Mining Madagascar

Dear Mr Albanese,

I have recently read about your ilmenite mine in Madagascar. In 2006 you said at the Investing in African Mining Conference "We anticipate the project [in the Fort-Dauphin region] will become a template for responsible mining development worldwide." The reality on the ground is very different. The impact of your mine on local communities and the environment in Madagascar goes against Rio Tinto's stated best practice, and is far from being a blueprint for future mining operations in Africa and the developing world. The project in the Fort Dauphin area of Madagascar is harming the livelihoods of local communities, denying them access to the natural resources upon which they rely, and causing increasing economic insecurity and social upheaval. In addition, it is quite clear that the project will not help to conserve or protect Madagascar's delicate mix of flora and fauna, which has evolved in isolation from the African mainland and of which approximately 75 per cent of the species are found nowhere else on Earth. Your project provides little in the way of benefit to local communities who are predominantly subsistence farmers, growing vegetables, fishing and raising livestock to survive, and who hold no formal land rights due to the customary nature in which land has been owned for generations. Compensation arrangements with communities already displaced by the mine have been poor, and are at risk of falling foul of your own and the World Bank's policies concerning compensation for displacement. The mine will begin production shortly, but before it does we urge you to take action to improve the impacts of the mine on local communities and ensure that the project's impacts on the unique biodiversity of Madagascar are improved. In particular I would like to see an improvement in the following areas: - Transparency and communication with all stakeholders, including in relation to: company plans to comply with the national mining code of practice in Madagascar; the shareholder agreement between the company and the Government of Madagascar; and that the land use required by the mine. - Improved communication between the company and all local affected communities, including the creation of a neutral and independent stakeholder programme that facilitates open and safe debate for all community members, and provides access to company representatives and mechanisms for conflict resolution, compromise, and the mitigation of negative impacts. - Action to limit the negative impacts of the mine on the livelihoods of local people, including improvements to the compensation and resettlement process so as to ensure compliance with the World Bank requirements and Rio Tinto's own code of practice; and action to address the project's impacts on the local cost of living. - Further action to mitigate the negative environmental impacts of the mine, including expansion of the conservation zones in order to ensure their viability. - Independent monitoring of the environmental impacts of the mine, with the findings made available to all interested stakeholders. I look forward to receiving your response.

You can contact me by email (preferably - to save resources) or at the following address:

Title:
Mr Mrs Miss Ms Dr Other None

First name:*

Surname:*

Postcode:*

Street address 1:

Street address 2:

Town:

Country:
United States Canada Japan United Kingdom Australia Germany France Switzerland Italy Netherlands Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Anguilla Antartica Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Terr. Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Isl Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Isl Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic East Timor Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Isl. (Malvinas) Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Terr. Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey, C.I. Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard and McDonald Isl Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey, C.I. Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea, Republic of Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxemborg Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Isl Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova, Republic of Monaco Mongolia Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherland Antilles Netherlands New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Isl Northern Mariana Isl Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Reunion Romania Russian Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts & Nevis Saint Lucia Samoa San Marino Sao Tome & Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St. Helena St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent & Grenadines Suriname Svalbard & Jan Mayen Isl Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Isl Tuvalu U.A.E. U.S.Minor Outlying Isl Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City State Venezuela Viet Nam Virgin Isl (British) Virgin Isl, (U.S.) Wallis & Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen, Republic of Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe

Email address:*

Please tick this box if you would like Friends of the Earth to use the contact details you have supplied, including your email address, to keep you up-to-date on our work and what you are helping us to achieve.

Friends of the Earth is a collective name for Friends of the Earth Trust, registered charity 281681, company number 1533942, and Friends of the Earth Limited, company number 1012357, both of which may use the above information. In both cases the registered office is at 26-28 Underwood Street, London, N1  7JQ.