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Jan 30, 2009, 11:12 GMT

State pension fund drops US group and Canadian mining group

Oslo - A US company that makes cluster weapons and a Canadian mining group with operations in Papua New Guinea have been dropped by Norway's state pension fund, the Finance Ministry said Friday. A special ethics panel had advised the government to sell its holdings in US group Textron Inc Corporation that makes cluster weapons. Stakes in nine other cluster weapon makers have previously been shed. 'We cannot participate in the funding of this type of production,' Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said in a statement. Oslo in December hosted the signing of an international treaty banning cluster weapons. The ethics panel warned that Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corporation's Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea was 'causing severe environmental damage,' Halvorsen said. Fears included 'the risk of accumulation and build up of heavy metals, especially mercury, in the environment,' the ministry said. The now divested holdings in Barrick Gold were worth some 1.25 billion kroner (184 million dollars) while the shares in Textron were worth 249 million kroner (37 million dollars). The Government Pension Fund, Global, includes the huge Petroleum Fund. The Petroleum Fund, managed by the central bank, was created to pay for Norway's future health and pension expenditures through investments outside the Norwegian economy.

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