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Introduction
The Merian mine is located in Suriname, in northeast South America, and on the traditional
lands of Maroon peoples. The Pamaka, one of the country’s six Maroon tribes, claims
customary ownership of the land on which the Merian mine is located.1 The mine is owned
by the Suriname Gold Project CV, a Surinamese limited partnership, in which the Suriname
Gold Company LLC (“Surgold”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation
(“Newmont”), is the managing partner, and the Suriname government-owned oil company,
Staatsolie Maatschappij Suriname NV (“Staatsolie Maatschappij”), is a limited partner. 2
Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Surgold, Newmont owns 75 percent of the project, and
through Staatsolie Maatschappij, the Government of Suriname indirectly owns a 25 percent
fully-funded share.
In February 2016, Newmont commissioned RESOLVE to convene the Merian Expert Advisory
Panel (the “Panel”) to consider matters relating to free, prior and informed consent (“FPIC”)
within a human rights framework at Merian. Natural resource development and extraction
can affect a vast array of indigenous and tribal peoples’ human rights, including land and
resource rights, rights to culture, and rights to health.3 The Panel considers FPIC to be a
mechanism to safeguard indigenous and tribal peoples’ human rights, including their rights
over traditionally used and occupied lands and resources. At the same time, the
operationalization of FPIC by state and corporate actors provides a framework through
which to recognize and respect those rights.
The mining industry’s engagement with indigenous and tribal peoples is evolving. There is
broad agreement within the industry about the corporate responsibility to respect human
rights and the need to work towards obtaining FPIC when mining occurs on lands
traditionally owned or customarily used by indigenous or tribal peoples. The practical
realities of implementation, however, are not straightforward. Newmont states that its
approach to company-community engagement and negotiation at Merian is “based on the
principles of FPIC”.4 Newmont does not claim to have obtained the FPIC of the Pamaka at
Merian. There is no precedent for a large-scale resource developer obtaining FPIC for
resource development from a Maroon tribe in Suriname. Against this backdrop, Newmont
1
These six tribes include the Saramaka, Pamaka, Ndyuka (Aukan), Kwinti, Aluku (Boni), and the
Matawai.
2
Surgold’s name was changed from “Suriname Gold Company, LLC” to “Newmont Suriname, LLC” on
7 September 2016, while the Panel was writing this report.
3
See: UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples, James Anaya, “Compilation of the
conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples,
James Anaya, on extractive industries affecting indigenous peoples and other issues related to
business and human rights,” A/HRC/FBHR/2012/CRP.1, 29 November 2012.
4
See: http://sustainabilityreport.newmont.com/2015/econonics-and-socialperformance/indigenous-peoples
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