Us Company Ain't No Calendar Girl!
Published by MAC on 2006-03-07
US company ain't no calendar girl!
7th March 2006
The industry body, ICMM (International Council on Mining and Metals) has just announced a set of planned studies, aimed at disproving the "resource curse" theory. Wayne Murdy, chair of the ICMM, is heading this attempt to show that minerals investment can bring long-lasting benefits, as opposed to the damage and impoverishment claimed by many communities around the world.
Unfortunately, the credibility of this exercise is undermined by the fact that Mr Murdy is also chair of Newmont - consistently cited as one of the most destructive mining companies on the planet.
Now, the community around Newmont's Afaso mine is accusing it of deceitfully claiming credit for construction of a road, which was actually government-funded.
Set alongside other recent condemnations of Newmont's practices in Ghana, the accusation doesn't bode well for Murdy's heroic global quest…