A/HRC/44/43/Add.1 D. Mining sector 42. In Chiatura, a mining town of around 20,000 inhabitants, the Working Group met with trade union representatives, local community members, the acting mayor, and representatives of the mining company, Georgian Manganese, to learn more about challenges faced in the mining sector. 43. Manganese has been extracted in Chiatura for more than 100 years. In 2006, Georgian Manganese – a subsidiary of Georgian American Alloys Inc., based in the United States of America – obtained a 40-year licence to extract manganese in Chiatura. The mining operations currently provide employment for some 5,800 workers, making Georgian Manganese one of the largest employers in the Imereti region. The company estimated the amount of manganese under the ground to be 160 million tons, and indicated an extractive capacity of 1.2 million tons per year. 44. In Chiatura, another 43 smaller companies extract manganese as subcontractors under Georgian Manganese’s licence, operating smaller mines and quarries and employing around 1,500 workers. The company also operates a ferroalloy plant in Zestafoni, and a hydroelectric power plant that supplies power to all of the company’s operations. 45. The 140-year-old mine has plants that were constructed in 1944 and in 1933 (in Zestafoni) that are still operating. Most of the mines are rusty, derelict industrial complexes, operating with antiquated equipment, which raised immediate serious concerns about the environmental impacts and about the working conditions of miners. 46. Under current regulations, wastewater generated as a result of manganese extraction should be discharged in the rotational water supply system, and direct discharge of the wastewater in the rivers is prohibited. The same applies to the subcontractor companies of Georgian Manganese. However, the Working Group witnessed first-hand how some of the sludge from manganese extraction was being discharged directly into the river. According to information received from the local communities, 375.961 tons of waste materials were discharged into the rivers in 2018, with huge negative impact on safe drinking water, farming and livestock grazing. Despite existing regulations and the oversight exercised by the Environmental Supervision Department under the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, proper and safe management of waste generated from mining sites remained a source of concern requiring urgent and more effective measures by Georgian Manganese and monitoring by the Government. 47. The Working Group learned from Georgian Manganese representatives that the company would stop discharging sludge into the river once a new construction ore enrichment plan, and related investments in new technology, had become operational. While these are welcome developments, concerns remain regarding the lack of plans for proper and safe management of waste materials resulting from the operations of the company’s subcontractors. As was clear from the Working Group’s conversations with company managers, the company did not consider that it had any responsibility to address the polluting practices of its subcontractors. However, under the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, Georgian Manganese has a responsibility to seek to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts that are linked to its operations or products by its business relationships. 48. Residents in Chiatura also complained about air pollution caused by the mining operations and the recurrent practice of trucks transporting manganese ore without adequate cover. There was a perception that the local and national authorities had not done enough to remedy the situation. 49. The Working Group learned that since 2012, Georgian Manganese had been doing its own environmental audits every two years. However, the Working Group expressed concern at the information received from the company that the results of the internal audits were only shared with the company’s shareholders, lenders and investors. 50. In 2016, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture made a decision – approved by the Tbilisi City Court – to appoint a special manager for a period of three years to develop a detailed plan to remediate and mitigate environmental harms, since 10