Editor’s Note
This article highlights ongoing environmental and health concerns surrounding a gold mine in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. It reports on alleged corporate inaction regarding pollution and calls for accountability, including reparations for affected residents.
A company operating a gold mine in Ethiopia and the refinery it supplied with ore took no action for years to address pollution concerns from the mine.
The mine was reopened despite a government-ordered closure following protests. Studies have confirmed that residents in the area were exposed to the effects of toxic metal waste.
The government should halt the mine’s operations. The involved companies should provide compensation and medical care to affected residents and clean up the pollution.
(Nairobi) – Midroc Investment Group, a company operating a gold mine in Ethiopia, and the Swiss refinery Argor-Heraeus, which it supplied with ore, took no action for years after media reports emerged about pollution from the mine, Human Rights Watch said today. A study commissioned by the Ethiopian government found that local populations had suffered serious health harms. Midroc resumed operations, apparently with a government license, but without taking apparent measures to reduce pollution, even though the government had stated it was suspending the license until pollution issues were resolved.
The Ethiopian government suspended the license for the Lega Dembi industrial gold mine in May 2018, following protests against pollution and its health effects. Scientific studies published in 2018 showed that residents were exposed to toxic metals, constituting a violation of their rights to health and to a clean, healthy, and safe environment. The government stated that it would not allow the company to resume mining operations until the problems were “resolved” and the toxic waste “no longer posed a threat.” However, research by Human Rights Watch indicates that the mine resumed operations around March 2021 without apparent measures taken to reduce pollution.
Residents living near the mine, located near the town of Shakiso in the Guji zone of the Oromia region, have complained for years of numerous health problems and disabilities, particularly in newborns.
The Ethiopian government should immediately halt operations at the Lega Dembi mine until effective pollution reduction measures are implemented. Midroc Investment Group and Argor-Heraeus, the Swiss gold refinery it supplied until 2018, should provide compensation and medical care to affected residents and clean up the devastating pollution around the mine.
Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with 26 people: residents living near the mine, former Midroc employees, former local and regional officials, and environmental and health experts. Human Rights Watch also reviewed numerous environmental and health studies, as well as other documents related to the mine.
Environmental testing conducted in 2018 by Addis Ababa University detected high levels of arsenic in water samples taken downstream from the mine, as well as high levels of nickel, chromium, and arsenic in soil samples taken outside the mine.
A 2018 assessment study initiated at the government’s request by the Ethiopian Public Health Institute, the results of which were communicated to Human Rights Watch, found that people living near the mine had suffered serious health harms. The study concluded that “the health problems observed in the community are likely linked to exposure to heavy metals from the mine.”
