Number	24104
Subject	Mining
Source	Dan Rather Reports
State	NY
Year	2008
Publication Date	09/23/2008
Summary	"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.
Category	Contest Entry
Pages	21
Keywords	copper; Congo; Freeport McMoRan; embassy; diplomat; mining
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