POTASH - BILLITON - Janzen
Posted: Sun Aug 22, 2010 10:42 amBHP BILLITON: SK Potash not the only goal...
Backgrounder on BHP Billiton - from BHP Billiton Watch
http://www.bhpbillitonwatch.wordpress.com
Please circulate
They are big, powerful and determined to get what they want. This is just an example of what they are doing throughout the world. They also got Kevin Rudd former PM of Australia dumped because he tried to get more royalties for the people of Australia.
More case profiles of what they are doing globally can be found at
http://www.bhpbillitonwatch.wordpress.com
= = = = = =
NW Territories: Ekati Diamond Mine profile
[ http://bhpbillitonwatch.wordpress.com/2 ... e-profile/ ]
October 21, 2009 in Canada, Environment, Food Security, Indigenous Peoples, Labor, Sensitive Ecosystems
The Ekati Diamond Mine, owned and operated by BHP Billiton, is located 350 kilometres north of the city of Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Construction began on the mine in 1996 with operations at the open and underground pits beginning two years later. This remote site is accessible by air and seasonally by a 475 kilometre ice road. With the implementation of a multi-stakeholder “Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency” (funded by BHP Billiton) and community monitoring programmes that involve affected communities of Indigenous Peoples, Ekati is one of the most closely monitored mine sites in Canada and has been upheld as a working model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, as demonstrated by testimonials from affected peoples and ecological indicators, this large scale mine appears to have had highly concerning social, micro-economic, cultural and ecological impacts.
Initially, BHP Billiton negotiated impact-benefit agreements with four affected communities of Indigenous Peoples: the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council, the Akaitcho Treaty 8 Council, and the North Slave Metis Alliance. However, these agreements were made on a tight time frame and Aboriginal negotiators reported feeling pressured, overwhelmed, ill-informed and confused about the process. This disadvantageous negotiation position has been of ongoing concern during not only the expansion process of the mine, but also currently in the planning phases for mine closure and land reclamation. Barriers to the full participation of Indigenous community negotiators include inequitable positioning in terms of access to resources, technical expertise and time, as well as divisions between indigenous and non-indigenous understandings of the land.
Few financial benefits from the mine remain within the communities, as local royalty earnings add up to less than 1% of the mine’s annual profit. First Nations communities also raise the concern that they are generally not considered for higher paying technical positions that require training and educational backgrounds to which they have had little access. Instead, they are generally concentrated in lower income jobs such as truck driving. With housing prices skyrocketing due to the mining-based economy, this income disparity has disastrous social impacts. Meanwhile, the rotation of fly-in/fly-out short term work shifts has reportedly created social and family instability amongst workers and contributed to an increasing rate of drug and alcohol abuse. Though Ekati workers are unionized, they have faced stiff opposition from BHP Billiton during negotiations of collective agreements. In the past, workers have had to go on strike in order to win minimal concessions.
Significantly, Ekati is located in an environmentally fragile zone, and impacts on the wildlife populations—including caribou, wolverine, bears, ptarmigan and fish—and the land, have been noted by elders of the Indigenous communities. For instance, decreases in the caribou population, grizzly bear population and fish diversity have been observed, and are understood as a likely consequence of mine blasting operations and surface water drainage in the region. Furthermore, residents of the region can no longer hunt in traditional grounds, as wildlife migration patterns—particularly those of the caribou—have shifted. Not only are the animals integral to a sustainable ecosystem balance, but they also are an important basis of physical and cultural survival for Indigenous communities.
Meanwhile, accidental spills and seepage of tailings as well as sewage from the site, acid mine drainage, increases in uranium and aluminium residue in the air, and elevated levels of dissolved solids, potassium, ammonia, nitrates and molybdenum in local water bodies have kept local people on alert. Though cumulative impacts are unknown, water and air contamination are also of concern to communities located downstream (and downwind) from Ekati. At the current time, waste rock and tailings are being stored under permafrost barriers, rock ice caps and frozen core dams. However, given the evidence that global warming trends appear to be already impacting northern expanses of tundra, local Indigenous communities have raised the issue that there is no mitigation plan in place to deal with the impacts of the thawing ground. With the prospects of the future uncertain, those advocating for healthy communities—and the recognition of the fragile web of life upon which we all base our survival—continue to struggle to have their perspectives heard.
