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An Australian mine owned by the global trading firm Glencore mistakenly dumped 63 truckloads of dangerous waste material in the wrong place, where it combusted and sent sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere.

The scale of the incident, which occurred at the remote McArthur river zinc-lead mine in Australia’s north, was kept out of the public eye. The Northern Territory government ordered an investigation but refuses to release any details, claiming no report exists because the findings were delivered verbally.

The 63 truckloads of reactive rock – known as potentially acid-forming (PAF) rock – were never removed. Observers have expressed concern that even with the remedial work since carried out by the company, the approaching monsoons could cause another chemical reaction.

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Courtesy: The Guardian

The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal has directed the Commissioner of Pammal municipality to start bio-mining of hazardous waste dumped in private land in four survey numbers in Pammal Village by January 2018.

In bio-mining, micro-organisms are used to leach and remove metals from their growth medium.

Judicial member Justice M.S. Nambiar also directed that the process of installation of the machinery should be completed within 90 days, before March 31, 2018, and the entire bio-mining process should be finished by December 31, 2018.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

Patna: The RJD has called for a statewide bandh on December 21 to protest against the sand mining policy of the state government.

According to RJD leaders, the ongoing crackdown on sand mining has forced the builders to slow down the construction work in Bihar which has led to “job crisis among daily wage construction workers”.

Speaking on the issue RJD Chief Lalu Yadav said that “the state government is not concerned about the plight of the general public which is facing lots of hardship due to their policies. We will continue our fight and expose the failures of the government”.

The JD(U)-BJP government after coming to power in July came up with a new policy to regulate the trade and also to end illegal sand mining in Bihar.

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Courtesy: The Asian Age

GIRIDIH, India (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Since 12-year-old Laxmi Kumari was buried alive in a mica mine eight months ago, her family’s grief has turned to despair on realizing promises by global companies to end child labor in the mines in eastern India have so far led to nothing.

Just over a year ago, a Thomson Reuters Foundation investigation found children in India were dying in the depths of crumbling, illegal mines for the prized mineral that puts the sparkle in make-up and car paint – but their deaths covered up.

The discovery that seven children had died in two months alone prompted pledges by multinationals sourcing mica from India to clean up their supply chains, and state authorities vowed to accelerate plans to legalize and regulate the sector.

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Courtesy: Reuters