Future in iron and coal the Eastern Republic of Uruguay .
at the start is one of the most devastating projects planned for the Southern Cone of Latin America: the transport of tens of millions of tons of iron ore, coal and steel on a river course of over 2,800 km
The plant, whose construction will be spent for the $ 320 million, will be built on the shores of the Uruguay River, 260 km from the capital Montevideo. A La Agraciada be deposited in a transitional iron from the mine to Rio Tinto has the same in the Brazilian city of Corumbá, Mato Grosso of the South The ferrous material arrives in Uruguay on special barges that leave from another port terminal that the Rio Tinto is building Albuquerque, a town in Mato Grosso at about 30 km from the iron mines. The barges will cross the rivers Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay, after which the iron is loaded onto larger vessels that reach the international waters of the Río de La Plata. There will be a final transfer of the materials on board ocean liners to Europe, China and India.
In the new port complex of La Agraciada arise also areas for the storage of the steel produced by steel plant that Rio Tinto owns near the mining town of Corumbá and it will then be sent to the markets of Argentina, European and Middle East . The new terminal Uruguay funzionerà infine per le operazioni di carico e scarico del carbone prodotto nelle miniere australiane e sudafricane e destinato alle acciaierie brasiliane della transnazionale. In quest’ultimo caso si invertiranno le rotte e i mezzi di trasporto: grandi navi carboniere dall’Oceano Pacifico al Río de La Plata e al Río Uruguay; le imbarcazioni-chiatte sui fiumi Uruguay, Paraguay e Paraná, secondo un modello di produzione “globale” dagli insostenibili costi economici, sociali e ambientali.
Le quantità di minerali che si conta di movimentare tra il Brasile e l’Uruguay sono gigantesche. Attualmente si estraggono dalle miniere a cielo aperto di Corumbá, 2 milioni di tonnellate of iron ore a year, but thanks to a financial transaction of approximately 2.15 billion dollars, Rio Tinto expects to extract and transport, via rivers, 10 million tons by 2010. In the next five years, the goal is to carry 23.2 million tons, value eleven times higher than today. More uncertain but the amount of coal Uruguay ascend up to Corumbá. We only know that the Anglo-Canadian is investing a billion dollars for the expansion of steel plant in Mato Grosso and the entire production will focus on the combustion of coal.
environmental and social deficits of a country ruled by the center
Awaiting the start of work, Rio Tinto has bought 267 acres of private land falling mostly in the fringe River of the department of Soriano, spending an amount equal to $ 1.3 million. In July 2008, the company has also purchased another 80 acres owned by the National Institute of Colonization, the Uruguayan public body, with the approval of the government of the Frente Amplio (center), led by physician Tabaré Vasquez. Doubts have been raised by the opposition of unconstitutionality on the act of alienation of state property in the border area, in favor of a private foreign. Equally justified the relief of some environmental organizations Argentine (those of Uruguay, unfortunately, are weak and demonized by political parties and mass media), a megaproject, high impact, without having first implemented the Administrative Commission of the Río Uruguay, the entity that regulates activities of greater impact on the river-border between Argentina and Uruguay.
It is repeated in the case of Agraciada The project, as happened a few years ago for the construction of the complex production of pulp "Botnia" in Frey Bentos, eco-impacting other work advocated by the executive of the Frente Amplio. For it soon will be joined by a second mill overlooking the waters of the Río Uruguay, Conchillas location, less than 40 km from the new terminal iron-coal. Not to mention that the production of paper had the effect of generating a perverse socio-economic chain, marked by the transformation of millions of acres of countryside in monocultures of eucalyptus and pine trees not native. As pointed out by the Italian researcher Antonio Graziano, "this has resulted in the country, replacing a model with production of low aggregate value, raising cattle for meat, with another equally low aggregate value. " "The production of paper - adds Graziano - brings with it the risk of depletion of water resources, reduced biodiversity, loss of traditional cultures, transformation of the rural landscape, depopulation of the countryside for the creation of" urban "forest, abnormal rhythms labor and labor exploitation. A production model that has accelerated the process of concentration of land ownership in the hands of foreign capital. "
For the transnational impact is almost pari a zero
A metà novembre è arrivato il parere favorevole della Direzione Nazionale di Idrografia sulla concessione alla Río Tinto dello sfruttamento dell’alveo fluviale di La Agraciada. Perché i lavori di costruzione possano iniziare, manca solo il parere della Direzione Nazionale del Ministero dell’Ambiente (Dinama), atteso entro la fine del 2008. Nonostante il fortissimo impatto sull’intero ecosistema del dipartimento di Soriano (territorio con notevoli potenzialità ecoturistiche), che si genererà con la costruzione e il funzionamento del porto-terminal, nessuno studio d’impatto ambientale è stato predisposto autonomamente da Dinama o dalle autorità premises. The only documents produced so far are the "previous study" on the site of iron storage in the coal-Agraciada on another installation of storage at the Free Zone of Nueva Palmira (Colonia) and the operations of "transhipment" of minerals on the high seas, carried by the company GEA Consultores Ambientales SA of Montevideo, on behalf of Rio Tinto.
According to the executive project, a bridge will rise on the River Uruguay, a huge T-shaped pier the mooring of barges and small boats, plus trusses to support a conveyor belt of about 900 meters long (1,100 meters other tape will pass on the mainland). Will also need to dredge the channel near Martín García, change the channel and the neighboring beaches, hit the hilly areas, handle tons of waste materials and construction, install camps, workshops and warehouses. Much of the infrastructure will arise near the delta of the river Agraciada, an area where numerous species of birds and wildlife protection.
