Comments on: South Africans Lose Against Platinum Giant http://blog.brilliantearth.com/2008/04/01/south-africans-lose-against-platinum-giant/ Luxury with a conscience Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:36:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: keith bryer http://blog.brilliantearth.com/2008/04/01/south-africans-lose-against-platinum-giant/comment-page-1/#comment-26 keith bryer Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:57:23 +0000 http://blog.brilliantearth.com/2008/04/01/south-africans-lose-against-platinum-giant/#comment-26 ActionAid may be confident about its water quality testing but if they are it was strange to see them today disrupting a meeting of local, provincial and municipal water quality experts who were meeting to check the results against their own findings. I understand there is a mismatch. The meeting had to be cancelled when Action Aid who were asked to send an observer instead turned up with a crowd in specially-printed t-shirts and two camera crews. No doubt the truth will out eventually. So far it is anyone's guess. ActionAid may be confident about its water quality testing but if they are it was strange to see them today disrupting a meeting of local, provincial and municipal water quality experts who were meeting to check the results against their own findings. I understand there is a mismatch. The meeting had to be cancelled when Action Aid who were asked to send an observer instead turned up with a crowd in specially-printed t-shirts and two camera crews. No doubt the truth will out eventually. So far it is anyone’s guess.

]]> By: B. Earth http://blog.brilliantearth.com/2008/04/01/south-africans-lose-against-platinum-giant/comment-page-1/#comment-21 B. Earth Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:52:37 +0000 http://blog.brilliantearth.com/2008/04/01/south-africans-lose-against-platinum-giant/#comment-21 Hi Keith, thanks for your input. We looked into your concerns, and ActionAid has commented on AngloPlatinum's response to their report, which addresses your questions above. Among other issues addressed, ActionAid states that: "Independent water sampling analysis commissioned by ActionAid has discovered serious water pollution, harmful to health, at four sites near Anglo Platinum’s mines, including two schools. Mining activities are the most likely cause of this pollution, said the independent water analysis report, which has made the water unfit for human consumption." Please click here to read their response: http://www.actionaid.org/main.aspx?PageID=1091<del datetime="2008-04-07T18:57:21+00:00"> Hi Keith, thanks for your input. We looked into your concerns, and ActionAid has commented on AngloPlatinum’s response to their report, which addresses your questions above. Among other issues addressed, ActionAid states that:

“Independent water sampling analysis commissioned by ActionAid has discovered serious water pollution, harmful to health, at four sites near Anglo Platinum’s mines, including two schools. Mining activities are the most likely cause of this pollution, said the independent water analysis report, which has made the water unfit for human consumption.”

Please click here to read their response:
http://www.actionaid.org/main.aspx?PageID=1091

]]> By: keith bryer http://blog.brilliantearth.com/2008/04/01/south-africans-lose-against-platinum-giant/comment-page-1/#comment-16 keith bryer Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:25:25 +0000 http://blog.brilliantearth.com/2008/04/01/south-africans-lose-against-platinum-giant/#comment-16 I regret to say that ActionAid -- probably because it is either based in Britain, 6000 miles away from South Africa -- has hitched its star to a very wonky wagon with its attack on AngloPlatinum's treatment of communities adjavcent to its mines. Having read both the ActionAid report and the rebuttal published by AngloPatinum http://angloplatinum.com/investor_media/im_latest_news/Anglo_ActionAid.pdf it is quite clear that the houses Angloplat has provided are of a first class, first world standard and that 8000 people have moved into them willingly. The 26 resisting the move are playing a game of extortion. Also the independent water tests show pollution from pit latrines not from the mines which are, anyway downstream of the testing points. I regret to say that ActionAid — probably because it is either based in Britain, 6000 miles away from South Africa — has hitched its star to a very wonky wagon with its attack on AngloPlatinum’s treatment of communities adjavcent to its mines. Having read both the ActionAid report and the rebuttal published by AngloPatinum http://angloplatinum.com/investor_media/im_latest_news/Anglo_ActionAid.pdf it is quite clear that the houses Angloplat has provided are of a first class, first world standard and that 8000 people have moved into them willingly. The 26 resisting the move are playing a game of extortion. Also the independent water tests show pollution from pit latrines not from the mines which are, anyway downstream of the testing points.

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