World Bank backs controversial gold mine.

• Author: Sarin, Radhika
• Position: International Finance Corporation sanctions loan to Newmont Mining Corporation

Despite months of pressure, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's private-sector arm, on January 31 approved a loan of US$125 million to Newmont Mining Corporation for its Ahafo gold mine project in Ghana. Ghanaian and international organizations had urged the Bank to postpone funding until it adequately addressed the project's human rights and environmental impacts, ranging from displacement of local residents to the threat of water contamination.

World Bank support for large oil and mining projects in Chad, Guatemala, Peru, and elsewhere has been the source of significant controversy in recent years. The Ghanaian project was approved just weeks after Bank President Paul Wolfowitz suspended the institution's support for a high-profile oil pipeline project in Chad over the government's decision to use oil revenues to fund the military.

In the last two years, Newmont has faced community protests at its operations in Peru and Indonesia over environmental contamination and health concerns. Communities in Ghana have similar worries: an independent technical review revealed that Newmont failed to provide sufficient information to assess risks of water contamination from the Ahafo mine, which will use cyanide to extract the gold. The Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), a Ghanaian community-based mining advocacy organization, says that...