Dig a hole to Borroloola

2008-08-15T00:42:00.001-07:00

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Dig a hole to Borroloola

2008-08-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

"I think it's fair to say that every country has legacies that have to be confronted, China would not be isolated in that area. It's important not to isolate a country because it still has those legacies to resolve.”
Tom Albanese – Chief Executive, Rio Tinto. 27 March 2008

This story starts, as always these days, with China
in a move that underlines the undiminished appetite of the world's most dynamic new economy for raw materials
On June 13 the Federal Court in Darwin, Australia delivered a blow to the spirits of the Gudanji, Yanyuwa, Garrawa and Mara peoples.
“That's it. You've killed us. That's it. I can't say any more"

In a long and drawn out process, Xtrata first proposed an open cut mine five years ago.
This expansion plan includes a 5.5 kilometer diversion of the river which
will interfere with major rainbow serpent sites the mine's general manager Brian Hearn says they will not be negotiating an agreement with the traditional owners.
"The only option for us is we have to divert the river or close up and go away,"
Xstrata also had issued trespass notices to a number of traditional owners who visited the mine site on May 21.

“We must strike a balance between development and the environment”
Northern Australia's rivers are generally the best in Australia that are left today
"There's a lot of money spent by explorers and mines within the Territory”
If the expansion does not proceed, the mine will close and 270 jobs will be lost.

"We've got to prove to you mob that we've lost everything"
"The argument that you should not touch that river on spiritual and cultural grounds has never changed"
to tap a large deposit of zinc, a mineral which is skyrocketing in value
"They have dug up the remains of my people. What are they doing with these bones?"

Xstrata denies link to flesh-eating disease

MacArthur River Mine

2008-07-29T18:59:00.001-07:00

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MacArthur River Zinc Mine

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Three Gorges Dam

2008-07-29T18:40:00.001-07:00

Christoph Filnkößl
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Dreischluchtendamm_hauptwall_2006.jpg

The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric river dam that spans the Yangtze River in Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei, China. It is the largest hydro-electric power station in the world. The total electric generating capacity of the dam will reach 22,500 megawatts. Several generators are yet to be installed; the dam is not expected to become fully operational until about 2011.

As with many dams, there is a debate over costs and benefits. Although there are potential economic benefits such as flood control and hydroelectric power, there are also concerns about the relocation of people who have been or will be displaced by the rising waters; siltation that could limit the dam's useful life; loss of numerous valuable archaeological and cultural sites; and the adverse effects of increased pollution upon the regional ecosystem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Gorges_Dam

http://www.ianandwendy.com/slideshow/OtherTrips/ChinaVietnamCambodia/China/Yangtze/

Yangtze

2008-07-29T18:35:00.001-07:00

The first turn of the Yangtze (Changjiang) at Shigu (石鼓), Yunnan
Province, where the river turns 180 degree from south- to north-bound
Jialiang Gao www.peace-on-earth.org
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cn1202-03.jpg

The Yangtze River or Chang Jiang is the longest river in Asia and the
third-longest in the world, after the Amazon in South America, and the
Nile in Africa. The river is about 6,300 km long and flows from its
source in Qinghai Province, eastwards into the East China Sea at
Shanghai. It has traditionally been considered a dividing line between
North and South China. As the largest river in the region, the Yangtze
is historically, culturally, and economically important to China.

The Yangtze flows into the East China Sea and was navigable by
ocean-going vessels up to a thousand miles from its mouth even before
the Three Gorges Dam was built. As of June 2003, this dam spans the
river, flooding Fengjie, the first of a number of towns affected by
the massive flood control and power generation project. This is the
largest comprehensive irrigation project in the world, and has a
significant impact on the China's agriculture. Its proponents argue
that it will free people living along the river from floods that have
repeatedly threatened them in the past, and will offer them
electricity and water transport -- though at the expense of
permanently flooding many existing towns (including numerous ancient
cultural relics) and causing large-scale changes in the local ecology.

Opponents of the dam point out that there are three different kinds of
floods on the Yangtze River: floods which originate in the upper
reaches, floods which originate in the lower reaches, and floods along
the entire length of the river. They argue that the Three Gorges dam
will actually make flooding in the upper reaches worse and have little
or no impact on floods which originate in the lower reaches. Twelve
hundred years of low water marks on the river were recorded in the
inscriptions and the carvings of carp at Baiheliang, now submerged.