= = = = = = =
Billiton – more is never enough!
From: Elaine Hughes
To: CBC Morning Edition
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 8:18 AM
Subject: Billiton – more is never enough!
Good morning
Amidst all the breathless excitement about the money, we can be assured that Billiton will muscle its way to being the only game in town - today, it's Potash Corp; tomorrow, it will be Potash One - more is never enough.
We can kiss the whole industry good bye - forget all the rhetoric.
Meanwhile, Billiton continues developing its Jansen potash mine plans, including how to meet its voracious demand for millions of gallons of water by laying 50 miles of pipe from the Zelma reservoir to the mine site besides targeting the nearby aquifers to supplement their access to water.
It won't take long for central Saskatchewan residents to notice the drop in the water levels in their wells and local water supplies - in every direction for many miles around.
...which they'll be able to supplement . . . how????
Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK
= = = = = = = = =
BHP Billiton – Safety Track Record
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 9:31 AM
Subject: BHP Billiton - Safety Track Record
BHP Billiton – Safety Track Record
Should Saskatchewan be concerned about this company’s safety track record?
Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK
= = = = = = = =
BHP Billiton to develop Sask. potash mine
[ http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/01/2 ... -1001.html ]
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 | 4:43 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton is preparing to make its first foray into potash production by earmarking $240 million US for the development of its Jansen project in Saskatchewan.
MORE:
[ http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/01/2 ... -1001.html ]
- - - -
BHP Billiton - Olympic Dam, Roxby Downs (South Australia)
[ http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html ]
General issues (Links on website above. Ed.)
Olympic Dam expansion project
License violations at Olympic Dam
> View deposit info
> View PIRSA announcements
General issues
Workers exposed to unsafe levels of radiation at Olympic Dam mine: whistleblower
Workers at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam are being exposed to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. BHP Billiton has been warned about the risks at Roxby Downs, but according to South Australian Upper House Greens MP Mark Parnell the company has failed to take action. Mr Parnell says the levels of polonium-210, the toxic by-product of uranium production, have breached health standards. The whistleblower produced documents that show BHP uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure the figures are below the maximum exposure levels set by government, he said. (Sydney Morning Herald June 4, 2010)
MORE: [ http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html ]
= = = = =
Issues at Operating Uranium Mines and Mills - Olympic Dam, Australia
[ http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html#OLYMPICD ]
= = = = = =
ALERT: Open Houses - SK Jansen Potash Project
From: Elaine Hughes
To: Toxic Nation ; Sask Environmental Society ; Sask EcoNetwork
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 12:55 PM
Subject: ALERT: Open Houses - Jansen Potash Project
Please.....distribute this information to your contacts in the affected areas....
= = = =
NOTICE OF PUBLIC OPEN HOUSES
Jansen Potash Project -
[ http://www2.mpmo-bggp.gc.ca/MPTracker/p ... px?pid=103 ]
BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc.'s Jansen Potash Mine project is a proposed 8.0-million-tonnes/year underground potash mine located 140 km east of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with an expected mine life of 50+ years. The proposal also includes a processing plant, tailings management area and associated infrastructure, including on-site roads and rail.
= = = = =
BHP Billiton holds over 7,338 square kilometres of highly prospective exploration permits in Saskatchewan. Now in the Selection Phase of development, the Jansen Project is the most advanced. BHP Billiton is also pursuing opportunities for potash development in the Boulder and Young areas.
[ http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRep ... Issue5.pdf ]
= = = = = =
Jansen Potash Project – Project #0927-001-12-01.
Submittetd to Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, November 2008: (100 MB)
[ http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRep ... oposal.pdf ]
Project Description: Page 52
Tailings area: 1740 hectares (4,297.8 acres)
Height of Tailings Pile: 40 meters
Water consumption/year (m3): 7,360,000
Start of construction: July 2011
Start of Production: January 2015
For further information:
Please visit the company website:
[ http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/ourBusine ... opment.jsp ]
Or contact Serge Pelletier at: serge.j.pelletier@bhpbilliton.com
Tel: 1-306-657-8410
= = = = =
ADDITIONAL INFO:
BHP Billiton to spend US$240M on Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan
[ http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/2001 ... hewan.html ]
Wed Jan 20, 3:56 PM Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
CALGARY - Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP.AX) is preparing to make its first foray into potash production by earmarking US$240 million for the development of its Jansen project in Saskatchewan.
