Ecuador
Ecuador
Jan 05 2009Since the early 1990s, the Intag region of Imbabura in northwestern Ecuador has been the target of mining exploration. Japanese and then Canadian interests have claimed substantial finds of copper, and have promoted the idea of building a huge open-pit mine in the middle of one of the most biodiverse areas in the world – the Intag cloud forest falls into both the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena and Tropical Andes hotspots, according to Conservation International.
But while some of the residents support the proposal, most are opposed to the mine, including those who stand to be most directly affected. The mine would be within the buffer zone of a major ecological reserve (the Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Reserve) and would obliterate a community forest reserve where local people have been promoting ecotourism. The whole region depends on small-scale farming, coffee production, and eco-tourism; the County of Cotacachi has designated itself an "Ecological County" and is committed to sustainable development and participatory democracy. As a result, there is widespread and fervent opposition to plans by Bermuda-based Ascendant Holdings to build a mine and possibly also a smelter and hydro-electric dam. In order to raise money, Ascendant -- also known as Ascendant Exploration or Ascendant Copper Corporation (ACC) – is seeking a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange, despite questions that have been raised about the accuracy of its resource estimates and the status of its claims. In the mean time, the company has openly admitted funding a community front group, CODEGAM (Corporation for the Development of the Communities of García Moreno [parish]), explicitly to promote the mining project and to undermine the authority of the County government. There has been a barrage of threats, interference, and attempted intimidation, including death threats, against opponents of the project.
Canada-Ecuador: When Stock Exchanges Fuel Human Rights Violations
Dec 24 2009Recently, Toronto-based Pinetree Capital bought a few million shares of Copper Mesa Mining Corporation, making it the largest share owner of a failing company currently embroiled in a lawsuit . The takeover raised the price of its penny stock upwards to between three and five cents. Copper Mesa, however, got a lot more than what it bargained for.
What Role for Canada in the Americas? Corporate Accountability and the Extractive Industries
Apr 05 2009[Presentation] In the late 1990s, people in the Intag zone of north-west Ecuador learned that a Japanese company had discovered copper in their area. They were happy. As poor farmers the welcomed the possibility of more work and better incomes. But then they found out that the project would be a huge open pit mine that would destroy an entire mountain, displace four villages, and contaminate an entire watershed. The villagers mobilized.
State of Mine: The Dominion Newspaper's Special Issue on Mining
Nov 17 2008"State of Mine, An Investigation of Canada's Extractive Industries", a special edition of The Dominion Newspaper, was published in November 2008 and is now available online.
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Ecuador: Government Shuts Down Ascendant Copper’s Junín Project
Sep 28 2007MiningWatch Responds to the National Post
Aug 22 2007MiningWatch Canada has responded to three articles written by Peter Foster for the Financial Post section of the National Post, as well as to one erroneous correction that ran in the Financial Post. For more information about the situation in Ecuador, see MiningWatch Canada's recent analysis: Canadian Mining Investment in Southeast Ecuador Exacerbates Divisions, Conflicts.
Ascendant ordered to stop community relations at Junin Project, loses major investor
Jul 23 2007The Ministry of Energy and Mines in Ecuador has ordered Ascendant Copper Corporation (Ascendant) to “immediately cease all activities intended to divide the community and disturb the citizenry’s peaceful life” around its proposed Junin Project. The company is facing numerous setbacks, including the recent order to stop community relations work, high levels of community opposition and the withdrawal of a major shareholder.
Canadian Mining Investment in Southeast Ecuador Exacerbates Divisions, Conflicts
Jul 18 2007This analysis was undertaken following the publication of two letters accusing MiningWatch Canada of “genocide” and of keeping the Shuar people of Southeast Ecuador in poverty (see MiningWatch Responds to Ecuadorian Letters). The letters make special reference to Corriente Resources’ ‘Mirador’ project.
MiningWatch Responds to Ecuadorian Letters
Jul 05 2007During the week of June 25, 2007, MiningWatch Canada received letters from two Ecuadorian Indigenous men, Rubén Naichap and José Aviles, accusing us of “Support for Economic, Cultural and Social Genocide of the Shuar people” and “Keeping the Indigenous People of the Amazon in Poverty”, respectively. These accusations are baseless and untrue and they represent libel against our organisation. They maliciously attack not only MiningWatch Canada but also those people and organizations in Ecuador that have expressed legitimate concerns about mining.
