Romanians protest against Carpathian gold mine.

Thousands of Romanians have attended rallies in Bucharest and other cities against a proposed gold mine in the Carpathian Mountains. The Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources is hoping to excavate over 300 tonnes of gold and 1500 tonnes of silver from the Roșia Montană area, where gold has been mined since at least Roman times. However protestors object to the plans, which will involve the removal of four mountaintops, and the relocation of three villages.

Protestors in Bucharest on Monday 2 September 2013. Radu Sigheti/Reuters.

The mine has been planned for over a decade, but has not gone ahead to date due to concerns over the impact it may have on the local environment, communities and Roman archeological sites in the area. However the Romanian government produced a draft bill at the end of August which would grant the Canadian firm exceptional powers to circumvent environmental, heritage and property laws in the area, something the protestors claim is unconstitutional, and will lead to forced relocations and widespread environmental damage. 

Romania was economically impoverished under the Cold War regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu, but experienced exceptional economic growth during the 1990s and early 2000s, largely due to investment from the European Union. However the country was badly hit by the economic collapse of 2008, and was forced to borrow €20 billion from the International Monitory Fund, European Union, World Bank and other institutions, in return for which it was forced to agree to a set of economic measures including slashing public sector pay, selling of state assets and allowing foreign companies access to mineral resources.

The approximate location of the proposed Roșia Montană mine. Google Maps.

Mountaintop removal is a process in which the entire top of mountain ridges are removed in order to expose mineral seems, which can then be completely removed. The process has been linked to severe environmental problems, including loss of biodiversity and toxification of water resources. It has also been linked to severe health issues; communities close to mountaintop removal projects have been shown to suffer sharp increases in levels of cancer and birth defects, placing a severe strain on local healthcare providers. The process has also caused more direct disruption to communities, with homes, churches and graveyards being removed or relocated against the will of the local populations.

Environmentalists in Romania are also concerned by the proposed use of the cyanide extraction process, in which finely ground gold and silver ore (the two metals are commonly found together) is mixed with (highly toxic) sodium cyanide in setting pools. This leads to the formation of gold and silver cyanide compounds, which are then mixed out with zinc, causing the precious minerals to precipitate out in a sludge, which is then treated with concentrated sulphuric acid in order to obtain the pure metals. The process has been associated with a number of severe environmental problems, mostly relating to the spillage of toxic cyanide compounds.

See also Chilean court suspends work at the Pascua-Lama Gold Mine over entironmental concerns, Operations ceased at Padcal Mine following flooding, Protest group Appalachia Rising occupy the offices of four US Representatives, Protestors object to the expansion of the Conga Mine in Peru and Acid spill from gold mine adds to Edith River's woes.

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Protests over environmental problems at Indian-owned Mozambique coal mine.

The Friends of the Earth-affiliated environmental group Justica Ambiental has taken up the case of villagers living close to an open-pit coal mine operated by Indian company Jindal Steel in Tete Province in western Mozambique. Villagers in the Chirodzi (Cahora Bassa), Chirodzi (Changara), Cassoca and Nyantsanga communities have complained of a permanent cloud coal dust from dynamiting at the pit enveloping their homes. Jindal obtained a 25 year concession to work at the site in 2011, and began work their early in 2013, without having arranged for the resettlement of local communities or negotiated with local landowners over access to land already in use, both of which were terms of the original concession. Manoj Gupta, the head of  Jindal Steel in Mozambique has blamed the government of Mozambique for the delays, claiming that resettlement began after the project was formally opened by Mozambican President Armando Guebuza on 6 August 2013, though shipments of coal from the mine to India began in May.

The location of the Jindal concession in Tete Province, Mozambique, as well as concessions being worked by mining companies Rio Tinto and Vale. Human Rights Watch.

The site suffered two days of violent protests in late July, in which a number of Jindal employees were assaulted, despite the presence of security guards and police, who were apparently unable to intervene due to the large number of people involved. Jindal have claimed that this was the work of 'outsiders' and that it has a good relationship with the local community.

Mozambique is one of the world's poorest and underdeveloped nations, and is still recovering from the effects of a civil war that lasted from 1977 till 1992, and was at least partly fueled by a desire of apartheid-era South Africa to undermine the stability of neighbouring nations it perceived as unfriendly. In 2001 Mozambique entered into an agreement with the Paris Club group of nations under which it was forgiven much of its overseas debt, in return for agreeing to a set of economic liberalization measures which included selling of many state owned enterprises and guaranteeing oversees companies access to mineral and other resources.

