Pascua Lama Background

Pascua Lama Project(Taken from “Exile of the Cóndor: Transnational Hegemony on the Border: the Mining Treaty Between Chile and Argentina” – Moon, Padilla and Alcayata, Santiago, 2004)

Pascua Lama is a mining project consisting of the open-pit exploitation of a deposit of gold, silver and copper ore and its processing...

Letter from Heller Ehrman to Ascendant Holdings

The prestigious international law firm Heller Ehrman, acting on behalf of DECOIN, notified Chris Werner of Ascendant Holdings of improper activities in conjunction with the Junín mining project. The letter requests “Ascendant’s assistance in ensuring that the process of determining the future path...

38th Parliament, 1st Session: Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

[The following text is excerpted from the proceedings of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Development of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. March 23, 2005. The entire transcript may be found at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/committee...

Letter to MiningWatch Canada from TVI Pacific

MiningWatch Canada received a letter from Grant Stapon at Bennett Jones, a law firm representing TVI Pacific. The letter threatens possible litigation against MiningWatch Canada, the board of directors, and Catherine Coumans.

New Country, Same Story: Review of the Glamis Gold Marlin Project EIA, Guatemala

MadreSelva, a Guatemalan environmental group, commissioned independent hydrogeologist Robert Moran to review Glamis Gold's Marlin project Environmental Impact Assessment. His report shows shocking inadequacies in the EIA as well as a refusal by the company to provide any further information or...

Letter from the Mayor of Cotacachi Cantón, Ecuador, to the Toronto Stock Exchange (unofficial translation)

Finance and Audit CommitteeToronto Stock ExchangeP.O. Box 4503rd floor, 130 King Street W.Toronto, OntarioM5X 1J2 CanadaDear Committee Members,On behalf of the Local Government of the Municipality of Cotacachi, we address this letter to you to express a cordial salutation, as well as our best wishes...

Development for Whom? The Foundations of Corporate Social Irresponsibility

Notes for a presentation by Jamie Kneen as part of the Studies in National and International Development Speakers Series, Queen’s University, March 1, 2005: When Joan Kuyek spoke to this gathering last year, she discussed the need to regulate Canadian mining companies operating internationally...

OMAN Summary - PDF

The Ontario Mining Action Network (OMAN) was launched in Sudbury, Ontario on December 5, 2004, at the conclusion of a two-day workshop on mining in Ontario. Representatives from First Nation communities, labour organizations, environmental groups and mining-affected communities from Southern and...

Tahltan Elders Statement “Dena nenn Sogga neh ’ine” (Protectors and Keepers of the Land)

“Dena nenn Sogga neh ’ine” (Protectors and Keepers of the Land)

We, the Tahltan People, historically a sovereign nation have occupied our traditional territories since time immemorial. Our culture is organized through a matrilineal clan system. This has always been and remains our broad governing...

The Assault on First Nation Lands in British Columbia

The mining industry in British Columbia has mounted an unprecedented campaign for access to new mineral lands and wilderness areas on First Nations Lands in British Columbia. First Nations are fighting back on many fronts. In all cases, their resources are out-stripped by the mining industry and its...

Elders with e-mail -- government and industry take note

Column by Stephen Hume, The Vancouver Sun, February 5, 2005 Last June, the province was trumpeting breakthrough relationships with first nations as a welcome to new investment capital for British Columbia's mining sector. Initiatives with first nations like the Tahltan of northwestern B.C...

Open Letter on Pollution from Base Metal Smelters

February 21, 2005


The Honourable Stephane Dion
Minister of the Environment
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Fax: 819-953-3457

The Honourable Ujjal Dosanjh
Minister of Health
House of Commons
Ottawa ON K1A 0A6
Fax: 613-952-1154

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett
Minister of State for...

Letter to Toronto Stock Exchange re: Ascendant's Estimates of Junín Reserves

J. Spencer Lanthier
Chair, Finance and Audit Committee
Toronto Stock Exchange
P.O. Box 450
3rd floor, 130 King Street W.
Toronto, ON M5X 1J2

Dear Mr. Lanthier and Committee members:

I am writing to ask what you have done to resolve the apparent anomalies in the information provided by Ascendant Holdings...

A Brief History of Resistance to Mining in Intag, Ecuador

MITSUBISHI AND THE WORLD BANK COME TO INTAG

Exploration for metallic minerals began in the Junín area with the arrival of Bishimetals in the early 1990s. Junín is a community located in Intag, a 2,200 km2 expanse of cloud forests and farms in northwestern Ecuador (Cotacachi County,...

Recent History of the Ongoing Struggle by Kanak People to Make Inco Respect Their Rights

Backgrounder by Catherine Coumans, February 2005

• October 2001: Then-President Georges Mandaoue and Secretary General Regis Vendegou of the Kanak Sénat Coutumier, visited Canada. They met with Inco executives in Toronto. They made it very clear that Inco had failed to consult with local NGOs...