Rainwater in the landlocked country cut off access to the mine’s lower levels on April 16, and there has been no communication with the missing workers since.

By Alex Boyd, Calgary Bureau
Mon., May 9, 2022

More than three weeks since heavy rainfall cut off access to the surface, eight miners remain trapped half a kilometre underground, their status unknown, in a flooded-out zinc mine in West Africa that’s owned by a Canadian company.

We the undersigned peoples and organisations have gathered here at the first Summit of Peoples Affected by Pan American Silver in Guatemala. In a week, the company will hold its annual meeting of its shareholders in Vancouver, where the image they will present is likely to be positive. Our realities are very different, and we want our voices to be heard. This initiative arose in response to the need to articulate and exchange experiences of resistance as a way of confronting the constant threats that we suffer in our territories.

A new report by a renowned environmental lawyer concludes that British Columbia is “not yet a world leader” in its environmental reviews of proposed metal mines – despite the province’s claims to the contrary.

For close to twenty years, communities affected by proposed mining development in the Patagonia region of southern Argentina have held a standing engagement on the 4th day of every month: to march in defence of life and reiterate their commitment to uphold the results of a 2003 referendum that said ‘NO’ to industrial mining. 

In view of the repression suffered this afternoon by the neighbors of Andalgalá, who were resisting the advance of the MARA project in Choya, the organizing network of the Multi-National March for Water issues the following statement:

(Ottawa) As Barrick prepares to speak at its Annual General Meeting about the soaring gold price in an unstable world, returns on investment for shareholders, and the value of the company’s global assets, affected communities from Alaska to the Dominican Republic, and from Tanzania to Papua New Guinea, speak out about the ongoing harm they suffer as Barrick explores and mines their traditional lands. 

OTTAWA - Canada has announced a new responsible business strategy to ensure companies prevent or ease negative effects to human rights and the environment in their operations overseas. Advocates, however, are criticizing the strategy for being largely a repeat of the previous one put in place by Stephen Harper's Conservative government in 2014. 

(Ottawa, Chiapas) The family of assassinated Mexican environment defender Mariano Abarca is hoping that the Supreme Court of Canada will pave the way for an investigation of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico by the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner.  It will be the first time that Canada’s much maligned whistleblower system will come under scrutiny at the highest court.

Steps need to be taken to ensure that deep seabed mining does not put at risk species that are not found anywhere else in the world.

Written by Susanna D. Fuller, Catherine Coumans, Nicole Zanesco. Originally published on Policy Options

Written by Andrew Findlay, The Narwhal