Gold

A report released today by Rivers Without Borders demonstrates that Chieftain Metals’ Tulsequah Chief mine proposal is fraught with financial risks and uncertainties. The report documents the involvement of some of Chieftain’s executives in bankruptcies and questions the reliability of mineral and cost estimates. The analysis also discusses potential permitting and construction delays, undeclared environmental risks, and economic returns to the local community.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency has told affected First Nations, local residents and public interest groups that the review of the proposed Elmtree Gold Mine is on hold. As reported in regional media, Castle Resources needs to re-assess the economics of the project before proceeding with the development of its Environmental Impact Statement. Citizens of the area are not letting their guard down and they continue to resist the proposal. In September, they sent a letter to the company indicating their strong opposition to the project.

In fall 2010, Alternatives North hired Dr. Joan Kuyek to do a study. Giant Mine in Yellowknife has 237,000 tonnes of arsenic trioxide to take care of. There is a plan to freeze this arsenic, so it can’t leak out and hurt the people and the land. For the Environmental Assessment of this plan, Alternatives North asked for a study of how contaminants are managed in other places.

Declaration - A statement from the Colombian Network Against Large Scale Transnational Mining, RECLAME, following Greystar Resources's decision to withdraw its request for an environmental permit for its Angostura project in the Colombian páramos of Santurbán. The decision comes on the heels of mobilizations in the city of Bucaramanga in which tens of thousands of people participated. RECLAME calls on Colombian authorities to ensure that these and other páramo ecosystems within the country are protected from mining activities, according to Colombian law. An estimated 108,972 hectares of páramo - a fragile high altitude wetland ecosystem - currently fall within concessioned areas.