WMC Ltd.

WMC Ltd.

NOTE THAT THIS PAGE HAS BEEN RETAINED IN ARCHIVE FORM FOR REFERENCE ONLY: IN 2005 WMC WAS BOUGHT BY BHP BILLITON.

WMC (Western Mining Corporation) Ltd. was one of Australia's largest mining and metal corporations, and one of the world's largest producers of gold, copper, nickel, alumina, talc and uranium ¹. Their influence extended beyond the mere provision of commodities however, as WMC management were active politically in advancing the interests of the company. WMC has been one of the most outspoken opponents of indigenous land rights, progressive environmental and industrial legislation and moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally.

These aggressive practices coupled with its sheer size make WMC a formidable force in Australia, with a reputation quite at odds with the polished promotional materials produced by its well funded public relations machine.

Operations
Operations in Australia include the giant Olympic Dam/Roxby Downs copper/uranium mine, nickel mines at Mt Keith and Kambalda in WA, a copper mine at Nifty in WA, gold mines across WA and South Australia, and many other sites across the country. WMC also holds the Yeelirrie uranium lease in Western Australia.

Internationally, WMC is a major player in alumina through its stake in Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals, and is active on the Filipino island of Mindanao where a controversial exploration program has brought it into direct conflict with the indigenous communities of the area. The bulk of its exploration budget is targeted at 'third world' countries where weak environmental and labour rights laws can often make mining ventures more profitable.

Political Animals
Over the last 20 years WMC has been dominated by two key powerbrokers, dubbed 'Messiahs of the New Right' by the Bulletin in July 1985. Chairman Sir Arvi Parbo and Managing Director Hugh Morgan are arguably two of the most powerful men in Australia, using their positions on various boards, think tanks and committees to advance a hard-line agenda on labour and indigenous rights, environmental protection and the benefits of the nuclear industry. WMC is one of the most overtly political of the major Australian mining companies.

WMC and Land Rights
WMC managers have taken an offensive approach to the possibility of Aboriginal people exercising native title rights to their land. Following the High Court's 1992 Mabo decision, which acknowledged that Australia was inhabited at the time of European arrival, WMC was at the forefront of a mining industry scare campaign designed to overturn the ruling.²

1997 saw John Howard struggling to persuade the Senate to pass his restrictive 10 point Wik plan to weaken already tenuous Aboriginal rights to land. WMC lent a hand with full-page advertisements in national newspapers urging the Senate to pass the legislation 'because of the current uncertainty and confusion about exploration and mining titles in Australia.' 'Uncertainty and confusion' can be interpreted here to mean a deep reluctance to negotiate meaningful agreements with legitimate titleholders. Having had free reign for decades to plunder the continent with impunity, it is little wonder WMC managers are feeling confused. Times are changing.

In March 2000, a court case was brought against Managing Director Hugh Morgan and federal ministers Alexander Downer and Robert Hill, alleging genocide against the Arabunna people from WMC's Olympic Dam mine. The court ruling sent shock waves through the Australian community: it seemed there was no case to answer, as genocide is not technically illegal in Australia. Court actions are still pending.

WMC and industrial relations
WMC has a poor safety record in its Australian operations. Fatalities at WMC mines run higher than the industry average, with five deaths occurring in a six month period in 1997/1998.³ They have been found guilty of negligence leading to injury or death on more than one occasion in Western Australia.⁴

WMC are also champions of the worldwide push to put workers on individual contracts and restrict trade union access to workplaces.

Flexing Corporate Muscle in Mindanao
WMC's exploration ventures in the Filipino island of Mindanao are showing signs of the kind of brutal arrogance that has led to disasters at Ok Tedi in PNG and at Panguna in Bougainville. The indigenous B'laan people are opposing WMC's plans for a giant copper/gold mine half way up a mountain in the catchment area of three important rivers. The Filipino military is active in the area, harassing and even bombing WMC's numerous opponents in punitive raids designed to crush dissent. WMC have denied any involvement in these operations.⁵

Olympic Dam
WMC commenced operations at the multi-mineral Olympic Dam/Roxby Downs mine in 1979. Roxby is the largest uranium deposit in the world, and mining there has been a disaster. Fires, explosions, strikes and accusations of genocide have accompanied the creation of millions of tonnes of radioactive waste. Read more…

Yeelirrie
WMC holds many leases across the area of the Yeelirrie uranium deposit, the largest in Western Australia. 35,000 tonnes of uranium ore have been left in the open air at the site since it was trial-mined in the early 1980s.

References

This article draws as it's principle sources the 'Glossy Reports Grim Reality' document published by the Mineral Policy Institute in 1998, and "The Gulliver File - Mines, people and land: a global battleground" by Roger Moody, Minewatch 1992

1. WMC Website

2. 'Glossy Reports, Grim Reality: Examining the gap between a mining company's social and environmental record and its public relations campaigns…a case study of WMC Ltd.'
The Mineral Policy Institute, 1998

3. Anna Cock, "Another Death for WMC" The Daily Telegraph, 7 March 1998 p23

4. 'Glossy Reports, Grim Reality: Examining the gap between a mining company's social and environmental record and its public relations campaigns…a case study of WMC Ltd.' p45
The Mineral Policy Institute, 1998

5. Ibid p51-55

"The idea of reconciliation is, I think, flawed. It is…one which I find no solid theological grounds for whatsoever."
Hugh Morgan, 'White Thoughts on a Nation', The Age, April 1992

"WMC builds its business on large, low cost and long life assets which are globally competitive. It believes that long term success relies on high standards of ethical conduct, responsible environmental management and strong partnerships with the communities within which it operates."
From WMC online

Addresses

Head office
Level 16, IBM Centre, 60 City Rd.
Southbank, Vic. 3006
Telephone: +61 (0)3 9685 6000
Facsimilie: +61 (0)3 9686 3569

Perth
(Nickel and Gold Business Units)
Level 37, 250 St George's Terrace
Perth, WA 6000
Telephone: +61 (0)8 9442 2000
Facsimilie: +61 (0)8 9442 2613

Websites

the Anti-Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia
email robin@anawa.org.au