Pitfalls and Pipelines - Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links

Chapter 2.4: Negotiations and Engagement with Companies
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ing to abide by them. Knowing about them, and knowing if a
company has signed up to them, however, may be important in
terms of using them as a benchmark or holding the company
to account in negotiations. They may even be useful in terms
of setting up community participatory monitoring to make
sure any standards, as well as local laws, are not breached.
The Situation of the Goro Nickel Mine in Kanaky/New Caledonia
based on the presentation of Marina Kahlemu,
Rheebu Nuu and a case study from Sarimin J. Boengkih,
Agence Kanak de Développement
As referred to in the case study in 2.2, Vale-Inco New Caledonia (formely
GoroNickel SA) operates an open-pit mine and processing plant at Goro,
on the southern tip of Grande Terre island. The project began despite
widespread protests from both environmental activists and affected
indigenous Kanaks. It is a large operation, both in terms of the area to be
mined, but also because the infrastructure includes a power station, an
industrial port and, during the construction phase, a base camp that could
accommodate up to 3,000 people.
The project was initially controlled by the Canadian company, Inco. Inco
highlighted the benefits of job creation and employment training as two
aspects of the project beneficial for New Caledonians (not necessarily
the same thing as indigenous Kanaks). The company claimed that the
project would supply 800 jobs and 1,500 derivative jobs, 90 percent of
which would “likely” be filled by New Caledonians. Goro Nickel’s then
management team, however, indicated that Inco has ruled out any
favorable hiring policy for Kanaks.
Even the promise of jobs could not quell opposition to the project
though. The Kanak population wanted to work but not at any cost. Their
primary concern was a respect for the environment, and a respect for
their heritage, based on an understanding of the destruction mineral
exploitation had brought over the years. Early estimates were that the
vast open-pit would spew 10,000 tons of dissolved metals a year into the
ocean.
In 2004, the local Kanak population, through Rheebu Nuu, tried to open
negotiations with the company. Rheebu Nuu is a Kanak environmental
organization, which acted as an umbrella organization for those affected,
and had been campaigning on the project since 2001. The affected