Xstrata

Xstrata plc (,) is a mining company Suisse listed with the Bourse of London (FTSE 100) and with the Bourse of Zurich. It is an important producer of Cuivre, of coal, Chrome ferrous, Vanadium and Zinc. It produces with small scales of the Or, the Plomb and the money.

Based with Zoug, Switzerland, it operates in nine countries: Argentinian Australia, , Colombia, Germany, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Canada and the United Kingdom. It employs, in 2006,26 000 people.

In 2005, it sold for approximately 8 billion USD, releasing a benefit of 1,7 billion USD. Since March 2002, it passed from a market cap of approximately 2 billion USD to approximately 30 billion USD in May 2006. Its more important shareholder (34.72 %) is Glencore International AG.

In 2003, it doubled of size while acquiring, at the price of 4,9 billion AUD, the Australian mine MIM Holdings (copper, zinc and coal). However, it could not acquire Australian WMC Resources in 2005, acquired by BHP Billiton, more the mining large company of the moment. In August 2005, it acquires 19,9 % of Falconbridge. However, in June 2006, Phelps Dodge and Inco propose to buy Falconbridge, being thus opposed to the attempt acquisition of Xstrata.

July 20th, 2006, it increases its offer on Falconbridge to 19,2 billion USD.

Denounced Xstrata

Glencore and Xstrata (company belonging partially to Glencore) has, in Colombia on the site of the coal mines of the Cerrejón, shaven of the whole villages and exproprié their inhabitants of force with the complicity of the authorities and the army. The two companies are also in the collimator of the trade union of the minors for corruption and serious violations of the rights of the human being. There is also this dark business of the Indian people Wayùu which were driven out of his ancestral grounds by, amongst other things, a unit of the army usually “ employée ” by the mine to supervise its installation. These facts were revealed by a report diffused on the French-speaking Switzerland Télévision on June 29th, 2006.

In addition, the Koniambo project, located in Northern Province (zone of Koné), is currently between its hands concerning the extraction of nickel and, to a lesser extent of cobalt. Those will naturally engendront immense pressures on the New Caledonians mediums, to start with the forest and para-forest formations on grounds ultramafic. In May 2007, the WWF published a paper of positioning, in the form of 16 recommendations for submission to the decision makers, for mining respectful of the men and biodiversity.

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