The Yangtze is flanked with metallurgical, power, chemical, auto,
building materials and machinery industrial belts, and high-tech
development zones. It is playing an increasingly crucial role in the
river valley's economic growth and has become a vital link for
international shipping to the inland provinces. The river is a major
transportation artery for China, connecting the interior with the
coast. The river used as a waterway for commerce offer now the
possibility to cruise at leisure. Since 2004 a European luxury
cruising company has brought very high standard and with the help of
Swiss hotelier Nicolas C. Solari developed and opened three beautiful
vessels now cruising the mighty river. The river is one of the world's
busiest waterways. Traffic includes commercial traffic transporting
bulk goods such as coal as well as manufactured goods and passengers.
Cargo transportation reached 795 million tons in 2005.[6][7] River
cruises several days long especially through the beautiful and scenic
Three Gorges area are becoming popular as the tourism industry grows
in China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtze_River

Investing in the Northern Territory...

2008-07-29T18:20:00.001-07:00

This story starts, as always these days, with China, where bauxite
imports have exploded over the past three quarters, a response mostly
to the dropping of import duties on aluminium's raw material. Average
import prices for bauxite to China have risen over 40 per cent over
the past year, as imports rose to risen to 8 million tonnes a quarter.

Clearly the best place to ship bauxite to China is from Weipa and
Gove, both of which now work under the Rio Alcan flag. And that leaves
Rio pondering the delicious prospect of establishing a new growth
option for its northern Australian bauxite twins.

Rio Alcan is, of course, the construct of Rio Tinto's Comalco and
Canada's Alcan.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23370958-30538,00.html

http://www.alcangove.com.au/

Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award

2008-07-29T00:10:00.001-07:00

An initiative of the Queensland Art Gallery in partnership with
Xstrata Coal, the Xstrata Coal Emerging Indigenous Art Award is an
acquisitive prize of $30 000 awarded to an emerging Aboriginal or
Torres Strait Islander artist.

http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/xstrata_coal_emerging_indigenous_art_award

'You've killed us'

2008-07-28T23:32:00.000-07:00

NT Labor politician and traditional Yanyuwa woman Malarndirri McCarthy
wants Mr Garret to cancel the mine's approval.

"The argument that you should not touch that river on spiritual and
cultural grounds has never changed," she said.

Ms McCarthy was one of three Aboriginal MLAs to defy her party and
cross the floor last year when the Territory Government moved special
legislation to ensure the expansion.

NT Environment Centre head Charles Roche says the permanent diversion
of the river will cause massive damage to the local eco-system.

"We are very disappointed that it has come to this, we believe that
there was a strong case and we know that to divert this river will
cause irreparable cultural and environmental harm," he said.

Traditional owner Jacob Lancen was inconsolable outside court.

"There's no future for us now. That's it. You've killed us. that's it.
I can't say any more," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/13/2273827.htm

Government, council and mine...

2008-07-28T23:30:00.001-07:00

THE Queensland Government has refused to conduct extensive soil and
water testing in Mount Isa despite its own study confirming that 11
per cent of children in the town have dangerously high levels of lead
in their blood.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23744269-23289,00.html

In the northwest Queensland town of Mount Isa, where the land may be
parched but the community is swimming in riches from the mining boom,
the problem is that nobody seems to want to get to the heart of why
its children are sick.

The Queensland Government study released yesterday confirmed that 11
per cent of the town's children had unsafe lead levels. It wasn't the
first such study. A similar blood screening program in 1990-92 found
that 36per cent of the children sampled had lead poisoning.

The problem is that lead poisoning in children usually becomes a
problem only later in life, with symptoms such as learning and
behaviour difficulties. Only in extreme cases - such as local girl
Stella Hare, 6, who recorded a blood lead level almost twice the safe
limit and is just 15kg - do the brutal effects of the problem become
undeniably real.

Despite there being an obvious problem, neither Xstrata (previously Mt
Isa Mines), the city council nor the Queensland Government seems
terribly keen to do anything about it. Why? The simple answer is
money....

On Wednesday, the Government enacted legislation repealing decades-old
laws that excused Xstrata from meeting the same emissions standards as
1200 other mining operations in Queensland. It was about time.

