Posts

Investigation. Anglo American’s error undermines its promise of no glacier impacts for $3bn Chilean copper project / Desmog

For the last year I have been investigating a local glacier contamination story, with an impact that is experienced by Santiago’s 7million. 

When mining company Anglo American released a “Fake News” statement partly in response to my previous investigation into the CO2 emissions associated with their Los Bronces operations, they added that their glacier contamination was “less than 10% of the Swiss norm.”

I followed up with the Swiss Office for the Environment and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow, and Landscape Research. The finding was that the ambient limit values for glacier contamination that the mining company has been using to justify current operations and their future Los Bronces Integrado expansion – don’t apply to glaciers at all.

Following the publication of the article, the local mayor Cristóbal Lira announced an investigation into the compliance by Anglo American with its environmental commitments.

I would like to express deep thanks to the glaciologists, air pollution scientists, environmental lawyers, NGOs and members of Chilean civil society who supported this investigation.

You can read the article here as originally published by DeSmog; or here for Chilean investigative news site Interferencia, in Spanish.

 

Investigation of Anglo American mining – DeSmogUK

Over the course of five months in 2019 I investigated the multi national mining company Anglo American, analysing the carbon and social impact of their $3bn project to begin copper extraction from beneath the Yerba Loca Nature Sanctuary. 

You can continue reading the investigation at DeSmogUK

Also published in Spanish at Interferencia.cl

Sidestepping industrial greenwashing at COP25 / DeSmog

Mayor Arturo Aguirre at this Friday’s Social Summit for Climate Action launch in Los Cerrillos, Santiago ©Matt Maynard

This August I covered the launch of the citizen led movement to mount an alternative Conference of the Parties this December in Santiago. 

You can read my analysis for DeSmog here (opens in new tab)