The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Freeport McMoRan" ...
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All Mine
"All Mine" details how the U.S. government facilitated a modern-day land grab by a politically connected American company in one of the world's poorest countries. Phoenix-based mining company Freeport McMoRan was able to purchase the world's largest copper mine from the the government of Congo at an extremely cheap rate because it made its play under the cloud of the world's deadliest conflict site since World War II, a climate of corruption and desperation. It did so with the help of $400 million in U.S. government financing, and intense lobbying from an employee of the U.S. Embassy in Congo -- a career diplomat who rushed through the revolving door to work for the mining company just weeks after the deal was finalized. Freeport McMoRan has a generously paid spokesman, not to mention millions in lobbying dollars, to get its story out. The report also includes interviews with Congolese people who were forced from their land and threatened with arrest for speaking with reporters.
Tags: copper; Congo; Freeport McMoRan; embassy; diplomat; mining
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Radioactive Water Flowed to Thousands of Homes
This series detailed how high levels of radium 226/228, known human carcinogens linked to bone and nasal cancers, contaminated public drinking water wells that provided water to thousands of people in Northwest Florida between 1996-2000. The public utility responsible for water safety resisted state efforts to clean the radioactive material and inform the public, because it cost too much money. The Utilities Authority conducted tapwater samples that measured high concentrations of radium coming out of fountains at an elementary school, regional airport, government offices, and the tourist welcome center, but the results of these samples were never made public.
Tags: radium; human carcinogens; bone cancer; nasal cancer; contaminated drinking water wells; radioactive material; Escambia County Utilities Authority; drinking water; Agrico Chemical Co. Superfund hazardous waste; U.S. Florida Department of Environmental protection; radium-tainted water; Escambia County Health Department; Pensacola Regional Airport; Santa Rosa Island Authority; Cordova Park Elementary School; Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water; American Agricultural Chemical Co.; U.S. Geological Survey; maximum contamination level; MCL; Northwest Florida Management District; water cleanup; Environmental Protection Agency; "limited action" cleanup DuPont; ConocoPhillips; Conoco Inc.; The Williams Co.; Freeport-McMoRan Inc.
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Indonesia
The story talks about the disappearing rain forests of Irian Jaya, a France-size province in eastern Indonesia. Freeport-McMoRan, a New Orleans-based multinational that owns and operates the mines through an Indonesian subsidiary, is mining the largest peak (13,500 feet) in the Jayawijaya Mountain range. It is the largest gold mine in the world. The story looks at the effects of this corporate colonization on the stone-age indigenous people.
Tags: None
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No title (id: 13478)
Mother Jones investigates Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, a New Orleans-based mining company with 1995 revenues of $1.8 billion. The secret to Freeport-McMoRan's success has been to keep journalists away from its Indonesian mine and put a spin on environmental and human rights abuses through high-placed political connections and a deceptive public relations campaign. (Sept. - Oct. 1996)
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No title (id: 13309)
On March 10, the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya erupted on a series of riots aimed at halting the operations of Freeport-McMoRan, a New Orleans-based mining company that runs the world's largest gold mine and third-largest copper mine on the western half of the island of New Guinea. The Progressive looks at this uprising and its causes and possible effects. (June 1996)
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No title (id: 13120)
The Nation looks into Freeport-McMoRan, the U.S. multinational corporation that operates the world's largest gold mine and third-largest copper mine. Irian-Jaya, the western half of the island of New Guinea, is the site of Freeport's cruelest and, with mineral reserves worth an estimated $50 billion, potentially most lucrative exploits. (July 31, 1995)