The country has currently granted mining concessions on 3.4 million hectares of land in Tete Province, roughly 34% of the province's total area, and is considering applications on a further 2.6 million hectares in the province, which brings the total to roughly 60% (Tete Province has an area of approximately 100 000 km², roughly the same as Colorado or Wales and Scotland combined).

In May 2013 Human Rights Watch expressed concern at the rapid development of the coal industry in Tete Province, in particular the displacement of farms and communities by Jindal as well as the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto and Brazilian company Vale. An investigation found that formerly self-sufficient communities were being displaced to more arid areas, where they were unable to carry on traditional methods of agriculture, and were instead becoming reliant on food assistance for survival.

See also Union official assassinated at Lonmin's Marikana Platinum Mine, African Barrick Gold sued over deaths at Tanzanian mine, Amnesty International reports on the mining industry in Katanga Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pregnant woman killed in rioting over Tanzania gas pipeline and At least 10 South African miners injured by rubber bullets in confrontation at Rustenburg mine.

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Explosion aboard oil vessel in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

A series of explosions aboard an oil vessel undergoing repairs in Port Harcourt, the capitol of Rivers State in Nigeria, is feared to have killed between 11 and 30 people at about 9.45 am on Friday 20 July 2012. The explosion was reportedly caused when welders attempted to begin repairs on the vessels fuel tanks which had reportedly been leaking, and which had apparently not been correctly flushed prior to the work beginning. The casualties are said to include members of the welding team, the ship's crew and a number of local students who were visiting the harbour area. The name of the vessel and its operators have not yet been released; it is unclear if this is a locally or internationally operated vessel.

Fire crews at the docks in Port Harcourt. iREPORTS-NG.com.

Nigeria is a major oil-exporting country, but oil operators in the Delta region are often accused of having a cavalier attitude to the environment and the safety of both their employees and the wider local population. This week regulators in Nigeria recommended that oil giant Shell be fined US$5 billion for its role in a major offshore spill in the Bonga Oil Field in 2011. Shell do not deny the spill was caused by faulty equipment at their offshore facility, but claim there is no basis in Nigerian law for imposing the fine. Whatever the outcome it is probably not a good time for Shell to be having a public dispute with the Nigerian authorities over their safety and environmental record, as they have been subjected to a series of high-profile demonstrations by environmental group Greenpeace, who are concerned that Shell's attempts to open up new oil fields in the Arctic could lead to unacceptable levels of risk to fragile Arctic environments.

A report by the United Nations Environment Programme last year was extremely critical of oil companies in the Niger Delta, and recommended that considerable investment be made in infrastructure and spill prevention.

See also Oil spill in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, Chevron exploration rig still burning in the Niger Delta, Oil spill off the coast of Nigeria and The UN reports on oil pollution in Ogoniland, Nigeria.

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Protest group Appalachia Rising occupy the offices of four US Representatives.

On Wednesday 6 June 2012 activists from the protest Group Appalachia Rising occupied the offices of four US Representatives from states in the Appalachian Region. The group were protesting against the increased used of open-pit mining in the Appalachian Mountains, and in particular the process known as mountaintop removal, in which the entire top of mountain ridges are removed in order to expose coal seems, which can then be completely removed. The process has been linked to extreme environmental degradation, and severe health impacts on local communities.

Mountaintop removal at Oven Fork, near Whitesburg (Letcher County, Kentucky). The Mountaintop Removal Road Show.

The representatives affected were Congressman John Duncan (Republican), representing Tennessee's 2nd District, Congressman Nick Rahall (Democrat), representing the 3rd District of West Virginia, Congressman Hal Rogers (Republican), representing Kentucky's 5th District, and Congressman Morgan Griffith (Republican), representing Virginia's 9th District. Each was targeted by a group from their own state. A total of 22 activists were arrested in Washington, two in Representative Duncan's office, six in Representative Griffith's office, seven in Representative Rogers' office and seven in Representative Rahall's Office. All four Congressmen have been accused of having a poor record on environmental issues, and of supporting the interests of extraction companies over those of their constituents.

