intervention from Malagasy Government ministers led to the setting up of a local commission with the Governor of Anosy and QMM to respond to complaints and address the rights of villagers to compensation for their losses – not just during the fishing ban but for impacts suffered over more than a decade of QMM operations...

By the time of the July meeting, 8778 complaints had been submitted to QMM from villagers, largely about loss of lands and livelihoods as a result of the mine operations. The commission is ongoing and outcomes pending...One major concern is the news that QMM does not intend to pay out monetary compensation to remedy losses, but will only offer work for pay...

The compensation matter was raised at the meeting, together with a demand for a national commission on water quality around the QMM mine, as had been pledged by Rio Tinto in 2019 but has yet to materialise. We continue to lobby for this national water commission and argue that it must be ongoing for the life of the mine...