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April 2005
Welcome to the April 2005 No Dirty Gold campaign update.
Oxfam America and EARTHWORKS distribute this quarterly bulletin to keep No Dirty Gold campaign members current on the campaign's progress and the opportunities to get involved.
In This Issue
LEAD STORY:
NO DIRTY GOLD CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY:
NEWS FROM THE FIELD:
Lead Story
 Romanian Gold Mining Activist Wins Prestigious Environmental Prize
The No Dirty Gold campaign congratulates Stephanie Roth, a mining activist in Romania, for receiving the 2004 Goldman Environmental Prize. Considered the Nobel Prize for the Environment, the Goldman Environmental Prize is awarded each year to outstanding grassroots environmentalists from each of the six continental regions.
This year's European winner, Roth is being recognized for her work with the community group Alburnus Maior, in support of landowners and farmers in Rosia Montana, Romania who oppose the development of a cyanide leach gold mine that would displace residents, risk environmental contamination, and lead to the destruction of culturally and historically significant sites. Alburnus Maior is also a member of the No Dirty Gold campaign.
Learn more:
Goldman Environmental Prize
Alburnus Maior
Community Voice: Rosia Montana
"Vampire Slayer," The Guardian, 04/27
No Dirty Gold Campaign Activity
Campaigners Target 5th Avenue Stores and Shoppers in New York City
 On February 11th, the No Dirty Gold campaign released a new finding that the jewelry demand associated with the two weeks prior to Valentine's Day generates 34 million metric tons of mine waste. To draw attention to the issue, campaigners took to the streets and handed out mock Valentine cards in front of major jewelry and watch stores, including Rolex and Fortunoff, on 5th Avenue in midtown New York City. They were accompanied by Goldzilla, a giant puppet depicting a chic shopper carrying shopping bags full of "dirty" gold jewelry. Check out photos of Goldzilla at www.nodirtygold.org.
Learn more:
"Gold Jewelry - World's Dirtiest Valentine's Gift?", IPS, 02/14
Williams College Students Put No Dirty Gold on the Table
In November 2004, students affiliated with Students for Social Justice and Greensense at Williams College in Massachusetts tabled for the No Dirty Gold campaign at an alternative gift fair on their campus. More than 70 cards were signed in just six hours of tabling. During the spring, Students for Social Justice and Greensense plan to collaborate on a number of actions at Williams, such as teach-ins, dinner discussions, and an awareness campaign during class ring sales. To find out how to better organize your next Class Rings action visit, http://www.nodirtygold.org/students.cfm.
Groups Call on Jewelry Industry to Combat Conflict Diamonds and Dirty Gold
EARTHWORKS, Oxfam America, and Global Witness joined forces to call on the global jewelry industry to ensure that the jewelry they buy is not tarnished with human rights abuses, environmental destruction, or conflict. The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) held its annual meeting in Hong Kong from 3-6 March 2005 to discuss "consumer confidence" in the jewelry industry. Recognizing that young consumers, more than ever before, care about how and under what circumstances a product is made, CIBJO president Gaetano Cavalieri has noted that human rights abuses, environmental issues, and poor labor conditions can and do threaten consumer confidence.
Learn more: "Jewelers urged to tighten control on diamond trade", Associated Press, 03/04
News from the Field
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Buyat Bay villagers are demanding that Newmont pay for its mess. Credit: JATAM | ASIA-PACIFIC: INDONESIA: MINAHASA RAYA:
Newmont Faces Civil and Criminal Lawsuits in Buyat Bay Pollution Case
The Indonesian Ministry of Environment filed a civil suit against Newmont on March 9 seeking $133 million in compensation for dumping wastes into Buyat Bay site of Newmont's Minahasa Raya gold mine. The litigation asserts that the Newmont operation caused environmental pollution and skin diseases among the Buyat Bay villagers. Also in March, following an Indonesian Supreme Court ruling in support of a police investigation into the pollution case, a criminal case against Newmont was filed by prosecutors in a North Sulawesi court.
Meanwhile, Newmont has asked the government for a renewal of the waste dumping permit for its Batu Hijau copper and gold mine on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa. The Indonesian Mining Advocacy Network and Friends of the Earth Indonesia have appealed to the Ministry of Environment to apply the precautionary principle as it considers the waste dumping permit requested by Newmont.
Learn more: "Cause of Mystery Ills Splits Indonesian Fishing Village," New York Times, 03/27;
SOUTH AMERICA: PERU: CAJAMARCA
Student Movement Critical to the Community Success at Cerro Quilish
When Newmont subsidiary Minera Yanacocha decided not to expand the Yanacocha Mine in Peru to Cerro Quilish, it attributed its decision to wide-spread community opposition to the project. The opposition was led by local campesinos, with support from students at the public and private universities of Cajamarca.
In early September 2004, students from the National University of Cajamarca and several other Cajarmarca-area schools joined campesino blockades and protests in Cajamarca.
Despite confrontations between demonstrators and police, the students-many of whom had been excused from school to participate in the protest-remained steadfast in their support of the campesinos. Students around the world are raising their voices for the rights of communities and more responsible mining. Find out more about the No Dirty Gold student movement at http://www.nodirtygold.org/students.cfm.
About EARTHWORKS and Oxfam America
 The No Dirty Gold campaign is supported by EARTHWORKS and Oxfam America. We work with local organizations and communities around the world on issues related to mining, human rights, and the environment. To learn the objectives of the No Dirty Gold campaign, please visit our website at www.nodirtygold.org, and download our report Dirty Metals: Mining, Communities, and the Environment.
Many thanks for your support! Please send in your suggestions or comments to info@nodirtygold.org.
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