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A resolution calling on the Newmont Mining Corp in the US to review its policies on toxic waste disposal in Indonesia could not be put to the vote at the annual shareholder meeting after the Securities and Exchange Commission ruled against it.
The resolution was drawn up by five New York City pension funds and the New York State Pension Fund, which together own 1,469,818 shares worth $68.53million (£36m).
The Indonesian government has accused Newmont of dumping mine waste containing arsenic and mercury into Buyat Bay on Sulawesi island, and villagers say they have become ill from eating fish caught there. The Indonesian environment ministry says it found that arsenic levels in the seabed near Newmont's operations were 100 times as high as in other coastal waters.
Newmont denies the allegations and replies that several studies, including one by the World Health Organization, show that Buyat Bay is not polluted. The company says it is already doing what was requested in the shareholder resolution through policy standards and public reporting.
Nevertheless, in Indonesia the government has filed a lawsuit demanding $133.6million (£70m) compensation for environmental damage and harm to health. Six Newmont executives have also been ordered to appear before a prosecutor as part of a criminal probe by the Indonesian police.
New York Comptroller William Thompson Jr, whose office represented the pension funds, said: 'We will continue to monitor the issue and to consider further steps, with particular attention to the environmental and public health risks that Newmont Mining's actions pose in Indonesia, which also pose a financial risk to shareholders.'
The resolution was drawn up by five New York City pension funds and the New York State Pension Fund, which together own 1,469,818 shares worth $68.53million (£36m).
The Indonesian government has accused Newmont of dumping mine waste containing arsenic and mercury into Buyat Bay on Sulawesi island, and villagers say they have become ill from eating fish caught there. The Indonesian environment ministry says it found that arsenic levels in the seabed near Newmont's operations were 100 times as high as in other coastal waters.
Newmont denies the allegations and replies that several studies, including one by the World Health Organization, show that Buyat Bay is not polluted. The company says it is already doing what was requested in the shareholder resolution through policy standards and public reporting.
Nevertheless, in Indonesia the government has filed a lawsuit demanding $133.6million (£70m) compensation for environmental damage and harm to health. Six Newmont executives have also been ordered to appear before a prosecutor as part of a criminal probe by the Indonesian police.
New York Comptroller William Thompson Jr, whose office represented the pension funds, said: 'We will continue to monitor the issue and to consider further steps, with particular attention to the environmental and public health risks that Newmont Mining's actions pose in Indonesia, which also pose a financial risk to shareholders.'
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