Archived press release

RTZ in Madagascar

19 January 1995

Demonstration 10.00am at Worldaware Business Awards, Royal Automobile Club, 89 Pall Mall, London SW1.

Press conference 11.45am in the Hall of India, Royal Overseas League, Park Place, St. James St., London SW1.

Environmentalists, including Dr Chris Orengo, the fiancee of Andrew Lees, Sir David Attenborough and Friends of the Earth will today call on British mining giant Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) to withdraw from the controversial mineral sands mining project in south-eastern Madagascar [1].

Andrew Lees, former Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, died in Madagascar on New Years' Eve 1994 whilst researching the impacts of the proposed ilmenite mine that will destroy at least two thirds of Madagascar's unique east coast littoral forest remnants [2].

The environmentalists' demands will be put to the company at a demonstration outside the Worldaware Business Awards where foundations set up by subsidiary companies of RTZ will receive tributes from British Chancellor Kenneth Clarke MP for supporting economic and social progress in developing countries. One of the companies, Richards Bay Minerals, is also part owned by the RTZ subsidiary that will implement the mining in Madagascar [3].

An open letter from environmentalists to RTZ's Chairman, the Malagasy President and the UK's Overseas Development Minister will then be released at a press conference [4]. The letter calls on RTZ to withdraw from the mining project, for the Malagasy Government to review alternative environmentally sustainable development strategies for the region and on the international community to support Malagasy efforts to improve the local economy without destroying the forests.

The day will mark the beginning of a campaign to save the forest remnants which are of global importance for biodiversity conservation.

Sir David Attenborough said:

CONTACT: Charles Secrett TEL: 071 490 0210/0385 236972

PAGE 2 FRIENDS OF THE EARTH "I have travelled in these forests and I know well what amazing wonders they contain. I am convinced that it would be economic folly to exchange something that would bring revenues from ecotourism in perpetuity for a payment that will end within 40 years".

Charles Secrett, Director of Friends of the Earth, said:

"These irreplaceable forests must be maintained to meet local needs and to conserve global biodiversity. RTZ should abandon mining proposals and the international community mobilise resources for developments that will not wreck the environment and local economy".

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

[1] RTZ's wholly owned Canadian subsidiary, QIT Fer et Titane, is developing plans to mine mineral sands deposits on the south-eastern coast of Madagascar in a joint venture project with the Malagasy Government. QIT has delegated its responsibilities as operator to QIT Madagascar Minerals Ltd et Cie (QMM), a QIT subsidiary established in Madagascar for the purpose of managing the project on behalf of the joint venture partners. The mineral sands deposits contain ilmenite, a major source of titanium dioxide (TiO2). White pigments, used in for instance toothpaste, paint and washing powders, account for over 90 per cent of world production of titanium minerals. Ores will be extracted by surface wet dredge over an area of about 6300 ha.

[2] Madagascar's east coast littoral forests once extended from the south-eastern tip of the island northwards on the coastal plain for several hundred km in belt up to 30 km wide. Virtually all that remains today are three main forest fragments covering 4000 ha concentrated in the mining area. At least two thirds of this remnant forest will be destroyed if the mining goes ahead. Although poorly surveyed, it is clear that the forest remnants are of global conservation significance. For instance, a 1990 Environmental Impact Study carried out by Lewis Environmental Consultants confirms that one of the three forest areas has at least nine plant species not known anywhere else on Earth. Similarly, over 26 per cent of Madagascar's hundreds of terrestrial vertebrates occur in the coastal forests even though they cover just a fraction of a per cent of the island's area. The 1990 study revealed

CONTACT: Charles Secrett TEL: 071 490 0210/0385 236972

PAGE 3 FRIENDS OF THE EARTH the presence of 29 reptiles not previously known from the area underlining how little is known of the local flora and fauna.

[3] Foundations set up by RTZ subsidiaries Richards Bay Minerals (50 per cent owned by RTZ) and R"ssing Uranium (51 per cent) will today receive Worldaware Business Awards. Richards Bay Minerals' South African mine is the world's second largest source of titanium dioxide; the company is also partly owned by QIT Fer et Titane. Richards Bay Minerals was recently denied permission to open further mineral sands workings in St Lucia, South Africa, because of environmental fears. R"ssing Uranium's Namibian Uranium mine has been described as "the most controversial single mining project anywhere on the globe" (Moody, R. (1992). The Gulliver File. Minewatch, London.

[4] The environmentalists' open letter is signed by Chris Orengo, Sir David Attenborough, Paul Hellyer (Andrew Lees' companion in Madagascar), Dr Jonathan Kaplan (friend and colleague of Andrew who accompanied Chris Orengo at the scene of the search for Andrew), Friends of the Earth and the World Wide Fund for Nature. It is addressed to RTZ's Chairman Sir Derek Birkin, Malagasy President Didier Ratsiraka and UK Overseas Development Minister Baroness Chalker. Copies will be available at the press conference.

CONTACT: Charles Secrett TEL: 071 490 0210/0385 236972

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust