The Fijian archipelago of
over 300 islands lies along the edge of the Pacific Ring of Fire, a
volatile zone of frequent volcanic and seismic activity partially
encircling the basin of the Pacific Ocean. The Ring of Fire is
known for its rich array of precious metal deposits.
Matanagata, which literally means ‘face of the snake,’ is
the traditional name by which Vatukoula is known (Emberson-Bain,
1994). The town of Vatukoula, which means ‘rock of
gold,’ is situated in the collapsed caldera of an extinct
volcano, near the edge of the Nakauvadra mountain range, in northwest
Viti Levu, the largest Fijian island.
The first recorded
discovery of gold in Fiji occurred during the British colonial period
and has been accredited to Charles Gurney, who found gold in 1868 in
the gravel deposits of the Navua River, which is also located on Viti
Levu (Fiji Mineral Resources Department, 1990). A gold rush
ensued around the turn of the 20th century, during which time tiny
specks of gold were identified in alluvial deposits in the Nasivi River
in the Vatukoula region. In fact, the first recorded discovery of
gold at Vatukoula was made by Baron A. B. de Este in 1872.
However, the first payable gold deposit at Vatukoula wasn’t found
until November 5, 1932, in the Lololevu Creek, by a
prospector from Scotland, William Bothwick (Emberson-Bain, 1994).
This discovery ultimately did little to enhance the fortune of Mr.
Bothwick; instead a lack of technical and financial expertise in Fiji
led to an influx of foreign investment and the transfer of control of
the majority of mineral wealth to the Australian Emperor group of
companies, led by Edward G. Theodore (Emberson-Bain, 1994). By
1936, the gold rush had subsided and only three mining companies held
their grip on gold at Vautkoula, including the Emperor Gold Mining
Company, Ltd. (Emperor), Loloma Gold Mines, and Dolphin Mines, Ltd,
with Emperor assuming full control in 1956 (Fiji Mineral Resources
Department, 1990). Only one other gold mine was developed in Fiji, at
the Mt. Kasi orebody on the second-largest island, Vanua Levu.
The Mt. Kasi mine was also operated solely by an Australian company and
ceased production in 1946 (Mineral Resources Department: Government of
Fiji, 1990).
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Vatukoula is a multi-shaft
underground mine that was continuously operated by Emperor Mines
Limited (EML) from 1933 until its recent closure in 2006. Please click here for detailed information about the contribution of the mining sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Fiji1,
and the value of gold exports to the Fiji economy. The overall
contribution of the mining sector has declined from its early high in
the 1930s and 40’s, however, variability in gold prices meant the
importance of the mining sector sometimes fluctuated widely, and did
not vary according only to production. Since 2000, the total
value of mining and quarrying sector exports as a percentage of total
domestic exports has been approximately 7.7%. However,
mining and quarrying only contributed on average approximately 1.5% to
GDP during the past 20 years. Notably, the mine has historically
been the recipient of exceptionally generous tax subsidies and
concessions by the Fiji government. Indeed, it operated virtually
tax-free since the Vatukoula Tax Agreement (VTA) of 1983 (Grynberg,
Fulcher, & Dryden, 1997)
Approximately 7 million ounces
have been mined at Vatukoula since 1936 (Department of Lands and
Mineral Resources, 2007). At the time of closure, the mine had an
underground delineated gold reserve of 2.34 million tons, grading 11.4
g/ton, within a total resource of 16.2 million tons, grading 9.1 g/ton.
There are an additional 250,000 ounces of gold in mine tailings from
5.18 million tons, grading 1.5 g/ton (Department of Lands and Mineral
Resources, 2007; River Diamonds PLC, 2007).
In 2007, the government of Fiji
provided approximately $600,000 FJD towards alternate livelihood
assistance to workers who have been affected by the recent closure of
the mine (Fiji Government, 2007). On March 15, 2007 ownership of
the mine was transferred to Australian-based Westech Gold Pty Ltd
(Westech) (The Fiji Times, 2007). Westech is currently in the
process of gradually re-starting operations, concentrating on
underground productivity (Prasad, 2007).
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Throughout much of
Vatukoula’s history, labor consisted primarily of ethnic
Fijians. The mining company was initially able to secure an
inexpensive migrant Fijian labor supply in part because of colonial
policy, which allowed for the rationalization of low wages and
temporary employment (Emberson-Bain, 1994). This policy was
rooted in the assumption that the traditional social support system of
the rural Fijian village economy would take on the burden of caring for
workers during times of sickness, disability, unemployment, and old age
(Emberson-Bain, 1994). More specifically, many of these costs
were transferred to the wives of mine employees and other women within
the village. As the Vatukoula mine expanded, the recruitment of
families eventually became common. Women were expected to play an
important unpaid domestic role, including preparation of meals,
gardening, and maintenance of barracks (Emberson-Bain, 1994).
Housing in Vatukoula was
initially built in the 1930’s to house single male miners.
