London (AFP)

The mining industry, accused of being one of the most polluting and dangerous in the world, says it wants to adopt more ethical practices, but the associations of defense of the environment and the human rights denounce vain words.

A few days ago, the World Gold Council (CMO) issued responsible mining principles, calling on its members to "oppose corruption", "respect the human rights of employees and communities", and "protect fragile ecosystems".

The London Metal Exchange (LME), a trading platform devoted to industrial metals, had already offered its users standards for better traceability of raw materials.

Some companies, such as the world's largest gold producer Barrick Gold, already claim to meet or exceed the CMO principles, or to advertise "responsible" projects, as the BMW, BASF and Samsung industry groups have just done. for cobalt in the DRC.

But NGOs and experts are skeptical. "Statements of this type are important expressions of good will (...) but it is crucial to join the action," said AFP Lucy Graham, Amnesty International.

More critical, Jamie Kneen, of the Canadian NGO MiningWatch, denounces "an umpteenth effort to whiten the reputation" of the sector.

- Strategic battles -

Minerals and rare earths such as copper, lithium or nickel are essential in the manufacture of electric cars or solar panels and their demand keeps climbing.

They are the subject of battles between great powers, who seek to dominate the technologies and energies of the future, but their exploitation in countries sometimes not very concerned with respect for human or environmental rights is regularly the headlines for its ravages.

Among the latest, the collapse of an artisanal mine affiliated with the Swiss giant Glencore and the rupture of a dam of the Brazilian Vale, which has left at least 270 dead and missing. The rare earth industry was also singled out after a mining site in Inner Mongolia dumped toxic detritus into the Baotou man-made lake.

For Eniko Horvath, a researcher at Britain's BHRRC specialty think tank, they need to do much more to monitor human rights compliance "at all levels of their supply chains".

Human rights activists also criticize the non-binding nature of these norms.

Amnesty International wants "the implementation of laws that legally require industry to undermine (...) in a responsible and transparent," says Lucy Graham. Even in some countries, such as the United States and Brazil, governments are tending towards more deregulation of mining activities.

To put companies face their responsibilities, in early September BHRRC created a dedicated website, the Transition Minerals Tracker.

It lists allegations of human rights abuses by the largest companies producing six key minerals in the ecological transition, including manganese and zinc.

Glencore is in a bad place with about 60 allegations. One of the motivations of companies to take ethical measures could be the preservation of their share price, at a time when corporate responsibility is more and more headlines.

For the moment, mining disasters have had a mixed effect: Glencore's stock had fallen and then quickly rebounded during the collapse of the mine in Kolwezi, but Vale's stock is struggling to recover.

© 2019 AFP