In french Amazonia, canadian multinational Cambior wants to mine tonnes of gold:- at the cost of the local populace, the rainforest, the native tribal people and all with the subventions of France.

French Guyana is a part of France and therefore the EU. The Department is covered 90 percent by tropical rain forest.

The mountain of Kaw and its area is well known for its richness and diversity, 92 species of mammals, 254 different birds have their home here, in the swamps below live the threatened black caymans.

Proximity to the city would lend the area ideal for research and tourism, but instead the french government may be willing to sacrifice this treasure for the sole profit of a multinational.

At the foot of the mountain, the Canadian Cambior plans to build an industrial gold mine. It will cover an area up to 30 square kilometers and have 2 large pits, 150 meters deep. Part of the concession is already deforested, if the french give the final O.K, more land will be deforested, to get at the gold ore, dynamite will be used; a process called ²stripping² to remove the ²overburden².
Day and night trucks will transport rocks to be crushed and laced with cyanide to extract the gold. 30000 tonnes of toxic chemicals will be mixed with 9 million tonnes of rocks, all to be piled up at the site.Cambior has applied for a permission to release more cyanide waste then regulations permit.

Part of the project is a road trough the territory of the Palikur; who traditionally hunt, fish and cultivate here.

1995 a dam broke in Cambiors Omai mine, releasing an estimated 3.5 million cubic meters of toxic waste containing cyanide, and to a lesser extent copper and other heavy metals into the Omai and Essequibo rivers. Cambiors history has included convictions and fines in 1991 for four unspecified environmental offenses at its Quebec operations. In 1992, Cambior was once again charged by the Quebec environment ministry with failing to immediately report a spill of mine tailings in one of its mines.

Both the Parc Natural, to which the area belongs, as well as the Natural Reserves of France have given a negative vote on the mine.However, the locals depend on the final decision of the government.

The Collective Gold has an cyberpetion, please join at: http://www.collectifor.ouvaton.org/petition.html
simply copy the french text add your address and send to stop...@yahoo.fr
More info on gold in general: http://www.nodirtygold.org/
The Collective Or in French Guiana;
http://www.collectifor.ouvaton.org/