Issue

Map: Since the first local vote in Tambogrande, Peru in 2002, the "consulta", or community referendum, has emerged as a powerful tool for communities affected by unwanted mining projects to voice their collective opinion on a project through engaging in popular democracy. By giving residents of affected communities the opportunity to vote on whether or not they agree with destructive mining taking place on their land, the "consulta" can meaningfully encourage peaceful citizen participation and provide a mechanism for resistance movements to democratically voice their concerns about a particular project or on mining in general.

Cliffs Natural Resources is proposing to develop a large chromite deposit in a remote area of northern Ontario that has been dubbed the Ring of Fire. Recognising that chromium is a toxic metal that has never been mined in Canada, MiningWatch has conducted a literature review of environmental and human health issues associated with mining and processing the metal. The complete literature review and three summary fact sheets are available here.

A concern about the social and environmental destruction caused by Canadian mining companies brought me to the fourth annual Mining Injustice Conference organized by the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, held at the University of Toronto.

News release: A delegation of Central American and North American representatives called on Goldcorp to take responsibility for the cleanup at current mine sites, and alerted shareholders to outstanding public health issues, environmental degradation and conflict.