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Other reports include tumours, headaches, skin conditions, and vision problems. One healthcare provider reported that, "Mothers are having miscarriages every single day...I am not seeing this in other places, only around the mining site.” A field study in 2018-2019 found 19 children with "serious deformities and paralysis" in a survey of 36 households.
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in the world. The mine's pollution has also threatened local communities' food security. People have been killed for organising protests against the mine, and in 2018 at least five people were killed when security forces fired at demonstrators. These protests resulted in temporary cancellation of the
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demanding the cancellation of MIDROC's licence at Lega Dembi. The protests spread to other towns as well. Protestors cut power and water supply to the mine. Security forces shot at demonstrators, killing five people on May 8 and 9. A local politician was arrested for speaking to the media about the
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Local people allege that MIDROC polluted rivers with chemicals that residents used for drinking and for livestock, causing birth deformities and animal deaths. Protesters contend water and air pollution from the mine have caused respiratory illnesses, miscarriages, birth defects, and disabilities.
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A ten-year renewal for the mining permit was briefly granted in 2018, with a provision allocating 2 percent of the mine's profit for the local community, but it was quickly cancelled due to local outrage about pollution from the mine, before being reinstated in 2021.
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in
February 2021, The Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoMPNG) announced that it would allow MIDROC to reopen the mine. A report in 2022 found that the government had "largely succeeded in suppressing any public expression of opposition to the mine."
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found that, “Security forces committed numerous human rights violations in response to the protests, including arbitrary arrest and detention, killings and other uses of excessive force, torture and ill-treatment in detention, and enforced disappearances.”
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in
February 2021, MoMPNG announced that it would allow MIDROC to reopen the mine. A report in 2022 found that the government had "largely succeeded in suppressing any public expression of opposition to the mine."
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752:"Urgent appeal submitted to: David R. Boyd UN Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment"
751:
331:. Local community members have reported that mine security shoots at people if they get near the mine, and that employment opportunities have systematically excluded local people.
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has also been affected, because children have deformities that make them unable to walk to school or developmental disabilities that local schools lack resources to address.
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603:"Frontiers of Extraction and Contestation: dispossession, exclusion and local resistance against MIDROC Laga-Dambi Gold Mine, southern Ethiopia"
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for $ 172 million in 1997. The mine was initially an open-pit mine and produced gold and silver beginning in 1998, and had a large open
522:
284:
found that exploitation of the area replicated a pattern in which successive
Ethiopian regimes have justified land appropriation for
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The
Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoMPNG) temporarily suspended MIDROC's mining permit following the 2018 protests.
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has also been impaired because their livestock have died, their crops have been reduced, and the food is contaminated. Children’s
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The mine produced four tons of gold per year and generated more than $ 60 million/year before the permit was cancelled in 2018.
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In 2009, people protested the mine in response to the death of hundreds of cattle. They were beaten and arrested en masse.
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guidelines, causing severe negative health effects including many stillbirths, birth defects, and deformities. In the 2022
483:"The Lega Dembi gold mine: an example of shear zone-hosted mineralization in the Adola greenstone belt, Southern Ethiopia"
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253:. At this time, a garrison of 900 soldiers provided security for the mine; displaced locals were killed or tortured for
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for the mine. No previous environmental study had been made public. The
Canadian embassy agreed to fund the study.
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436:"The geology of the Lega Dembi gold deposit, southern Ethiopia: implications for Pan-African gold exploration"
782:"The impact of toxic contamination from the Lega Dembi gold mine on the Indigenous Guji people in Ethiopia"
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Following protests in 2018, the
Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoMPNG) agreed to do an
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174:. Lega Dembi has a yearly production of around 4,500 kg of gold and silver, and is owned by
662:"Canada To Support Study On Lega Dembi Gold Mine | The Reporter | Latest Ethiopian News Today"
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The
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
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gold deposit, and was discovered in the 1930s. The mine was developed by the
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Billay, A. Y.; Kisters, A. F. M.; Meyer, F. M.; Schneider, J. (1997-08-01).
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In April 2016, security forces killed a protest organiser. A 2016 report by
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at Lega Dembi that was distanced from influence by the local community.
