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Will Mine's Early Years Come Back To Haunt It?
TWO former Rossing workers have had their cases before the High Court in England this week. Eddie Connelly, who now lives in Scotland, is seeking compensation from Rossing's parent company - Rio Tinto - claiming that his throat cancer is directly related to working in unsafe conditions at the uranium mine. Peter Carlson died in 1995 from cancer of the oesophagus. His widow, Anne, wants to sue Rio Tinto for compensation for his death. GREG DROPKIN reports on evidence before the court which suggests why the Rossing mine might have had to run at full tilt, while allegedly ignoring health and safety concerns, during its early years when Connelly and Carlson worked there.
EVIDENCE uncovered this year and now given to the London High Court by Eddie Connelly's lawyers helps to show how RTZ controlled Rossing and why the mine had to run at full tilt in the late 1970s and early 80s.
Public records in London and Johannesburg reveal an extraordinary network of interlocking companies and boardrooms packed with key individuals connected to the Namibian mine.
From 1977 to 1985 Ronnie Walker was Chairman of Rossing Uranium Limited. He was employed by the 100 per cent RTZ subsidiary "RTZ Services Ltd." and sat on the board of 100 per cent RTZ subsidiary "Rio Tinto South Africa" which part owned Rossing. Walker was also a director of RTZ itself.
Further evidence originally liberated in 1976 from the offices of Mary Kathleen Uranium mine in Australia and delivered to Friends of the Earth, shows that RTZ Services co-ordinated RTZ involvement in a secret price-fixing "cartel" which inflated the world market price for uranium through its own bidding system.
When the scandal broke, Westinghouse Electric Corporation sued six RTZ companies including RTZ and RTZ Services, eventually settling out of court in 1981.
Some RTZ personnel linked to Rossing participated in cartel meetings during the early 1970s. TJ Lighterness, employed in Johannesburg by Rio Tinto Management Services South Africa, attended a cartel meeting there in January 1974.
During the early 1970s while the cartel was operating, RTZ Services negotiated major long term contracts to supply uranium to Japanese electricity companies via the Swiss-based RTZ Mineral Services. Rossing was expected to begin full production in mid-1976, and RTZ was heavily dependent on the mine to fulfil its new contracts from 1977 onwards. Walker took over on 28 April 1977 after RTZ had sacked the previous management.
Two weeks later, Eddie Connelly started work. All ore mined at Rossing passes through the primary crushers which Connelly maintained to keep production flowing.
RTZ spent US$100m on capital investment because highly abrasive ore was damaging machinery. Rossing only reached full capacity in mid-1979, and contracts had to be rescheduled.
In 1978, Walker commissioned a crisis report written by TJ Lighterness with the help of others from RTZ subsidiary companies in London and Johannesburg.
Near the head of his 200 page document now before the High Court, Lighterness stated: "The profit and cash forecasts are highly sensitive to the achievement of production estimates... the Company would face serious difficulties if the cash flow forecasts were not achieved through lack of production, failure to contain costs or any other reason. No margin of finance is available for contingencies. The Cost Study has therefore been conducted as if the mine were in a break-even or even a loss situation facing possible closure."
Independence was thought to be just around the corner in 1978 as the UN Security Council prepared to adopt Resolution 435, and the heat was on RTZ to get uranium out of the ground as fast as possible.
Lighterness declared: "in view of the approach of independence the longer the tightening up on discipline is left the more difficult it will become. If it is not attended to in the coming months it may be too late and the missed opportunity will be rued for years to come".
With pressure piling up on RTZ from Westinghouse and other customers clamouring for their uranium, Peter Carlson, Eddie Connelly, and their colleagues were compelled to work long hours in allegedly hazardous conditions.
The relentless drive to achieve production targets may come back to haunt Rio Tinto, if the cancer victims and their relatives are finally allowed to confront the men who own Rossing Uranium.
November 20, 1998
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