Protesters from Kentucky inside the office of Representative Hal Rogers. Appalachia Rising.

The protests come a week after Memorial Day protests in which Appalachian women shaved their heads in morning for mountains which have been removed, and protests on the first of this month in which members of the Earth Quaker Action Team and the Sierra Club organized mass withdrawals from the PNC Bank in protest at its investment in mountaintop removal projects.

Mountaintop removal has been linked to severe environmental problems, including loss of biodiversity and toxification of water resources. It has also been linked to severe health issues; communities close to mountaintop removal projects have been shown to suffer sharp increases in levels of cancer and birth defects, placing a severe strain on local healthcare providers. The process has also caused more direct disruption to communities, with homes, churches and graveyards being removed or relocated against the will of the local populations.

See also Daw Mill Colliery threatened with closure, The effects of oil sands mining on wetlands in northern Alberta, Greenpeace activists occupy drilling ship in New Zealand, Protestors object to the expansion of the Conga Mine in Peru and Acid spill from gold mine adds to Edith River's woes.

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Geological Society of London to host a public meeting on Shale Gas extraction.

Shale Gas is naturally occurring gas trapped within shale (sine grained sedimentary rocks, typically mostly clay) formations. This is harder, and more expensive, to extract than other forms of Natural Gas, but is becoming increasingly attractive to hydrocarbons companies as other sources of gas start to dwindle. Typically Shale Gas is extracted using a technique called Hydraulic Fracturing, or Fracking, which involves blasting water, sand and chemicals into shale beds at high pressure in order to fracture the rocks and release the Gas.

Diagram of a Hydraulic Fractioning operation. geology.com

Shale Gas extraction has expanded rapidly in the US in recent years, and is expected to produce half of all the Natural Gas extracted in the US by the year 2020. It has, however, proved to be extremely unpopular with environmental groups, both within the US and in other countries, to the extent that some countries have altogether banned the practice.

There are four principle objections to Shale Gas extraction. One of these is that Natural Gas is a hydrocarbon, and potentially contributes to Global Warming; this is no different to the objections to the extraction of Natural Gas from other sources, excepting that extracting the gas from shale significantly increases the available reserves. The remaining objections are with the Fracking process, and are therefore specific to Shale Gas extraction.

Firstly the process causes Earthquakes. This is not in dispute, though the scale of the quakes the process can cause is hotly disputed between environmentalists and the industry. An Earthquake is shaking in the ground, regardless of the source; a large truck driving past your house does not merely feel like its causing an Earthquake, it actually is. Blasting water, sand and chemicals into buried sediments with the intention of fracturing the rock will certainly cause Earthquakes (if it did not it would not work). 

Industry experts do not expect the process to produce quakes larger than a magnitude of 1 on the Richter Scale, but areas where Fracking occurs in the US have seen an unexpected increase in quake activity, with some quakes exceeding magnitude 3. Since the Richter Scale is logarithmic this represents quakes more than a hundred times as large as predicted, leading the industry to claim that any connection is impossible, but not able to provide an alternative explanation (in some cases this is further confused by the employment of lobbyists who do not understand the process and who will offer blanket denials for even the most minor of quakes). In the UK the process has been linked to two small quakes near an experimental Fracking operation at Preese Hall in Lancashire, leading to a halt in operations.

Secondly the process has been linked to the contamination of aquifers; the chemicals used in the process are potentially toxic, and people do not like the idea of these getting into drinking water. Again industry models do not predict that the chemicals could escape the targeted deposits into other strata, but the chemicals have been found in the aquifers. A report into the industry in the US was unable to confidently say that the process had caused the contamination, but only because the chemical containment at the surface was so poor that contamination from ground-level sources could not be ruled out.

Thirdly the process uses large amounts of water, a matter of some concern in more arid parts of the US, where the industry is suspected of the using water that could be used for other purposes, notably agriculture.

In the UK a report commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change was published last month (April 2012), recommending that the process should be allowed in the UK, subject to very tight environmental regulation, bringing the process back into the public eye.

On 18 June 2012 the Geological Society of London is hosting a public meeting to discuss Shale Gas Extraction, at Burlington House in London. The meeting will not seek to address whether the process should be used in the UK, but will seek to explain the geological science behind the process, and whether it can be undertaken safely. The meeting is not aimed at geologists, but rather at elected representatives (politicians), local and central government officials, regulators, NGOs, representatives of other industries likely to be affected (such as water companies) and other interested parties.

