News release: This week, Canadian taxpayers will cover the costs of eleven journalists from eight Latin American countries – and Mongolia – to attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s (PDAC) 2012 conference. This appears to be another attempt on the part of Canadian authorities to manage the message instead of seriously addressing the roots of mine conflicts in countries such as Argentina, Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador.

News release: (Ottawa) MiningWatch Canada regrets that Taseko Mines Ltd. has initiated a lawsuit against the Western Canada Wilderness Committee for allegedly making defamatory and inaccurate comments on Taseko’s  proposed “New Prosperity” project.

News release: (Tŝilhqot’in Territory) The Tŝilhqot’in National Government is shocked that Taseko Mines Ltd. (TML) has launched a defamation suit against an environmental group for questioning the company’s claims that its ‘new’ Prosperity Mine proposal addresses all concerns and will save Teztan Biny (Fish Lake).

News release: (VANCOUVER, BC and OTTAWA, ON) – Forty groups, from internationally-known organizations like Council of Canadians and Greenpeace, to local citizens’ groups like Grand Riverkeeper Labrador, have endorsed a statement confirming their support for strong federal environmental laws that protect our national values.

News release: (Tŝilhqot’in Territory) After a series of recent community meetings, the Tŝilhqot’in Nation has reinforced its determination to protect Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) and the surrounding area from the threat of Taseko Mines Ltd.’s proposed “new” Prosperity Mine. The Tŝilhqot’in communities strongly opposed Taseko’s 2011 exploration program and obtained an injunction from the BC Supreme Court preventing the company from conducting that work, pending a challenge to the approvals.

Each year, mining companies dump more than 180 million tonnes of hazardous mine waste into rivers, lakes, and oceans worldwide, threatening vital bodies of water with toxic heavy metals and other chemicals poisonous to humans and wildlife, according to this report by Earthworks and MiningWatch Canada.

News release: (Montréal) "The survey by Léger Marketing on the mining industry confirms the relevance and importance of our work over the last four years,” said Ugo Lapointe of the Coalition Québec meilleure mine (Better Mining Coalition). According to the survey, a majority of residents of Québec including the Abitibi region (the most active mining area of Québec) agree that there is a need for further reforms to improve royalties, environmental protection and respect of citizens’ rights.

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.

News release: Leading public health physicians, environmental lawyers and academics warned today against haphazard federal attempts to undermine environmental reviews, cautioning that any government effort to cut corners will put public health and safety at risk.

News release: For over a decade, MiningWatch has been saying that Ontarians should be getting a better share of the resource wealth that is extracted in the province. MiningWatch welcomed the recommendation to eliminate a key tax break for mining companies and to review the mining tax system in the recently released report from the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services, chaired by Donald Drummond.