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718:"Protesters Demand Ethiopia Cancel Billionaire's Gold License"
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Between 1997 and 2009, MIDROC's expansion of the mine caused
304:. MIDROC expanded and converted it into an underground mine.
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The mine was privatised in 1997, and as of 2011 is owned by
548:. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.
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Health woes, outrage, and toxins near
Ethiopia gold mine
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with narratives about civilising ‘backward’ societies.
804:"Ethiopians Protest MIDROC Gold Mining License Renewal"
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Sacrifice zones 50 of the Most
Polluted Places on Earth
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Journal of
African Earth Sciences (and the Middle East)
854:"Midroc's gold mining permit suspended after protests"
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Ghebreab, W; Yohannes, E; Giorgis, L. W (1992-10-01).
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In April and May 2018, demonstrators blocked roads in
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in Ethiopia contributes to political instability and
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in the area or for collecting coffee near the mine.
835:"Five people killed in Legadembi gold mine protest"
296:MIDROC Technology Group acquired the mine from the
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687:"Lega Dembi Mine, Megado, Oromia Region, Ethiopia"
560:"Ethiopian Mine Lega Dembi's Environmental Impact"
380:resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
327:from their ancestral land, denying their right to
264:, a company owned by Ethiopian-Saudi billionaire
166:is the largest gold mine in Ethiopia and is near
374:In 2015, protests at the mine became part of
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359:A 2022 paper found that MIROC had created a
268:. MIDROC is Ethiopia's sole gold exporter.
189:The mine has exposed thousands of people to
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178:. Pollution from the mine has resulted in
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382:. The demonstrations left hundreds dead.
182:that has exacerbated other political and
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341:(CEDAW) determined that local people's
213:described the mine as one of the worst
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209:for Human Rights and the Environment,
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16:Gold mine in Oromia Region, Ethiopia
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852:Observer, Ethiopia (2018-05-09).
207:United Nations Special Rapporteur
329:free, prior and informed consent
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523:Addis Fortune October 23, 2011
354:environmental impact statement
276:ethnic violence in the country
230:Lega Dembi mine is located in
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601:Regassa, Asebe (2022-09-01).
184:ethnic conflict in the region
499:10.1016/0899-5362(92)90030-G
378:that culminated in the 2018
278:. A 2022 study published by
666:www.thereporterethiopia.com
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620:10.1016/j.exis.2021.100980
266:Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi
241:Lega Dembi is part of the
323:and displaced Indigenous
203:World Health Organization
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802:TesfaNews (2018-05-07).
900:Gold mines in Ethiopia
539:Boyd, David R (2022).
272:Environmental conflict
249:with forced labor and
180:environmental conflict
905:Environmental justice
452:10.1007/s001260050117
232:Oromia Regional State
884:The New Humanitarian
759:law.northwestern.edu
298:Ethiopian government
104:5.71528°N 38.89222°E
440:Mineralium Deposita
286:resource extraction
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31:Entrance sign, 2002
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415:List of gold mines
387:Human Rights Watch
347:right to education
211:David Richard Boyd
201:greatly exceeding
858:Ethiopia Observer
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199:mercury pollution
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128:Gold and silver
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107: /
83:Coordinates
894:Categories
863:2023-01-17
813:2023-01-17
728:2023-01-17
696:2022-05-11
672:2023-01-18
613:: 100980.
570:2022-05-11
421:References
398:protests.
292:Production
226:Background
120:Production
95:38°53′32″E
808:TesfaNews
786:OHCHR.org
637:238647498
629:2214-790X
507:0899-5362
468:129640685
460:1432-1866
92:5°42′55″N
750:(2019).
409:See also
367:Protests
125:Products
37:Location
841:. 2018.
788:. 2022.
395:Shakiso
195:arsenic
191:cyanide
168:Shakiso
151:Company
133:History
886:(2020)
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564:BORGEN
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315:Impact
262:MIDROC
176:MIDROC
155:MIDROC
138:Active
77:Oromia
755:(PDF)
748:CEDAW
633:S2CID
546:(PDF)
464:S2CID
243:Adola
146:Owner
625:ISSN
503:ISSN
456:ISSN
197:and
162:The
615:doi
495:doi
448:doi
238:.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
