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At around 3 pm on a hot April day, the tranquillity of Kochamau, a tribal village in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul district, was disrupted by the sound of helicopters flying past. As people ran out of their houses, they saw huge machines dangling from the helicopters that were whirring precariously close to the roofs of their houses. Nobody knew what was happening. The sporadic flights continued for weeks, sometimes two-three times a day, till the village residents were informed by Shramik Adivasi Sangathan (SAS), a non-profit working in the region, that the government was exploring the area for uranium deposits and that the helicopters carried machines to send electromagnetic waves to scan underground deposits. The secrecy of the operation was such that no notice boards were on display in the area. When Down To Earth (DTE) visited the forest surrounding Kochamau, there were two giant machines and a few tents. But the guards refused to speak and denied permission to photograph the machines...

With the Central government planning to revive uranium mining in Meghalaya, the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) has taken the side of the student organisations and NGOs opposing Centre’s plans. According to Chief Executive Member of KHADC, P N Syiem, the council has unanimously approved the decision to not grant No Objection Certificate to uranium mining in Meghalaya. On February 8, in a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), who is also handling the Atomic Energy portfolio, said that it has already planned to develop the mineral resources at Domiasiat, a village in West Khasi Hills, about 130 kilometres from the state capital, under the name of ‘Kylleng- Pdengsohiong-Mawthabah (KPM) Uranium Mining Project’. Incidentally, in August, 2016, the Meghalaya government revoked its earlier decision that granted permission to the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to conduct uranium ...

A policy dialogue at the 2017 Mining Indaba heard strong endorsements from public and private sector speakers for the Africa Mining Vision (AMV) Private Sector Compact. The AMV Compact was launched at 2016 Mining Indaba, where it won early support from the Mining Industry Association of Southern Africa (MIASA). The Compact is designed to close existing gaps between mining communities, the private sector and governments. It consists of a set of twelve principles designed to offer improved value and benefits to all parties involved. Governments and mining companies are encouraged to sign up to the Compact for themselves, using one of a number of flexible governance options. The Indaba special session was set up to facilitate an open dialogue, guided by Compact principles, between governments and the private sector to explore areas of consensus and possible win- wins. In her welcome remarks, African Union Trade and Industry Commissioner, Fatima Haram-Acyl, said: “The rationale fo...