Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Mining · Nauru · 1920–1993

Nauru and Banaba phosphate mining compensation

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 5 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

Phosphate from Nauru and Banaba (now part of Kiribati) was sold at half the world price between 1920 and 1968, according to Te Ara. Britain and New Zealand gave A$10 million, according to RNZ; a larger Australian payment and an ex gratia payment for Banaba are reported only in summary-level sources.

A$10mGiven by Britain and New Zealand toward Nauru (RNZ)
A reported A$107m payment by Australia (1993) and a reported A$10m ex gratia payment for Banaba rest on summary-level sources and are not independently verified.

Status As of October 2026 (latest research date): the only verified payment is A$10 million from Britain and New Zealand; the reported Australian payment and the Banaba payment are unverified; the Nauru phosphate fund was reported in April 2021 to have fallen from $1.3 billion to $0.3 billion.

What?
Phosphate from Nauru and Banaba was sold at half the world price in 1920–68; Britain and New Zealand later gave A$10 million toward Nauru, and Nauru’s phosphate fund was reported in 2021 to have fallen from $1.3 billion to $0.3 billion. Te Ara
Where?
Nauru and Banaba (Kiribati), Pacific Ocean. Te Ara
When?
Sales at half the world price in 1920–68; settlement in 1993; fund report in April 2021. Te Ara
Who?
Gained
  • Buyers of Nauru and Banaba phosphate — Bought phosphate at half the world price, 1920–68. Te Ara
  • Farmers — Recorded as having gained from the arrangement. RNZ
Lost
  • Nauru — Its phosphate fund fell from $1.3 billion to $0.3 billion (April 2021 report). Devpolicy
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The sources reviewed do not state why the phosphate was sold at half the world price or on what basis the A$10 million was given.
How?
Britain and New Zealand gave A$10 million toward Nauru; the mechanism and any conditions are not described in the sources reviewed. RNZ
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Te Ara records that phosphate from Nauru and Banaba was sold at half the world price between 1920 and 1968. Banaba is now part of Kiribati. The sources reviewed do not describe the mining operations, the phosphate company, or the condition of either island.

RNZ’s history of Nauru records that Britain and New Zealand gave A$10 million, and that farmers gained from the arrangement. The Pacific treaty database lists a 1993 Nauru–Australia treaty; the settlement dates from 1993.

Devpolicy reported in April 2021 that Nauru’s phosphate fund had fallen from $1.3 billion to $0.3 billion.

Further payments and positions attributed to Australia, Britain and Nauru, and an ex gratia payment connected with Banaba, are reported only at summary level and are listed under “Not known” rather than stated as findings.

  1. 1920Start of the period, ending in 1968, in which Te Ara records Nauru and Banaba phosphate sold at half the world price
  2. 1993Nauru–Australia treaty listed in the Pacific treaty database; Britain and New Zealand give A$10 million (RNZ)
  3. 2021Devpolicy (April): Nauru’s phosphate fund fell from $1.3 billion to $0.3 billion

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Phosphate from Nauru and Banaba was sold at half the world price, 1920–68 (Te Ara).
      Te Ara
    • Britain and New Zealand gave A$10 million; farmers gained (RNZ, Nauru history).
      RNZ
    • Nauru’s phosphate fund fell from $1.3 billion to $0.3 billion (Devpolicy, April 2021).
      Devpolicy

    Who gained

    Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

    Reached nature or the ground

    Not published
    Given by Britain and New Zealand toward Nauru (RNZ)10m
    Recorded as one figure for Britain and New Zealand together; the split is not stated.

    Gained elsewhere

    Not totalled
    Currency: AUD · Window: 1993. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Given by Britain and New Zealand
    A$10m
    RNZ, Nauru history; the settlement dates from 1993
    Nauru phosphate fund
    $1.3bn to $0.3bn
    Devpolicy, April 2021; currency given only as dollars
    Phosphate sale price, 1920–68
    Half the world price
    Te Ara, South Pacific economic relations

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Figures

    • Insufficient Compensation paid: Reported payment by Australia to Nauru; from a treaty database listing seen only in summary form.
    • Insufficient Compensation paid: Reported ex gratia payment connected with Banaba, 1977–81; from an encyclopedia entry seen only in summary form.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Australia paid A$107 million in 1993 and no liability was accepted. The figure comes from a Pacific treaty database listing seen only in search-summary form; the treaty text was not checked.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Australia maintained that it was not responsible for the period before 1967, Britain said it had never had responsibility, and Nauru gave up its claims. No primary statement was located.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a payment of A$10 million described as ex gratia, with no acceptance of liability, in connection with Banaba, 1977–81, linked to a case named Tito v Waddell (No 2). The source is an encyclopedia entry seen only in search-summary form; forum, parties and outcome were not checked.
    • None on record The currency of the Nauru phosphate fund figures is given only as “dollars”.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not recorded in the sources reviewed: the dates on which mining ended on Nauru and Banaba are not given.

    Who paid?

    Britain and New Zealand gave A$10 million toward Nauru, according to RNZ. Australia’s reported A$107 million is not independently verified.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Government and regulators

    Press and investigations

    1. Nauru history
      RNZ · n.d.

    Researchers

    1. Nauru: riches to rags to riches
      Devpolicy · 2021-04-12

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Similar cases
    Mining · Insurance declined or withdrawn · International waters (Pacific Ocean) · 2011
    The Metals Company deep-sea nodule mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (NOAA permit route)
    Same type: MiningSame countryHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Bahrain · 1963–2008
    Study attributes habitat loss in Bahrain to reclamation and sand dredging
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Cook Islands · 2026
    US and Cook Islands deal raises concerns over seabed mining talks
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · New Caledonia · 2025
    SLN nickel producer stays afloat with state support after Eramet exit
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Greenland · 2021
    Kvanefjeld project owner seeks up to $11.5bn from Greenland over uranium ban
    Same type: MiningSame regionHarm to nature not measured
    Mining · Türkiye · 2018–2026
    Kirazlı gold mine (Alamos Gold), Kaz Dağları, Çanakkale
    Same type: MiningHarm to nature not measured