The location of Burlington House.

The meeting will be addressed by Mike Stephenson of the British Geological Survey, who will discuss the nature and distribution of shale gas reserves in the UK, Richard Davies, of Durham University, who will discuss the Hydraulic Fractionation process, Peter Styles of Keele University (one of the authors of the Department of Energy and Climate Change report), who will discuss the safety of the process with regard to induced seismicity (i.e. causing Earthquakes). The meeting will also discuss the potential effects on groundwater, and the uses of water in the industry, as well as the regulatory framework for the industry in the UK, though the speakers on these subjects are yet to be confirmed.

The layout of Burlington House.

See also Report recommends Fracking should be allowed to continue in the UK, Protests against hydraulic fractionation across Bulgaria, Oklahoma shaken by Earthquake on Christmas Day, Earthquake in Texas attributed to fracking and Fracking linked to earthquakes in Lancashire, northeast England.

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Greenpeace activists occupy drilling ship in New Zealand.

Early on the morning of Friday 24 February 2012 seven activists from the environmental group Greenpeace, including actress Lucy Lawless (better known as Xena the Warrior Princess) boarded the Liberian registered drilling exploration ship Noble Discoverer in the Port of Taranaki 0n North Island, New Zealand, as a protest against plans to search for oil in the Alaskan Arctic on behalf of the oil giant Shell. The ship had been chartered from its owners, Noble Drilling, after Shell was granted a license to prospect for oil in the Chukchi Sea, of the coast of Alaska, by the US Interior Department in August 2011.

Greenpeace activists atop the drilling derek on board the Noble Discoverer. Image from Greenpeace.

Greenpeace objects strongly to oil exploration in the Arctic, where ecosystems are thought to be especially vulnerable to oil spills, and where any major oil spill would be next to impossible to clean up. They point out that the cleanup operation after the blowout on the BP chartered oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico involved over 6000 ships and managed to recover only 17% of the oil spilled. The US Coast Guard has stated that such a cleanup in Arctic waters could not be attempted.

They also point out that Arctic environments are particularly vulnerable to the threat of global warming, and that the best means to protect them would be to cease exploration for new hydrocarbons and switch to alternative forms of energy generation as quickly as possible.

The New Plymouth Police, within whose jurisdiction Taranaki falls, have described the action as illegal, but have agreed to leave the protestors, who reportedly have several days worth of supplies, in place for the time being, stating that safety is their paramount concern. Shell have expressed 'disappointment' at the Greenpeace action, which they say endangers the lives of both the protestors and the crew, and have said they have offered to discuss their plans for drilling in the Arctic with Greenpeace.

This is the second Greenpeace action against Shell this week, on Monday (21 February 2012) protestors scaled the National Gallery in London, where Shell were hosting a reception, and unscaled a 40 m² banner reading "It's No Oil Painting", also in protest against the planned Arctic Drilling.

The location of the Chukchi Sea, where Shell hope to drill for oil. AP.

See also Chevron & Ecuadorian government seek to use arbitration to settle Amazon damages case, Chevron exploration rig still burning in the Niger Delta, BP takes legal action against Halliburton over Deepwater Horizon disaster, Oil spill off the coast of Nigeria and Russian oil rig capsizes and sinks in under 20 minutes in the Sea of Othotsk.

Protestors object to the expansion of the Conga Mine in Peru.

The Conga Gold Mine in the Cajamarca Region of Northern Peru is owned by the Colorado based Newmont Mining Corporation. In July 2011 Newmont announced plans for a major expansion of the project, bringing US$4.8 billion in investment to the area, and creating between 5000 and 7000 jobs during the expansion process (the number of permanent positions that would be created is unclear). The project would involve the destruction of a number of lakes used to supply water for agriculture and irrigation in the region, though Newmont have promised to build new reservoirs and water distribution infrastructure for the region.

The location of the Conga Mine. Map from the United States Geological Survey.

The project has received support from the Peruvian Government, the leadership of the Catholic Church in Peru (who are politically important), and much of the Lima-based press. However much of the local population oppose the project strongly, as do environmental groups, and grass-roots church organizations. This has lead to a string of protests, some of which have turned violent, and which threaten to badly disrupt the project, if not actually halt it.

