Burma Mining Report on-line

[caprn@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Grave Diggers: A report on mining in Burma, writen by renowned mining
author Roger Moody, is now on-line. 

You can get to the report by visiting a portal on the Canada Asia Pacific
Resource Network:  

http://www.caprn.bc.ca/campaign/burmamines/

Or by visiting the Miningwatch Canada website:  http://www.miningwatch.org



Aaron James
Canada Asia Pacific Resource Network
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Grave Diggers: A Report on Mining in Burma
Roger Moody

"Grave Diggers", written by Roger Moody, gives an overall analysis of
mining and mining companies in Burma. It examines in the roles of the
companies involved and their relationship to the Burmese military
dictatorship. Also presented are the social impacts, in particular the
spread of HIV/AIDS through heroin use among miners, and the disintegration
of communities with the discovery of rubies. 

Moody reviews in detail the historical development of the industry and
mining regulations in Burma, "the least developed or sound of any in the
world", according the report's author. Examples are provided of the
inadequacy of the regulations and the loopholes they offer. The author then
examines companies active in the country (chiefly the Canadian and
Australian mining industry), their role, and why they have been permitted
to operate under militarized conditions. Canadian stock markets, where much
of the investment is raised, Canadian law and the industry itself come
under scrutiny. 

The report in particular highlights the activities of Canadian mining
company Ivanhoe Mines, headed by Robert Friedland, holder of the single
largest mining investment in the country. Moody reviews the history of
mining operations owned by Friedland, including environmental disasters in
the United States and Guyana and corporate links to mercenary armies in
Africa, and how Ivanhoe entered into joint venture with the Burmese
military dictatorship to develop one of Asia's largest copper mining
projects in Monywa. 

The report concludes with accounts of the deplorable conditions of miners
and affected communities in Burma. Moody examines the hazards of methods
employed at Monywa and offers evidence of serious human rights violations,
safety breaches, and serious ground water pollution. Finally, the
conditions of mines elsewhere in Burma are presented, including the
breakdown of village communities in Shan State, and an interview with a
Burmese mining engineer who describes how primitive mining standards has
jeopardized lives and the environment. 


In "Grave Diggers," Roger Moody provides an extraordinary wealth of detail
on the damages done by international mineral extraction companies in deals
with the brutal junta of Burma. He tears away the screen covering this
little-known aspect of controversial investments in that hidden, oppressed
land. Moody's comprehensive report, with harrowing revelations about
multinational corporations and their effects on human rights and the
environment, is valuable and compelling reading.
                               -- Edith T. Mirante
                                  author of "Burmese Looking Glass"

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