Publication

Mining on Small Islands: the Struggle to Protect Sangihe Island and the Role of Canada's Baru Gold

This report is based on fieldwork carried out by Catherine Coumans, Asia Pacific Program Coordinator at MiningWatch Canada, on Sangihe Island in November 2025. It details the issues related to mining on small islands in Asia Pacific and the ongoing struggle by the grassroots Save Sangihe Island (SSI) coalition to protect Sangihe Island from gold mining by Canadian company Baru Gold Corp. The report discusses: 

Indonesia Cyanide Impact on Communities Waste Rock and Tailings Water and fisheries
Guest Publication

Brief on Québec's Bill 5 aimed at fast-tracking priority projects and projects of national importance

The purpose of this brief is to present an analysis of the proposed Bill to accelerate authorizations required for the completion of priority and national-scale projects (PL5). The brief was produced by Eau Secours, with the support of the Coalition Québec meilleure mine (QMM) and Sept-Îles Sans Uranium (SISUR), and aims to convey our comments and positions regarding the proposed legislation.

The brief is available in french only. 

Canada Québec
Brief

UN Brief: Report on the Violation of the Rights to Indigenous Self-Determination and Democratic Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada Due to “Fast-Tracking” Legislation for Major Projects

This Shadow Report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee with Respect to the Seventh Periodic Report of Canada was developed by the Environmental Justice and Sustainability Clinic, a public interest legal clinic and experiential education initiative housed at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, and co-submitted with MiningWatch Canada and Legal Advocates for Nature's Defence (LAND).
Canada Indigenous Rights
Publication

Event Report | Iron Ore and Rare Earth Elements: Conference on Health and Social Acceptability for Residents of Sept-Îles and the Innu People

In response to an invitation from the Groupe Citoyens de Sept-Îles (Sept-Îles Citizens' Group), MiningWatch Canada and the Coalition Québec meilleure mine held an information evening on Tuesday, October 23, 2025, at the Shaputuan Museum in the Innu community of Uashat mak Mani-utenam on human health and social acceptability concerning critical minerals, particularly iron ore and rare earth elements.
Québec Environment Health Rare Earth Elements
Guest Publication

The Ecuador-Canada Free Trade Agreement and the Referendum in Ecuador: An Attack on Constitutional Protections

This paper by the Transnational Institute examines how and why Investor State Dispute Mechanisms (ISDS) were included in the new Ecuador Canada free trade agreement (FTA) despite being prohibited by the Ecuadorian constitution, and makes connections between the FTA and the upcoming referendum in Ecuador.
Ecuador Human Rights International Trade & Investment
Brief

A Review of Key Environmental Considerations Related to Denison Mines’ Wheeler River Uranium Project

Denison Mines’ Wheeler River Project would constitute the first-ever use in Canada of in situ leaching (ISL), to extract uranium from an ore body, and the first attempt anywhere to use “freeze wall” technology to limit contaminant spread from an ISL mine. Our review has identified important gaps and shortcomings in the Environmental Impact Statement and the CNSC Staff Submission recommending licencing of the project related to the proposed ISL/freeze wall process and related issues.

Denison Saskatchewan Uranium
Presentation

Iron ore and rare earths: Conference on human health and social licence for citizens of Sept-Îles and the Innu people

In response to an initiative by the Sept-Îles Citizens' Group, MiningWatch Canada and the Coalition Québec meilleure mine held an information evening on human health and social licence concerning critical minerals, particularly iron ore and rare earth elements. The evening aimed to provide the public with an independent overview of current and future mining development in the Sept-Îles region. 

Québec Indigenous Rights Rare Earth Elements
Publication

Between flaws, setbacks, and timid progress: Findings after 25 years of mining-related consultations

Over the course of 25 years accompanying mining-affected communities in Canada and globally, MiningWatch Canada has observed a pattern of rights violations in the ways governments and the mining industry purport to consult with those most affected. This article briefly outlines several conditions required to guarantee the rights of civil society to participate in meaningful consultation processes that are legal, dignified, effective, and predictable for all. Beyond these conditions, we underscore that the priority of governments must be on guaranteeing the rights of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior, and informed consent as enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when it comes to mining projects in their territories.
Impact on Communities Indigenous Rights
Brief

Prospective brief on the omnibus bill on regulatory relief from Quebec's Ministry of Economy coming this fall

These comments are submitted to the Quebec Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy after consultation with our members and interested partners. They concern the annual omnibus bill on regulatory relief announced by the Quebec government. Our discussions with the office of the Minister for the Economy indicate that the omnibus bill is expected to be tabled during this fall's parliamentary session.
Québec Environment Health Human Rights Impact on Communities
Brief

Comments Submitted to the IAAC on the Troilus Mining Project (Impact Assessment)

These comments (in French only) are submitted as part of the assessment of Troilus Gold’s Troilus gold and copper mining project in Eeyou Istchee in Northern Quebec before the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, following consultation with our members and partners interested in assessing the project’s impacts. More specifically, we ask the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada not to authorize the Troilus mining project as submitted.
Québec Environmental Assessment
Brief

Comments Submitted to the IAAC on the Mont Sorcier Mining Project (Guidelines)

These comments (in french only) are submitted as part of the assessment of Voyager Metals' Mont Sorcier mining project in Eeyou Istchee in Northern Quebec before the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, following consultation with our members and partners interested in assessing the project's impacts. More specifically, we ask the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada to improve the analytical framework for the assessment of the mining project under review. We invite the IAAC to include in the guidelines a series of questions on the analysis of the cumulative impacts of mining in the area where the Mont Sorcier project is seeking to establish itself.
Québec Environmental Assessment
Publication

Report: Impacts of Nouveau Monde Graphite's exploration work on water in Haute-Matawinie

Community and environmental groups have prepared an important report on the impacts of mining exploration activities by Nouveau Monde Graphite (NMG) in Matawinie. Following an independent community environmental monitoring campaign, the report identifies numerous cases of heavy metal concentrations in watercourses that exceed environmental protection criteria, likely attributable to exploration activities.

Nouveau Monde Graphite Environment Environmental Assessment Impact on Communities
Publication

Annual Report 2024: Impact Stories

Our annual report provides some key impact stories from MiningWatch's work in 2024, with additional information about our financial position in 2024.

This year marked a milestone for MiningWatch. Celebrating our 25th anniversary provided an important opportunity for reflecting on the reasons MiningWatch formed when we first opened our doors in 1999, the struggles we’ve supported, the relationships we’ve built along the way, and the immense challenges that lie ahead. 

Human Rights Indigenous Rights Publications
Brief

Submission on Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act

We find the Act as a whole to represent a disturbingly unaccountable and anti-democratic initiative, in that many of its provisions either bypass, undo, or override established processes, reserving decision-making authority to Ministers or Cabinet and removing those decisions from the purview of the Legislature or any other deliberative and publicly-accountable body or process.

Ontario Environmental Assessment