The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a crucial framework to achieve reconciliation. Such a human rights-based approach is essential to address the racism and...
On August 4, 2017, MiningWatch Canada received reports of another killing of a male villager, reportedly by gunshot by private security at Barrick Gold’s North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania. This newly reported victim of alleged excess use of force by mine security furthers our concern that violence...
The following article was co-written by MiningWatch Canada, Earthworks and Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA).
Tahoe Resources is lobbying U.S. and Canadian authorities to intervene on its behalf following a July decision by Guatemala’s Supreme Court to temporarily...
This letter was sent to Minister of Natural Resources James Carr and Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna by five organisations – MiningWatch Canada, Nature Canada, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, the Quebec Environmental Law Centre, and West Coast Environmental Law. The...
These letters represent an exchange between MiningWatch Canada and RAID-UK and Acacia Mining plc. detailing ongoing concerns with regard to access to remedy and the operational-level grievance mechanism for victims of excess use of force by private and public mine security at the North Mara Gold...
On July 12, 2017, MiningWatch started to receive information from partner organizations in Porgera that a corrosive substance had been disposed of by the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) mine causing burns to numerous villagers who came into contact with the substance. We wrote to Barrick Gold to get...
The federal Liberals came to power with a promise to restore and strengthen Canada's environmental laws. In June, 2016, the government began a sweeping review of key environmental laws and asked concerned...
Unless the Trudeau government takes a sharp turn from its current course, it’s starting to look as if fixing Canada’s environmental assessment law is going to be added to the growing list of bold commitments that it won’t deliver on. At the end of June, the federal government released a discussion...
Here's a set of key recommendations from various industry experts, practioners and analysts that believe catostrophic failures of mining waste facilities can be avoided if regulators take the following actions (NOT EXHAUSTIVE - additional comments welcome):
Governance:
Following the suspension of two of Tahoe Resources’ mine licences in Guatemala on July 5, Tahoe Resources’ suppliers, workers and the Guatemalan Industrial Association have engaged in a smear campaign in the Guatemalan press against the Centre for Environmental, Social and Legal Action (CALAS) and...
Diesel fumes, silica dust and radon gas—to name three examples of well-known air pollutants in mines— continue to affect thousands of miners across Canada and the world. Too little attention is paid to the health costs and impacts of this reality.
Thanks to the work of organizations such as...
Yesterday, Clean Energy Canada released a study supporting more metal mining in Canada to support clean energy development. While pointing out that the Canadian mining industry falls well short of social and ecological “responsibility”, the report’s promotion of raw materials extraction is oddly...
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BC First Nations say ‘NO’ to KHGM’s Ajax open pit mine near Kamloops and propose instead the creation of a Cultural Heritage Site to foster reconciliation for the benefits of all Canadians.
See great video launched today https://vimeo.com/222291883 or www.facebook.com...
On 30th March 2017 legislators in El Salvador approved a blanket ban on all metal mining activities in the country – the first country in the world to do so. The historic vote came just six months after a World Bank tribunal ruled in favour of the country’s government in an international...
"Just as we can’t plan a neighbourhood one road — or house — at a time, we cannot plan for sustainable economies, healthy ecosystems, and First Nations interests one project at a time." Cheryl Chetkiewicz and Justina Ray, https://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2017/05/29/ontarios-ring-of-fire...
In the numerous press releases and reports that it published over the past year, Eldorado Gold Corp claims that its Skouries and Olympias projects in northern Greece are progressing smoothly. However, having failed to overcome the opposition of the local community, the company is now also facing a...