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• Vatukoula, Fiji

Vatukoula, Fiji

The company found gold, its employees found despair. This is the story of Fiji's Vatukoula Gold Mine.

All that glitters …

Many mining projects sell the idea to communities on the promise of new jobs. Indeed, hopes have been high that the Vatukoula Gold Mine would be a major source of employment on the Fijian Island of Vitu Levu.

“I dream that I would have decent wages to care for myself, my family, to cook my children a hearty meal and to give them a future," recalls a local woman. "I dream of a secure job with a signed contract and good promotional prospects. I dream of adequate housing.”  

Her dreams did not come true. In fact, many workers found conditions at the Vatukoula Gold Mine so bad that from 1991 until the mine's temporary closure in early 2007, they staged daily pickets at the mine's main gate to seek justice from mine’s former owners Emperor Mines.

“The reasons for the strike were poor wages and the poor working conditions," recalls Usaia Seniu. "I had no proper safety gear and sometimes loose rocks would fall and you needed to make sure that they did not fall on your head.”

Ex-mine worker Sikelei Talaveu tells a similar story. “I was a miner for 16 years and I only earned a little over FJD $1 an hour. I went on strike because I didn’t like the systems and the way the management talked to me was not good. I only got a poor wage and the working conditions were poor. My family is now struggling as I have three children in school and we don’t have much to eat.”

Seeking justice for mine workers

In 2003, we received a formal request from the Fiji Mine Workers Union and Citizens' Constitutional Forum to investigate the situation at the mine. Our site investigations, published in our case report, document the workers' concerns:

• Poor wages and inadequate health and safety practices
• Gender discrimination by the company
• Substandard housing conditions
• Social problems arising from low wages and subsequent financial stress, including substance abuse, infidelity, domestic violence and family breakdown

Workers also expressed concerned about the mine's environmental impact, particularly the air pollution caused by sulphur emissions from the mine's roaster stack.

“The sulphur affects us all," says one ex-mine worker. "Every week or so when the wind changes the sulphur clouds come down. We see the cassava leaves burn and start to die off from the sulphur. It gives the children headaches and one six-year-old collapsed a couple of times from the sulphur. The sulphur collects on the roof and goes into the water tanks when it rains.”

Mine closure

In December 2006, the mine’s owner, Emperor Mines Limited, announced that operations at the Vatukoula gold mine would cease. In January 2007, we visited Vatukoula communities to hear their concerns about the proposed mine closure which included the threat of interrupted water supplies, electricity and other basic services to communities surrounding the mine. More than 200 community members gathered to discuss the issues, electing a committee to meet with the government and the company. On 19 January 2007, we facilitated members of this committee to represent their views to a government-established committee enquiring into the closure.

What now?

In March 2007 Emperor Mines Limited announced that it had sold the mine to Westech Gold Pty Ltd. The mine has since reopened but most of the 2000 former workers have not been reemployed. In December 2007 the mine changed hands once again, this time to a UK based company known as Vatukoula Gold Mines plc (previously River Diamonds).

We now continue to support the Vatukoula Community Consultative Committee in its efforts to ensure that all obligations owed to community members and workers are met. This includes outstanding redundancy payments, compensation for personal injury and fatalities, and resolution of land claims.

Learn more

• Read our Mining Ombudsman case report (PDF, 2.3MB)
• Read the Vatukoula community's presentation to the Emperor Gold Mine Closure Negotiating Committee (January 2007) (PDF, 1.3MB)

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