The company said Wednesday the cash layout will pay for the initial stages of construction at the mine, about 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
"The Jansen project is the first phase of what we expect to be our strong presence in the potash sector," Graham Kerr, president of the company's BHP Billiton Diamonds & Specialty Products division, said in a statement.
BHP Billiton will continue to pursue other potash opportunities that fit with its portfolio, including its Boulder and Young potash holdings in Saskatchewan.
The Prairie province is the world's largest producer of the mineral, used primarily to fertilize crops.
Jansen is expected to produce about eight million tonnes a year of agricultural-grade potash. It plans to sink the first mine shafts once engineering and permitting are completed about mid-2011.
MORE:
[ http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/2001 ... hewan.html ]
= = = = = = =
Potash Mining - Mining Watch Canada
[ http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/home/issue/potash ]
= = = = = =
Environmental Aspects of Phosphate and Potash Mining
[ http://www.miningwatch.ca/sites/miningw ... mining.pdf ]
= = = = =
Thai Opposition to Potash Mine Becomes Community-Wide Fight
[ http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1463/65/ ]
Written by Tanya Roberts-Davis Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Source: The Dominion
Entering the North-Eastern Thai village of Ban Nonsomboon, one could be fooled by the appearance of rural tranquility: Children, parents and elders chat amongst themselves, relaxing in hammocks and sharing baskets of freshly cooked sticky rice.
It doesn't take long, however, to notice the banners, stickers and posters throughout the community declaring, “No to Potash Mining!” Green flags signifying a commitment to a toxic-chemical-free zone wave in the breeze.
In the midst of this fertile farmland a struggle is brewing. The community is fighting for the preservation of the land they depend on to live, and the fight has a strong Canadian connection.
MORE: [ http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1463/65/ ]
Backgrounder on BHP Billiton - from BHP Billiton Watch
http://www.bhpbillitonwatch.wordpress.com
Please circulate
They are big, powerful and determined to get what they want. This is just an example of what they are doing throughout the world. They also got Kevin Rudd former PM of Australia dumped because he tried to get more royalties for the people of Australia.
More case profiles of what they are doing globally can be found at
http://www.bhpbillitonwatch.wordpress.com
= = = = = =
NW Territories: Ekati Diamond Mine profile
[ http://bhpbillitonwatch.wordpress.com/2 ... e-profile/ ]
October 21, 2009 in Canada, Environment, Food Security, Indigenous Peoples, Labor, Sensitive Ecosystems
The Ekati Diamond Mine, owned and operated by BHP Billiton, is located 350 kilometres north of the city of Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Construction began on the mine in 1996 with operations at the open and underground pits beginning two years later. This remote site is accessible by air and seasonally by a 475 kilometre ice road. With the implementation of a multi-stakeholder “Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency” (funded by BHP Billiton) and community monitoring programmes that involve affected communities of Indigenous Peoples, Ekati is one of the most closely monitored mine sites in Canada and has been upheld as a working model of corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, as demonstrated by testimonials from affected peoples and ecological indicators, this large scale mine appears to have had highly concerning social, micro-economic, cultural and ecological impacts.
Initially, BHP Billiton negotiated impact-benefit agreements with four affected communities of Indigenous Peoples: the Kitikmeot Inuit Association, the Dogrib Treaty 11 Council, the Akaitcho Treaty 8 Council, and the North Slave Metis Alliance. However, these agreements were made on a tight time frame and Aboriginal negotiators reported feeling pressured, overwhelmed, ill-informed and confused about the process. This disadvantageous negotiation position has been of ongoing concern during not only the expansion process of the mine, but also currently in the planning phases for mine closure and land reclamation. Barriers to the full participation of Indigenous community negotiators include inequitable positioning in terms of access to resources, technical expertise and time, as well as divisions between indigenous and non-indigenous understandings of the land.
