Aug 10 2008
The Aluminium Industry’s Image Game
Aug 10 2008
Impact of Test Drilling at Krafla
Aug 09 2008
Controversial Mining Project in Orissa Approved
Survival International – India’s Supreme Court has today dealt a devastating blow to the Dongria Kondh tribe by giving British FTSE 100 company Vedanta permission to mine their sacred mountain. The tribe say the mine will destroy their way of life forever. Vedanta’s subsidiary Sterlite plans to mine for bauxite, the raw material for aluminium, from Niyamgiri mountain in Orissa, eastern India. Vedanta is majority owned by London-based Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal. The Dongria Kondh say the huge open cast mine will destroy a vast swathe of untouched forest, and will reduce their most sacred site to an industrial wasteland. Last month, thirty Dongria Kondh men blockaded a road that is being built through their forest towards the site of the proposed mine. The tribe say they will stage mass protests if mining goes ahead. Read More
Aug 06 2008
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Environment Minister’s Smelter Decision under Fire
MP for the Social Democrats and chairman of the environment committee Helgi Hjörvar agreed to assemble the committee and discuss the controversial move made by the minister after receiving a proposal on the matter from Höskuldur Thórhallsson, the Progressive Party’s representative on the committee, 24 Stundir reports. Read More
Aug 01 2008
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Saving Iceland Blockades Rio Tinto-Alcan’s Smelter in Iceland
,,Stop the destruction of Þjórsá for arms production!”
HAFNARFJORDUR, ICELAND – Activists from Saving Iceland have today begun stopping traffic to and from Rio Tinto-Alcan’s aluminium smelter in Straumsvík, Hafnarfjordur, by chaining themselves to the gates of the plant. Saving Iceland is protesting against Rio Tinto-Alcan’s plans to increase their aluminium production capacity on the island, the consequences of which would would be that significant parts of Iceland’s unique environment would have to be destroyed for energy generation. The activists are also protesting against the worlds largest aluminium producer’s involvement with the arms industry.
Rio Tinto-Alcan wants to increase its production in Straumsvík by 40 thousand tons per year without enlarging the smelter building itself. At the same time the company is planning to build a second aluminium smelter in the towns of Keilisnes or Þorlákshöfn (1).
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Aug 01 2008
North Iceland Smelter Delayed by Impact Assessment.
Iceland Review – Minister of the Environment Thórunn Sveinbjarnardóttir decided yesterday that the planned Alcoa aluminum smelter in Bakki, near Húsavík in northeast Iceland, and related geothermal power plants should undergo a joint environmental impact assessment.
With her decision Sveinbjarnardóttir reversed a decision made by Skipulagsstofnun – the Icelandic National Planning Agency that the Bakki smelter project does not have to go through an overall environmental impact assessment, Morgunbladid reports. Read More
Jul 31 2008
Vedanta Promises
Jul 28 2008
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Saving Iceland Shuts Down Geothermal Drilling Work in Hengill
HELLISHEIDI (ICELAND) – This morning the direct action campaign Saving Iceland has occupied one of the main geothermal drill sites in Hengill where the Hellisheidi power plant is being expanded by Reykjavik Energy. 20 activists have chained themselves to machinery and have climbed the drill to hang up a banner saying “Reykjavik Energy out of Hellisheidi and Yemen”. They have also occupied the power control room of the drill site. The power to the drill was shut off and drilling was stopped for the rest of the day. Seven people got arrested. The protest was aimed at Reykjavik Energy supplying electricity to aluminium smelters in Iceland, destruction and pollution of the Hengill area and RE’s sponsoring of severe human rights abuse in Yemen.
In the last week, Saving Iceland took action at the Glencore and ALCOA headquarters in Switzerland as well as all Swiss Icelandic consulates, the Icelandic embassy in Rome, Icelandic consulate in Milan and also the headquarters of Impregilo. In Iceland Century Aluminum and Landsvirkjun both saw two actions against them and now Reykjavik Energy was targeted. Read More
Jul 27 2008
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Demonstration outside Glencore’s Switzerland Headquarters
On 25 July 2008 we staged a demonstration outside Glencore’s headquarters in Switzerland to show our solidarity with the Saving Iceland campaign and to point the finger at Glencore’s business practices.
Glencore founded the Century Aluminum Co. in 1995 and remains the majority shareholder to this day. Therefore, Glencore can be held directly responsible both for the destruction and pollution in Iceland and for the human rights violations in Jamaica, Africa and Columbia being perpetrated by Century Aluminum.
Jul 27 2008
Actions at all Icelandic Consulates in Switzerland
