In 1997 Sterlite Industries, a part of the Vedanta Resources group, put forward proposals to construct an aluminium refinery at the nearby location of Lanjigarh and to extract bauxite from the Niyamgiri Hills as feedstock for the refinery, as a joint venture with the state-owned Orissa Mining Corporation. The refinery opened in 2006, but the mining development was held up by legal action, and it was found that the construction of the refinery had broken laws relating to environmental protection and local people's rights.: The company argued that mining on Niyamgiri should proceed, as it would enable aluminium to be produced more economically than bringing in raw materials from greater distances. There was considerable opposition among the Dongria Kondh, and campaigners against the scheme, including the Wildlife Institute of India, maintained that it would cause damage to the environment and disrupt the way of life of the local people. The company repudiated the environmental claims and said that it was improving the local economy and providing new facilities. The campaign against the mining proposals gathered support from Survival International and individuals including Arundhati Roy, Michael Palin, Bianca Jagger and Joanna Lumley.