Mining giant Rio Tinto is contaminating Madagascar’s lakes and rivers.
Locals say their water is no longer drinkable and fish stocks are
depleted.

Tell Rio Tinto to stop its polluting practices at the QMM mine!

[ [link removed] ]Lots of dead fish float at edge of lake, green reeds fringe the lake


[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 

   
John,

Rio Tinto’s destructive QMM mine in Madagascar is contaminating pristine
lakes and waterways where locals draw their drinking water -- and say the
mine is undermining their health and destroying livelihoods.

When locals took to the streets a few weeks ago to protest against the
mine, military troops fired tear gas, injuring people and arresting
dozens.

Rio Tinto had agreed to pay compensation for losses due to the mine’s
impacts. But the compensation process was riddled with reports of human
rights violations including intimidation, gagging orders and inadequate
payments.

John, will you support local communities by building a massive
public outcry against the mining corporations' bullying and polluting
practices?  

[ [link removed] ]Sign the petition calling on Rio Tinto to stop its polluting practices
at QMM mine and allow independent audits of the water quality and
compensation process.

The mine is not just affecting water quality, it is undermining the local
communities' health, depleting fish stocks and impacting food production
which has reduced people's income by as much as 50%.

A study of QMM’s water data showed elevated levels of uranium in the mine
basin and in waterways downstream 50x higher than World Health
Organisation safe drinking water guidelines. Other concerning contaminants
detected include lead, aluminium and cadmium.

The mining giant denies that QMM is impacting the environment or having
any effect on water quality or the health of local people. Yet it won't
allow any independent audit of the water quality issues. 

Rio Tinto is the second biggest mining corporation in the world whilst
Madagascar is the 5th poorest country in the world, and a biodiversity
hotspot. In the Anosy region where the mine operates, over 91% of rural
people are living in multidimensional poverty. 

[ [link removed] ]Add your name to the petition now → tell Rio Tinto to clean up its act
and stop polluting lakes and rivers.

Rio Tinto has billions more than the whole of Madagascar, but the Ekō
community has people like you all around the world who can help shine a
spotlight on the mining giants’ human rights violations. We’ve taken on
mining corporations before and helped locals win, like Máxima, an
Indigenous Peruvian farmer, who kept her land safe from a gold mine.

Together we can take on Rio Tinto and help stop its polluting practices.



[ [link removed] ] Sign the petition 



Thanks for all that you do,
Nish and the team at Ekō


More information:

[ [link removed] ]Madagascar: new tensions around the activities of the QMM mining
company in Fort-Dauphin
RFI. 4 July 2023.
[ [link removed] ]Rio Tinto must repair the damage caused by their Madagascar mine
Mongabay. 28 April 2023.
[ [link removed] ]Rio Tinto-owned operation leaks radionuclides into Madagascar lakes
Mining Technology. 5 September 2018.
[ [link removed] ]Fish deaths near Rio Tinto mine in Madagascar dredge up community
grievances
Mongabay. 16 May 2023.
[ [link removed] ]Malagasy unionists arrested over QMM protests must be released!
IndustriALL. 19 July 2023.

 

 

Ekō is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

Please help keep Ekō strong by chipping in $3. [link removed]