On October 11th, representatives from the departments of Santa Rosa, Jalapa and Jutiapa who have been participating the protest camp against Tahoe Resources’ Escobal silver mine since June held a press conference to denounce attempts to discredit and criminalize their movement, specifically recent...
This Week in Ottawa: Breaking the Silence - Mexican human rights defenders to testify about worsening crisis
From October 16 to 18, a delegation of nine Mexican human rights experts will be in Ottawa to shine a light on the acute human rights crisis in Mexico. The visit is taking place just days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s state visit to Mexico.
During their visit, the Mexican human rights...
Mexican Network of Mining Affected People Tries to Extract a Response from Trudeau
On the eve of Prime Minister Trudeau’s first official visit to Mexico, the Mexican Network of Mining Affected People (REMA by its initials in Spanish) has issued a communiqué to call on Prime Minister Trudeau to live up to his commitments and stop the devastation of Indigenous and campesino...
Tahoe Resources’ Social Licence in Guatemala Non-Existent, as Uncertainty Plagues Escobal Permits
On the heels of two months of lobbying in Washington D.C. and Ottawa seeking government intervention on its behalf, Tahoe Resources announced on September 10th that the Guatemalan Supreme Court of Justice had reinstated the operating licence for its Escobal project in southeastern Guatemala...
DNI Metals Digs Itself in Deeper in Madagascar
As we wrote in our September 12, 2017 news release, we have received a series of worrying allegations regarding DNI Metals Inc.’s Vohitsara graphite project in Madagascar, which are backed up by solid documentation. We had previously written to the company and got messages denying all the...
The Western Mining Action Network (WMAN) Is Hiring! Indigenous Caucus Coordinator
Please circulate!
The Western Mining Action Network (WMAN) is hiring an Indigenous Caucus Coordinator to support communities affected by mining across North America.
MiningWatch Canada is a Steering Committee member of WMAN
JOB POSTING
APPLY BY SEPTEMBER 29, 2017
JOB TITLE: Indigeno...
Public Statement on the 10th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Canada needs a legislative framework to fulfill the promise of this vital human rights instrument
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples provides a crucial framework to achieve reconciliation. Such a human rights-based approach is essential to address the racism and...
Letter to Acacia Mining re: new report of violent death and ongoing concerns regarding access to remedy for victims at the North Mara Gold Mine
On August 4, 2017, MiningWatch Canada received reports of another killing of a male villager, reportedly by gunshot by private security at Barrick Gold’s North Mara Gold Mine in Tanzania. This newly reported victim of alleged excess use of force by mine security furthers our concern that violence...
Tahoe Resources Lobbies U.S., Canada to Intervene Over Guatemala Court Decision to Suspend Escobal Mine
The following article was co-written by MiningWatch Canada, Earthworks and Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA).
Tahoe Resources is lobbying U.S. and Canadian authorities to intervene on its behalf following a July decision by Guatemala’s Supreme Court to temporarily...
Environmental Groups Send Letter to Ministers re: Reforming Federal Environmental Assessment Law
This letter was sent to Minister of Natural Resources James Carr and Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna by five organisations – MiningWatch Canada, Nature Canada, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, the Quebec Environmental Law Centre, and West Coast Environmental Law. The...
Correspondence with Acacia Mining re: Use of Force by Mine Security at the North Mara Gold Mine, Tanzania.
These letters represent an exchange between MiningWatch Canada and RAID-UK and Acacia Mining plc. detailing ongoing concerns with regard to access to remedy and the operational-level grievance mechanism for victims of excess use of force by private and public mine security at the North Mara Gold...
Chemical Exposure at Porgera Mine Anawe Waste Site, Papua New Guinea
On July 12, 2017, MiningWatch started to receive information from partner organizations in Porgera that a corrosive substance had been disposed of by the Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) mine causing burns to numerous villagers who came into contact with the substance. We wrote to Barrick Gold to get...
Let’s Get It Right: It's Time to Strengthen Canada's Environmental Laws
Tell the federal government it's time to make environmental laws mean something.
The federal Liberals came to power with a promise to restore and strengthen Canada's environmental laws. In June, 2016, the government began a sweeping review of key environmental laws and asked concerned...
Is the Federal Government Backing Away from Environmental Assessment Reform Promises?
Unless the Trudeau government takes a sharp turn from its current course, it’s starting to look as if fixing Canada’s environmental assessment law is going to be added to the growing list of bold commitments that it won’t deliver on. At the end of June, the federal government released a discussion...
Are Catastrophic Failures & Mining Spills Preventable?
Here's a set of key recommendations from various industry experts, practioners and analysts that believe catostrophic failures of mining waste facilities can be avoided if regulators take the following actions (NOT EXHAUSTIVE - additional comments welcome):
Governance:
- Safety is the...
Smear Campaign Launched Against Opponents to Tahoe Resources’ Escobal Project, After Mine Licences Suspended
Following the suspension of two of Tahoe Resources’ mine licences in Guatemala on July 5, Tahoe Resources’ suppliers, workers and the Guatemalan Industrial Association have engaged in a smear campaign in the Guatemalan press against the Centre for Environmental, Social and Legal Action (CALAS) and...