However, the consulting firm believes, however, "sustainable" these actions, thanks to some "remedies" proposed to the client company. During a public hearing, the GEA Consultores biologist, Aramis Latchinian (a former director of Dinamo during the former government of Jorge Batlle and today a member of the Board of Ancap, the Uruguayan state oil company), has recognized that changes in land "post work "will be" significant "even if the" materials and emissions of airborne dust of iron ore will be minimal. " "When we will use the carbon in the atmosphere will scatter its dust," he added Latchinian. "Then there will be liquid effluents, largely derived from the washing of materials and the production of solid waste industriali. Ma questi problemi ambientali potranno essere risolti con corrette misure di gestione”.
Eppure il polo minerario e siderurgico di Corumbá inquina…
Una visione “minimista” quella della consulting “ambientale” che focalizza la propria valutazione solo su alcuni elementi d’impatto e che si scontra con quanto invece accade nell’impianto “madre” in Brasile. I dati forniti dal “Rapporto sullo Sviluppo Sostenibile 2007” pubblicato dalla transnazionale Río Tinto, registrano che negli ultimi tre anni a Corumbá è aumentato exponentially the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. For every million tonne of steel produced, has risen from 6.29 tons of CO2 in 2005 to 7.11 in 2007. In addition, the emission of 31.04 tonnes of CO2 during the transport of materials by river.
More importantly, the growth in emissions of sulfur dioxide in the terrestrial and maritime transport activities, where they were issued a total of 31.42 kg of SO2 per million tonne of steel. To be pointed out here that since 2006 Curumba plants suffered a reduction in production, mainly for the transit problems of transport units on the Río Paraguay, following the long drought in the region.
The steel plant is also a superdivoratore energy in 2007 were 11.26 tons of fuel consumed for every 1,000 tons of steel product (the figure includes the energy cost for river transport). Then there is the chapter on the generation of waste as "hazardous" (mainly oil, grease, batteries, etc..) And "non-hazardous" (or recyclable materials of organic origin). Being always on data provided by Rio Tinto, on the whole of Curumba have been produced, only last year, 144.7 tons of waste "dangerous" and 148.6 tons of waste is not hazardous, "in addition to the 223.56 tons of waste" dangerous "and 16.6 tonnes of" organic material "product when navigating on the rivers Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay. The same transnational stramaggioranza recognizes that the workers are exposed during their working day to noise over 85 decibels.
Even more daunting the picture of the actual results of actions taken by the Anglo-Canadian society to mitigate the environmental impact of mining-production of steel plant in Brazil. Of bankruptcy around the measures for the reduction of "hazardous waste" growth instead of 400% in the last two years. It was expected also to reduce the amount of water for the blast furnaces and washing of iron ore and steel, as calculated in 1.6 billion cubic meters a year. The target for 2007 was 0.86 cubic meters of water per tonne of steel, but at the end of the Rio Tinto reported consumption of 0.96 cubic meters. Currently, only 59.4% of the water is reused in Curumba. The rest comes from wells dug deep into many of the "Piraputangas Creek", which have greatly reduced the water supply of the inhabitants of the region.
To ensure within the next seven or eight years a 11-fold growth of production of minerals and steel, the multinational has decided to pump water directly from the Río Paraguay and direct facilities through a new aqueduct. A measure that will impact strongly on the extent of the important river system and, consequently, the whole fragile water resources in southern Brazil and neighboring countries of the Southern Cone
desire for nuclear and human rights violations
Rio Tinto's presence in Mato Grosso is achieved by controlled Mineração Corumbaense Reunida (MCR), a company that held a potent lobbying among the most influential politicians in the area. The investment plan for the expansion of Corumbá plants has also been a theme of the Summit of the Anglo-Brazilian in January 2006, when the then Prime Minister Tony Blair met in London on President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Also in Brazil, in Minas Gerais, Rio Tinto controls 51% of the "Rio Paracatu Mineração SA, owner of another mining complex. Another important potash mine is owned in neighboring Argentina (Río Colorado potassium) in the area around the provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén. Also in Argentina, the Río Tinto controls the central storage and shipment of ferrous San Nicolás, a port city on the Paraná. It is here now calling vessels carrying ore and steel to Corumbá. The construction of the terminal of the Uruguayan Agraciada however not lead to the closure of San Nicolás, as in the port area by another steel industry will continue to work with the Brazilian iron source.
Rio Tinto does not only produce coal, iron and steel. With the recent acquisition of Canada's Alcan, the multinational has become the leading producer aluminum in the world. A key role is played well in the extraction of gold, diamonds, copper, boron, titanium, and especially uranium, go entirely to power plant and the production of nuclear weapons. The reserves are valued uranifere of Rio Tinto in $ 6 billion and come almost entirely from the two mining centers of "Ranger", near Kakadu National Park in Australia, "Rossing, Namibia.
Following the international revival of atomic programs, the multinational has decided to invest $ 36 billion for the expansion of mining in Australia, entrusting the carriage uranium to the U.S. 'Halliburton', trusted contractor of the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan.
the fall of the image of Rio Tinto not only contributes to the production of deadly instruments of death. The company has been repeatedly denounced for having plundered the natural resources, devastated the environment and human rights violations. The State Pension Fund of Norway has decided to exclude Rio Tinto from its investment portfolio as a result of the devastating effects of the activities of the gold mine "Grandsberg" Amungme and Kamoro on indigenous communities in Papua, Indonesia. "Grandsberg is the largest gold mine in the world and annually discharge around 230 thousand tons of waste directly into the river Akywa, hopelessly contaminating the waters. Waste choke the vegetation, killing trees and sago palms, the staple food for local tribes. Of the Indonesian military, paid by the transnational to "protect" the plants, were also responsible for killings and torture of indigenous communities.
Article published November 20, 2008 in Agoravox.it
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