Rio Tinto challenged on its ESIA by civil society groups

On November 9, 2012, a network of international CSOs submitted a report to Oyu Tolgoi LLC (the Rio Tinto subsidiary that manages the mine) that outlines some of the main concerns they have with the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) published by the company in August 2012. This network of civil society groups, which includes OT Watch, Urgewald, CEE Bankwatch, London Mining Network, Accountability Counsel, and Bank Information Center, has been monitoring the Oyu Tolgoi mining project for many years and has previously noted these concerns to the company with little or no substantial response.

It is important to note that the documents underlying the conclusions made in the ESIA have not been made public. However, this network of international CSOs has determined that the Oyu Tolgoi project’s ESIA is a non-starter and deeply flawed based on their own research as well as that of expert reviewers. The ESIA does not fully comply with the fundamental provisions of the IFC’s Performance Standards, as it is incomplete and retroactive; lacks a robust risk assessment; ignores the health, safety, and livelihood security of the affected communities; fails to establish the protection of the South Gobi’s scant water resources and biodiversity; and omits critical assessments of cumulative impacts or impacts from associated facilities such as infrastructure, the international airport, or the planned coal-powered plant. Failure to comply with these standards and revise the ESIA and the mitigation plans undermines the development objectives of the project.

As such, the CSOs strongly urge the company to seriously consider and comment on the following requests:

A full ESIA is developed and reviewed. This should include the Operational Management Plans; cumulative impacts from demand on water resources, linear infrastructure, and associated facilities; as well as a political and economic risk analysis.

An independent expert review panel is established to inform the full ESIA.

The current practice of manipulating herders to sign an inadequate compensation contract is stopped, and the contract reviewed and renegotiated to ensure compliance with IFC Performance Standards.

All studies and reports referenced in the ESIA are made publicly available in English and Mongolian, either through links to external websites or uploaded onto the company website.

The CSOs challenge Rio Tinto to respond in writing to the key recommendations and identified gaps in the ESIA, as well as how the company plans to address these concerns.