The London Metal Exchange (LME) faces a lawsuit brought by campaigners on Thursday over the trading of “dirty metals,” whose mining they claim sparks environmental disasters in Indonesia.
The LME denies the allegations.
London Mining Network, comprising green and human rights campaigners, is filing the “landmark” legal action at the High Court along with NGO grouping Global Legal Action Network, a statement said.
Photo: Reuters
The pair “argue that, by enabling the global sale of ‘dirty metals,’ the exchange is in breach of UK anti-money laundering and proceeds of crime legislation.”
“If successful, this case will force the LME to revisit the rules under which it lists metal for trading on its exchange, the statement said.
“This in turn will force metal producers to adapt their mining practices if they want to keep being able to access this platform which is essential for them to reach customers and to sell their products,” it said.
The lawsuit highlights the LME’s trade in metals from the Grasberg mine in Papua, eastern Indonesia, which has had “environmentally devastating” consequences and harmed “indigenous communities.”
West Papuan community leader Adolfina Kuum said the “case is about our fight against those who profit from the destruction of our people’s rivers, our forests and way of life. Our communities are experiencing the life-threatening effects of mining, we have no choice but to take up this fight because if we remain silent who will speak for us?”
The lawsuit said forests and rivers were disappearing as a result of mining of “dirty metals.”
It said “sedimentation resulting from toxic mining waste is causing widespread health problems for the community,” and that heavy metal pollution was causing “skin diseases and other health conditions” in the community.
The global mining industry faces regular criticism over its environmental and social impact.
“The environmental harms in West Papua highlighted in this case are symptomatic of a deeper systemic problem across the world,” the statement said.
Global Legal Action Network said it has “identified similar problematic patterns with mining corporations operating in Brazil, Peru, Guinea and the Russian Federation to name only a few.”
The LME said that it would rebut what it describes as a “misconceived” lawsuit.
“Over and above its existing regulatory requirements, the LME’s brand-listing requirements reflect the international consensus on best practice in respect of ethical and sustainability issues,” it said.
The exchange added that it has “undertaken extensive discussion” with the industry regarding the inclusion of “further environmental requirements” in its listing regulations.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
RSS