Protestors opposed to the Conga Mine expansion.

The project seems to have polarized political opinions in Peru, a country with a wide political gulf between the urban elite and the rural poor, that has flared into all-out conflict in the past. Supporters of the mine cite the need for investment in the country, and the promise of investment in infrastructure and jobs.

Opponents dispute the need for investment as the country has a buoyant economy, currently the 42nd largest in the world and growing rapidly, but poor economic distribution; many of the country's 30 million citizens remain impoverished, while a small elite have grown very wealthy. In addition they completely distrust pledges on employment and environmental protection from Newmont and the Peruvian Government. Many regard the lakes threatened by the project as sacred, and favor expansion of the tourist industry, already worth over US$1 million a day, and employing more people than the mining industry, but threatened by the project.

An anti-Conga Mine group on Facebook has attracted over 11 000 members, whereas a pro-Conga Mine page has less than a hundred, and a petition opposed to the project has appeared on the care2 petition site. Newmont point out that they carried out a public consultation before announcing the project, in which they consulted 13 000 local people, though since this is only twice the number they are planning to employ it may have been a bit on the low side. Meanwhile troops have been moved to the area as confrontations with protestors escalate, and right-wing commenters in Peru are calling for a movement to protect democracy from 'left-wing radicalism'.

While all this is going on it seems that Newmont, have become caught up in a wider political debate in Peru, and that their operations will continue to face disruption because of this. Even if their intentions to protect the local environment and population are entirely honorable they will continue to be mistrusted simply because of the support they receive from the Peruvian political right.

See also Acid spill from gold mine adds to Edith River's woes, Copper spill causes pollution alert on the Edith River, Nine killed at illegal rare-earth mine in Guangxi and At least 21 miners killed in disaster in Yunnan.

Protests against hydraulic fractionation across Bulgaria.

Protests took place across Bulgaria on Saturday 14 December 2012, against plans by the government to allow US oil and gas company Chevron to extract shale gas by hydraulic fractionation ('fracking') in the country. Protests took place in the capitol, Sophia, as well as in the Dobruzha region in the northeast, in the Black Sea ports of Varna and Burgas, and the provincial capitols of Plodiv and Pleven.

Protestors in Sophia on Saturday 14 January 2012.

Hydraulic fractionation, or fracking, is a process by which pressurized water and chemicals are forced into buried shale deposits in order to shock them into releasing gas and sometimes oil. The process has been linked to earthquakes, accused of polluting freshwater aquifers and using excessive water in dry countries.

Bulgaria is currently regarded as the poorest country in the European Union, and is more-or-less dependent on imported gas from Russia to satisfy its energy needs. The country is estimated to have between 300 billion and one trillion cubic meters of shale gas in two fields, one near Novi Pazar in the northeast of the country, and one offshore on the Black Sea Shelf. The Bulgarian government has recently signed a five-year deal with Chevron, allowing the company to explore the Novi Pazar field, with the potential to break the countries dependence on Russian gas, and bring jobs and investment to the country.

However environmental group Fracking Free Bulgaria has objected to the plans on the grounds that the area is home to freshwater aquifers that supply much of the Balkans, and is already prone to seismic activity (which may heighten the possibility of chemicals used in the process leaking into aquifers, and the pressure blasts triggering larger earthquakes), and that the local population has not been consulted about the deal. In addition to the street protests a Facebook group called We are against a Bulgarian Chernobyl - The extraction of Shale Gas has attracted over 50 000 members.

The protests culminated with the presentation of a petition to the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva, calling for a moratorium on the process, something that has happened in a number of states around the world, including France in the EU. Tsacheva is reported to have promised a parliamentary debate on a moratorium, though since Bulgaria has already signed a deal with Chevron, this might be hard to enforce without being forced to pay some form of compensation to the oil company.

Exploration companies Park Place Energy and TransAtlantic Petroleum are also apparently interested in extracting shale gas in Bulgaria. Both companies claim to already have licenses to develop shale gas fields in Bulgaria, though the Bulgarian Government has not confirmed this.

See also Oklahoma shaken by Eathquake on Christmas Day, Earthquake in Texas attributed to fracking and Fracking linked to Earthquakes in Lancashire.