Taking issue with serious environmental concerns at the Grasberg gold mine in Indonesia -- the world's largest -- Norway's Finance Ministry has decided to liquidate its $850 million holding in Rio Tinto, a partial owner in the project.
The stake accounted for half of a percent in a fund that invested the country's petroleum wealth in foreign stocks and bonds. The move to remove Rio as a component in the fund is one of the more prominent examples of a major institutional investor withdrawing its holdings over ethical issues in the last several years.
The main souce of concern at the Grasberg mine was the dumping of tailings into a nearby river, which according to Friends of the Earth, has resulted in severe toxicity of the surrounding aquatic life. The mine's main operator, Freeport-McMoRan has also come under fire from shareholders for employing the Indonesian military personnel for security purposes -- controversial because of the military's involvement in human rights abuses in the region.
> Norwegian wealth fund sells stake in Rio Tinto [Times of London]
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