En Francais ci-dessous ----- Simandou iron deposit in South-West Guinea is well-known for the decades of a corruption saga, documented by the foreign press and discrediting mining multinationals and Guinean former political leaders. Alpha Condé became in 2010 the first democratically elected President of his country. He set up a committee, the Technical Committee for the Review of Titles and Mining Conventions, to review past contracts. In 2014, one of this committee’s investigations gathered the proofs accusing BSG Resources (BSGR) of obtaining the permits to exploit blocks 1 and 2 of Simandou deposit after the payment of briberies to the late dictator Lansana Conté’s wife, Mamadie Touré. She received more than 3 million dollars from BSGR’s representatives. Rio Tinto was the original major owner of the entire site. It kept the commercialization of the exploitation on hold for more than two decades in blocks 3 and 4 (undisputed with BSGR). It completed several constructions works (on blocks 3 and 4) on the peak of Simandou mountain range. Even though the commercial exploitation has not started yet, the infrastructures built during the exploration and construction phases have already been disturbing the hydrological connectivity of the area and it has reduced the water quality of many streams. Action Mines has reported on the voices from the communitiesliving downstream who have no more access to drinkable water as they used to. The local inhabitants asked Rio Tinto to drill wells so they could have access to underground water, but their claims were ignored. Roads built by Rio Tinto to access the site have also divided farming lands. As a result, because of this and because of the difficult water supply, the locals attest a decrease in their farming productivity, potentially affecting their future living conditions and good nutrition. Additionally, their everyday lives are also affected by the invasion by wild animals, like snakes, fleeing the exploitation site. Even though the actual commercial exploitation of the site has not started yet, adverse effects of the exploration phase are already occurring. What’s more, the impacts on the biodiversity conservation are anticipated to be considerable. Several species are going to be jeopardized since their natural habitats are inside the concession areas. This is the case of the endemic species such as the Western African chimpanzees and the Diana monkeys, living in Pic de Fon, a relatively so far intact area of 25.600 ha. The government, the company and the local communities signed agreements, where Rio Tinto compelled itself to hire local work force. Still the agreements have not been respected by Rio. Since the commercial exploitation never started, very few people were actually hired while local work force was not privileged; their lack of expertise was blamed by Rio. The non-employment of the local youth is the main source of discontent among the population. While at the same time, the arrival of new Rio Tinto’s employees from outside the villages and incoming people looking for a job, disturbed the social cohesion and life became more expensive. Since BSGR's arrival in December 2008, all operations at Simandou's site have been suspended. However, the joint venture between BSGR and Vale (VBG) began mining the iron ore on the Zogota deposit, less than 150 kilometers south of the Simandou mountain range. In 2012, the inhabitants of Zogota were demanding jobs in the mining site, asking VGB consortium to give the priority to the local workforce. The villagers occupied the mine site where they perpetrated acts of vandalism. Following these facts, Guinean law enforcement and security forces intervened on the night of 3 to 4 August 2012 to dislodge them. However, this operation was nothing other than a punitive expedition, which became a real massacre. On that night, six villagers were killed, several wounded, and the police was responsible for the destruction of property and acts of torture. In 2012, a complaint was lodged against state officials at first instance at a Guinean court. But the prosecutor declared himself incompetent for trying the suspects. In September 2018, the NGO Rights for All filed an additional complaint to that first complaint, against the company Vale for providing the Guinean law enforcement forces with the logistical and material means necessary for this massacre. In fact, on the night of the massacre, the villagers recognized the company's vehicles. Vale company claims to have never supported this repression and says that it only evacuated its staff. However, the NGO supports it has collected evidence on the ground of this complicity. Finally, given the inertia of Guinean justice, the NGO also filed a complaint against the Guinean State before the ECOWAS court. |