Michael McKenna – The Australian, May 23, 2008

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,23744270-23289,00.html

Xstrata's Mount Isa copper mine was named the country's biggest
polluter in the annual National Pollutant Inventory data released last
week. Figures for 2006-7 show the mine ranks highest in the country
for zinc, sulphur dioxide, lead, copper, cadmium, arsenic and antimony
emissions. The figures measure soil and water as well as airborne
emissions.

Clive Sam, a Cultural Ranger for the Kalkadoon Tribal Council, is
upset by the pollution. "Our country has been just destroyed by
greed," he says. "It makes me feel terrible... It's become hard for us
to get our bush medicines - some days it can even be hard to breathe."
He says his kids were fine when they lived in Brisbane for several
years, but "the moment we move back here they play in the dirt here
and they break out in sores".

Jennifer Mills - New Matilda, 10 Apr 2008

http://www.newmatilda.com/2008/04/09/welcome-xstrata-country

Chinese Rocks

2008-07-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

China has agreed to a 96.5% increase in iron ore prices in long-term contract discussions with Rio Tinto in a move that underlines the undiminished appetite of the world's most dynamic new economy for raw materials and will fuel fears about global inflation and the impact of further consolidation among miners.

The agreement between China's largest steelmaker, Baosteel, and Rio Tinto is the largest annual price rise ever recorded - emphasising the significant profit potential of the Australian mining house as it tries to fend off the unwanted takeover attentions of its rival, BHP Billiton.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jun/24/riotinto.bhpbilliton

Mr Albanese also said Rio Tinto's relationship with China would not necessarily be derailed by continuing environmental and human rights concerns, particularly in Tibet.

"I think it's fair to say that every country has legacies that have to be confronted," he said.

"China would not be isolated in that area.

"It's important not to isolate a country because it still has those legacies to resolve.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/27/2200275.htm

Lion Dance

2008-07-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

Chinese lion dances can be broadly categorised into two styles, Northern (北獅) and Southern (南獅). Northern dance was used as entertainment for the imperial court. The northern lion is usually red, orange, and yellow (sometimes with green fur for the female lion), shaggy in appearance, with a golden head. The northern dance is acrobatic and is mainly performed as entertainment. Sometimes, they perform dangerous stunts.

Southern dance is more symbolic. It is usually performed as a ceremony to exorcise evil spirits and to summon luck and fortune. The southern lion exhibits a wide variety of colour and has a distinctive head with large eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and a single horn at center of the head. The lion dance also symbolises the myth of the Chinese new year....

There is three important and the first colors of the lions. The lion with the white colored fur is considered to be the oldest of the lions. The lion with the goldish yellowish fur is the considered to be the middle child. Not the youngest or the oldest. And the black colored lion is considered to be the youngest lion so when people use this colour lion it should move fast and quick like a young child.

When the dancing lion enters a village or township, it is supposed to pay its respects first at the local temple(s), then to the ancestors at the ancestral hall, and finally through the streets to bring happiness to all the people. There are three types of lions: the golden lion, representing liveliness; the red lion, representing courage; and the green lion, representing friendship....

During the Chinese New Year, lion dancers from martial art school will visit the store front of businesses to "choi chang" (採青 lit. picking the greens). The business would tie a red envelope filled with money to a head of lettuce and hang it high above the front door. The lion will approach the lettuce like a curious cat, consume the lettuce and spit out the leaves but not the money. The lion dance is supposed to bring good luck and fortune to the business and the dancers receive the money as reward. The tradition becomes a mutual transaction.

During the 1950s-60's, people who joined lion dance troupes were “gangster-like” and there was a lot of fighting amongst lion dance troupes and kung fu schools. Parents were afraid to let their children join lion dance troupes because of the “gangster” association with the members. During festivals and performances, when lion dance troupes met, there would be fights between groups. Some lifts and acrobatic tricks are designed for the lion to “fight” and knock over other rival lions. Performers even hid daggers in their shoes and clothes, which could be used to injure other lion dancers’ legs, or even attached a metal horn on their lion’s forehead, which could be used to slash other lion heads. The violence got so extreme that at one point, the Hong Kong government had to put a stop to lion dance completely. Now, as with many other countries, lion dance troupes must attain a permit from the government in order to perform lion dance. Although there is still a certain degree of competitiveness, troupes are a lot less violent and aggressive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_dance

The "Aeroplane Dance"

2008-07-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

The "Aeroplane Dance" from Borroloola depicts an event of the Second World War when an American bomber crashed in country to the east and the crew was found by local people.