Few financial benefits from the mine remain within the communities, as local royalty earnings add up to less than 1% of the mine’s annual profit. First Nations communities also raise the concern that they are generally not considered for higher paying technical positions that require training and educational backgrounds to which they have had little access. Instead, they are generally concentrated in lower income jobs such as truck driving. With housing prices skyrocketing due to the mining-based economy, this income disparity has disastrous social impacts. Meanwhile, the rotation of fly-in/fly-out short term work shifts has reportedly created social and family instability amongst workers and contributed to an increasing rate of drug and alcohol abuse. Though Ekati workers are unionized, they have faced stiff opposition from BHP Billiton during negotiations of collective agreements. In the past, workers have had to go on strike in order to win minimal concessions.
Significantly, Ekati is located in an environmentally fragile zone, and impacts on the wildlife populations—including caribou, wolverine, bears, ptarmigan and fish—and the land, have been noted by elders of the Indigenous communities. For instance, decreases in the caribou population, grizzly bear population and fish diversity have been observed, and are understood as a likely consequence of mine blasting operations and surface water drainage in the region. Furthermore, residents of the region can no longer hunt in traditional grounds, as wildlife migration patterns—particularly those of the caribou—have shifted. Not only are the animals integral to a sustainable ecosystem balance, but they also are an important basis of physical and cultural survival for Indigenous communities.
Meanwhile, accidental spills and seepage of tailings as well as sewage from the site, acid mine drainage, increases in uranium and aluminium residue in the air, and elevated levels of dissolved solids, potassium, ammonia, nitrates and molybdenum in local water bodies have kept local people on alert. Though cumulative impacts are unknown, water and air contamination are also of concern to communities located downstream (and downwind) from Ekati. At the current time, waste rock and tailings are being stored under permafrost barriers, rock ice caps and frozen core dams. However, given the evidence that global warming trends appear to be already impacting northern expanses of tundra, local Indigenous communities have raised the issue that there is no mitigation plan in place to deal with the impacts of the thawing ground. With the prospects of the future uncertain, those advocating for healthy communities—and the recognition of the fragile web of life upon which we all base our survival—continue to struggle to have their perspectives heard.
= = = = = = =
Billiton – more is never enough!
From: Elaine Hughes
To: CBC Morning Edition
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 8:18 AM
Subject: Billiton – more is never enough!
Good morning
Amidst all the breathless excitement about the money, we can be assured that Billiton will muscle its way to being the only game in town - today, it's Potash Corp; tomorrow, it will be Potash One - more is never enough.
We can kiss the whole industry good bye - forget all the rhetoric.
Meanwhile, Billiton continues developing its Jansen potash mine plans, including how to meet its voracious demand for millions of gallons of water by laying 50 miles of pipe from the Zelma reservoir to the mine site besides targeting the nearby aquifers to supplement their access to water.
It won't take long for central Saskatchewan residents to notice the drop in the water levels in their wells and local water supplies - in every direction for many miles around.
...which they'll be able to supplement . . . how????
Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK
= = = = = = = = =
BHP Billiton – Safety Track Record
Sent: Tuesday, July 13, 2010 9:31 AM
Subject: BHP Billiton - Safety Track Record
BHP Billiton – Safety Track Record
Should Saskatchewan be concerned about this company’s safety track record?
Elaine Hughes
Archerwill, SK
= = = = = = = =
BHP Billiton to develop Sask. potash mine
[ http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/01/2 ... -1001.html ]
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 | 4:43 PM ET
The Canadian Press
Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton is preparing to make its first foray into potash production by earmarking $240 million US for the development of its Jansen project in Saskatchewan.
MORE:
[ http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2010/01/2 ... -1001.html ]
- - - -
BHP Billiton - Olympic Dam, Roxby Downs (South Australia)
[ http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html ]
General issues (Links on website above. Ed.)