Later, when families moved in with the miners, little or no extra space
was provided (Emberson-Bain, 1994). Most of the houses have not
had any significant repairs or renovations since they were first built
more than seven decades ago. Houses are commonly in severe
disrepair and the majority of rainwater tanks are not in safe working
condition. The land underlying all the Vatukoula communities is
freehold land, which prior to the sale of the mine, was owned by the
company. However, several years ago, EML began selling the houses
to employees and their families, without selling the land beneath the
houses. Families entered into contracts with Emperor that
required them to take down their houses and move when they no longer
worked for the mine (A. Wesson, personal communication, August 15,
2007). These terms have now proven to be unrealistic, with
hundreds of former employees currently living in dilapidated houses on
company land. The houses are worth little or nothing without the
mining operations, so the families remain with nowhere else to go.
In February, 1991, hundreds
of mine workers went on strike in protest of alleged low wages, unsafe
working conditions, health concerns, poor housing, and poor
environmental standards (Macdonald, 2004). Following a protracted
legal battle, the dispute was ultimately resolved in the courts in
favor of the company, however, this decision was based solely on a
technicality. In the eyes of the strikers, the dispute remains
unresolved after more than 16 years, and workers continue to sit in
protest outside the mine on a daily basis, even now that the mine has
closed.
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There have been few independent
studies of the environmental impacts at the Vatukoula mine to date.
However, it is clear that there are environmental risks associated with
the mining operations. Residents have repeatedly expressed
concern over contamination of surface waters, drinking water, and
sulfur dioxide emissions (Macdonald, 2004). The Nasivi River has
historically been severely impacted by sewage and mine wastes (Mineral
Resources Department: Government of Fiji, 2004-2007). Many of the
residents in Vatukoula have been forced to drink untreated water from
the nearby Nasivi River for decades. According to the Vatukoula
Primary School head teacher, the major cause of illness at the school
is the consumption of contaminated water, as there is limited treated
water available students (Anjali, Jikowale, & Lata, 2007).
Testing during our August, 2007 study did reveal an improvement in some
aspects of water quality since the closure of the mine. However,
water testing was limited to only six samples of surface water and
drinking water. Fortunately, the new mine owners recently pledged
to supply treated drinking water to all of Vatukoula’s residents.
Following a formal request from
the Fiji Mine Workers Union (FMWU) and the Citizens Constitutional
Forum (CCF) in May 2003, the Oxfam Australian Community Aid Abroad
Mining Ombudsman conducted an investigation into the mining activities
at the Vatukoula Gold Mine in November 2003 (Macdonald, 2004).
The case report, published in July 2004, recommended that, “an
independent audit of the occupational health and safety practices at
the Vatukoula mine site be undertaken (Macdonald, 2004).”
In addition, the report recommended that independent environmental and
social impact assessments be undertaken and be released publicly,
“in a transparent and accountable manner (Macdonald,
2004).” Emperor did not respond to the requests for comment
on the 2004 report, or the recommendations the report set forth (Case
Updates, 2005). The Mining Ombudsman returned to the site in 2005
to conduct a follow-up investigation and Gender Impact Assessment
(GIA). Mine workers reported that newer mine management had taken
some steps to improve safety, specifically by installing a new
ventilation shaft. However, workers maintained that
underground conditions were “very poor, with an intensely hot and
wet environment, lack of proper respiratory equipment and consequent
health concerns (Oxfam Australia, 2006).
Limited air quality testing was
also undertaken in December, 2003, after the investigation by Oxfam
(Simtars, 2004). The final report produced by Australasian
Pacific Environmental Consultants concluded that further sampling of
lead and arsenic concentrations over an annual time period is required
to determine if a potential lifetime risk exposure exists for air
pollutants (Simtars, 2004). Further sampling of sulfur dioxide
concentrations over an extended annual period was also
recommended. The head teacher at Vatukoula Primary School, which
is located within sight of the mine’s roaster stack, explained
that during mining operations children were affected by sulfur dioxide
emissions. Teachers were forced to close all the windows from 8am
until the early afternoon to avoid exposure to emissions, and several
teachers requested transfers to different locations because of their
environmental concerns (Head Teacher, personal communication, July 30,
2007).
Furthermore, seven tailings dams
are located in the Vatukoula region. Some residents live only
meters away from the dam walls. Releases and failures of tailings
dams have been documented across the globe. The majority of major
mining-related environmental incidents worldwide have been the result
of dam overtopping, breaching, geotechnical failure, or earthquake
(Akcil, 2006). In 2000, the Aural gold mine in Romania
experienced a dam failure that caused leaching of mine wastes into the
Danube river system (Stenson, 2006). In 1998, the Kumtor mine in
Kyrgyzstan recorded a spill of 100 tons of cyanide (Stenson,
2006). Four people were killed and several communities were
evacuated or displaced in the Kumtor incident. Unfortunately, it was
only after the spill that many of the issues associated with cyanide
management were addressed. According to Emperor’s 2006
Annual Report, there was a major environmental incident involving a
pipeline failure along a section of the Toko tailings pipeline. This
incident resulted in slime coverage of a 30 meter by 30 meter
residential compound (Emperor Mines Ltd., 2006).
Click HERE to view Value of Gold Exports 1936-2006.
Click HERE to view Contribution of the Mining Industry to Gross Domestic Product
