Rights groups sue Paladin over Malawi uranium mine project

A coalition of Malawian rights groups sued Australian firm Paladin and the government on Thursday in a bid to halt to a 185 mln usd uranium mine project.

'We have obtained an injunction against Paladin and the Malawian government for flouting procedures about uranium mining,' John Chawinga, secretary of the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice, one of the rights groups, told Agence France Presse.

He said that the coalition wants the government to review an environmental impact assessment of the project, and said the 'project is environmentally hazardous and we don't want to take chances with people's lives'.

'We have only been told about the economic benefits but Malawians have not been told about the advantages and disadvantages of uranium mining. What are the dangers?' Chawinga said.

The project to mine uranium at Kayelekera in northern Malawi could have 'catastrophic consequences for future generations if people are exposed to radiation', he said.

The coalition also said that the project could pollute Lake Malawi, Africa's third largest freshwater body and a source of clean water, fish and employment for millions.

In April, the project by Paladin Africa, a subsidiary of Australia's Paladin Resources, received a mining licence after the firm and the government inked a 10 year development deal.

The mining is expected to earn the impoverished nation 220 mln usd annually in export earnings at the end of 2008, representing about 10 pct of gross national product and 40 pct of current export income.

Martin McAllen, a representative of Paladin, parried concerns about pollution. 'No process or waste waters will be directly discharged into the environment of the rivers, but will be captured in and stored in specially designed dams and ponds,' he said.

Charles Msosa, a spokesman from the energy and mines ministry, defended the government, saying it had 'complied' with the environmental management act and had 'undertaken to monitor the project on an ongoing basis'.

'The government would like to inform all Malawians who wish the country well that it is in the public's interest that the uranium project at Kayelekera be carried out by Paladin,' Msosa said in a statement.

A court hearing has been fixed for June 19 in the administrative capital Lilongwe.