Olympic Dam expansion project
License violations at Olympic Dam
> View deposit info
> View PIRSA announcements
General issues
Workers exposed to unsafe levels of radiation at Olympic Dam mine: whistleblower
Workers at BHP Billiton's Olympic Dam are being exposed to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. BHP Billiton has been warned about the risks at Roxby Downs, but according to South Australian Upper House Greens MP Mark Parnell the company has failed to take action. Mr Parnell says the levels of polonium-210, the toxic by-product of uranium production, have breached health standards. The whistleblower produced documents that show BHP uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure the figures are below the maximum exposure levels set by government, he said. (Sydney Morning Herald June 4, 2010)
MORE: [ http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html ]
= = = = =
Issues at Operating Uranium Mines and Mills - Olympic Dam, Australia
[ http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopauod.html#OLYMPICD ]
= = = = = =
ALERT: Open Houses - SK Jansen Potash Project
From: Elaine Hughes
To: Toxic Nation ; Sask Environmental Society ; Sask EcoNetwork
Sent: Thursday, April 15, 2010 12:55 PM
Subject: ALERT: Open Houses - Jansen Potash Project
Please.....distribute this information to your contacts in the affected areas....
= = = =
NOTICE OF PUBLIC OPEN HOUSES
Jansen Potash Project -
[ http://www2.mpmo-bggp.gc.ca/MPTracker/p ... px?pid=103 ]
BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc.'s Jansen Potash Mine project is a proposed 8.0-million-tonnes/year underground potash mine located 140 km east of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with an expected mine life of 50+ years. The proposal also includes a processing plant, tailings management area and associated infrastructure, including on-site roads and rail.
= = = = =
BHP Billiton holds over 7,338 square kilometres of highly prospective exploration permits in Saskatchewan. Now in the Selection Phase of development, the Jansen Project is the most advanced. BHP Billiton is also pursuing opportunities for potash development in the Boulder and Young areas.
[ http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRep ... Issue5.pdf ]
= = = = = =
Jansen Potash Project – Project #0927-001-12-01.
Submittetd to Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment, November 2008: (100 MB)
[ http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bbContentRep ... oposal.pdf ]
Project Description: Page 52
Tailings area: 1740 hectares (4,297.8 acres)
Height of Tailings Pile: 40 meters
Water consumption/year (m3): 7,360,000
Start of construction: July 2011
Start of Production: January 2015
For further information:
Please visit the company website:
[ http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/ourBusine ... opment.jsp ]
Or contact Serge Pelletier at: serge.j.pelletier@bhpbilliton.com
Tel: 1-306-657-8410
= = = = =
ADDITIONAL INFO:
BHP Billiton to spend US$240M on Jansen potash mine in Saskatchewan
[ http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/2001 ... hewan.html ]
Wed Jan 20, 3:56 PM Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
By Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
CALGARY - Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP.AX) is preparing to make its first foray into potash production by earmarking US$240 million for the development of its Jansen project in Saskatchewan.
The company said Wednesday the cash layout will pay for the initial stages of construction at the mine, about 140 kilometres east of Saskatoon.
"The Jansen project is the first phase of what we expect to be our strong presence in the potash sector," Graham Kerr, president of the company's BHP Billiton Diamonds & Specialty Products division, said in a statement.
BHP Billiton will continue to pursue other potash opportunities that fit with its portfolio, including its Boulder and Young potash holdings in Saskatchewan.
The Prairie province is the world's largest producer of the mineral, used primarily to fertilize crops.
Jansen is expected to produce about eight million tonnes a year of agricultural-grade potash. It plans to sink the first mine shafts once engineering and permitting are completed about mid-2011.
MORE:
[ http://ca.news.finance.yahoo.com/s/2001 ... hewan.html ]
= = = = = = =
Potash Mining - Mining Watch Canada
[ http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/home/issue/potash ]
= = = = = =
Environmental Aspects of Phosphate and Potash Mining
[ http://www.miningwatch.ca/sites/miningw ... mining.pdf ]
= = = = =
Thai Opposition to Potash Mine Becomes Community-Wide Fight
[ http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1463/65/ ]
Written by Tanya Roberts-Davis Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Source: The Dominion
Entering the North-Eastern Thai village of Ban Nonsomboon, one could be fooled by the appearance of rural tranquility: Children, parents and elders chat amongst themselves, relaxing in hammocks and sharing baskets of freshly cooked sticky rice.
It doesn't take long, however, to notice the banners, stickers and posters throughout the community declaring, “No to Potash Mining!” Green flags signifying a commitment to a toxic-chemical-free zone wave in the breeze.
In the midst of this fertile farmland a struggle is brewing. The community is fighting for the preservation of the land they depend on to live, and the fight has a strong Canadian connection.
MORE: [ http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1463/65/ ]