Land Council wants investigation into sacred site lock-out

Posted Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:22pm AEST
Updated Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:01pm AEST

Traditional owners say police refused them entry to a sacred site. (Guy McLean)

The Northern Land Council says the mining company Xstrata may have broken the law by denying a group of Aboriginal people access to a sacred site at McArthur River.

Around 100 people from four different language groups wanted to visit the site today, but were prevented by police and mine security.

Traditional owners say the site will soon be destroyed by an expansion of the mine, and they wanted to hold a last ceremony there.

The chief executive of the NLC, Kim Hill, says the denial of access is a massive violation of the traditional owners' rights and the Territory Government must act.

"We'll be talking with traditional owners in regards to what legal actions we may be able to take," he said.

"But in regards to what's happened and events that have happened today, if persons obstructed the rights of Aboriginal people under a Northern Territory legislation to access sacred sites in accordance to the Sacred Sites Act, they may be found guilty of an offence.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/18/2279069.htm

McArthur River Blog

2008-07-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

http://mcarthurriver.wordpress.com/

Federal Court allows McArthur River diversion for zinc mine expansion

2008-07-17T21:02:00.001-07:00

"On June 13 the Federal Court in Darwin, Australia delivered a blow to the spirits of the Gudanji, Yanyuwa, Garrawa and Mara peoples. As many of you know, we have been following the events surrounding the zinc mine expansion and diversion of the McArthur River in the Northern Territory since last year. Now, in a decision that has been awaited since last August, the Court upheld the government's decision to allow Swiss-based Xstrata Corporation to pursue a $110 million mine expansion project at the McArthur. This expansion plan includes a 5.5 kilometer diversion of the river which would allow Xstrata to tap a large deposit of zinc, a mineral which is skyrocketing in value on the world market, in great part due to Chinese demand."

http://www.sacredland.org/weblog/tag/xstrata

"Xstrata is now working on diverting the river by 5.5km as part of a project by McArthur River Mining (MRM) to extend the mine's life by turning it from underground to open cut. About 100 people from four language groups on Wednesday gathered to farewell the sacred sites they say will be destroyed by the project. But police stepped in on behalf of MRM and prevented them from entering the mine site.

"Xstrata has now stopped the traditional owners again when all they want is to hold a ceremony at their sacred sites because those sites may not be there for much longer," said Northern Land Council (NLC) chief executive Kim Hill.

He said MRM and Xstrata could be guilty of an offence under the NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act."

http://news.theage.com.au/national/mining-giant-stops-aborigines-ceremony-20080619-2t92.html

"Government documents show the Xstrata mine receives about $100 million in subsidized electricity. The government had hoped that the mine would pay mineral royalties, but it has consistently operated at a loss. Following development of the project, the mining company failed to negotiate an agreement with or pay royalties to the local Aboriginal groups, the traditional owners who possess the land title."

http://www.sacredland.org/world_sites_pages/McArthur.html

Stop Children

2008-07-17T20:15:00.001-07:00

888

2008-07-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

AN EXHIBITION COINCIDING WITH THE BEIJING OLYMPICS

This August, China hosts the world's largest event, yet behind the spectacle and glamour exist countless other stories.

Launching at China Heights gallery a few hours before the Beijing Olympic Opening ceremony, 888 explores the complex and often controversial nature of contemporary Chinese society. At a time when the world's gaze will be fixed on China, the artists of the 888 exhibition offer Sydney audiences a spectacle of a different nature by providing a striking juxtaposition to the commercial publicity and hype surrounding the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Bringing together the work of 17 artists from around the world, 888 offers a glimpse into the many untold stories of China. Predicated on a desire to stimulate balanced and provocative conversation throughout and beyond the Olympics, 888 will consist of an array of works, from painting and drawing, to installation and video documentary. Works will examine the struggles of living in a budding global superpower, to meditations on China's human rights record and allegations of political corruption, the artists of the 888 exhibition will provide a timely and necessary alternative commentary in their exploration of contemporary Chinese identity, politics and culture.

"China is colossal, so diverse and provocative in its social, cultural, economic and political make-up. We aim to look through its glossy Olympic veneer to explore its multiplicity and stimulate discussion among our viewers," says Mark Gerada, artist and curator of 888. With currency central to the ethos of 888, "artists will look to China and respond to the surge of news images and events as they emerge right up until the opening ceremony commences in Beijing."

888 site