French mining company in Gabon to face pollution charges
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The French mining company Eramet and its Gabonese subsidiary Ogooue Mining Company (COMILOG) will be in court on June 26 to answer six charges of pollution.
The Gabonese government's Union daily newspaper reported on Wednesday that the companies are accused of causing pollution in mining manganese at Moanda in the Central African country's Haut- Ogooue region.
The cases have been filed by Gabonese NGOs and the representatives of the Moanda residents.
The COMILOG workers are the first victims of exploitation of manganese and they are also seeking compensation for the health risks.
The NGOs say they want to defend the rights of the local population to have access to healthy natural resources. One of the rivers depended upon by the residents has been severely polluted, according to critics.
They are demanding 700 million euros from Eramet as compensation for the pollution caused by the company's activities.
Established in 1950, COMILOG has been extracting manganese mineral since 1962.
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