(Not) Canada's Way

Are you ready to stand up for justice for mining-affected communities in the Global South? If the approval of a mine meant you would be kicked off your land, would you expect a chance to say no this project? And if it went ahead, would you expect to be compensated? If your drinking water were...

Philippines: Marinduque ‘Pushed to the Wall’ by Barrick Gold

In the Philippines, the island province of Marinduque is known as a cautionary tale about the ravages of irresponsible mining. It took Canadian mining giant Placer Dome a couple of decades to wreak environmental destruction on major coral reefs in Calancan Bay and to severely contaminate the Mogpog...

Revelations of Industrial Espionage Expose Underbelly of Canadian Support for Mining Companies

News that the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) has been spying on Brazil’s Mines Ministry starts to expose the extent to which the Canadian government is willing to go in the corporate interest. The scandal in Brazil is consistent with what Canadian authorities have been doing at...

Backgrounder: A Dozen Examples of Canadian Mining Diplomacy

Canadian Embassies have regularly gone to bat to protect the interests of Canadian mining companies in cases where communities don’t want them and/or where there have been egregious human rights and environmental abuses.

The Bell Tolls for Free Entry in Canada: Legal Victory for Yukon First Nation Will Have Implications Across the Country

Late last week, the Ross River Dena First Nation learned that the Supreme Court of Canada would not hear the Yukon Government’s appeal of an earlier decision that sharply rebuked the territory’s free entry mineral staking regime. This means the earlier decision of the Yukon Court of Appeal stands.

Taseko Claims “Misinformation Campaign” in Desperate Last Ditch Effort

In the final days of the federal environmental assessment hearings for the hotly contested “New Prosperity” gold-copper mine project, proponent Taseko Mines attempted to discredit the overwhelming opposition to the project by Tŝilhqot’in and Secwepemc people and by many non-First Nation people from...

Of Vampires and a Zombie Mine in Transylvania

By Payal Sampat, International Campaigns Director for EARTHWORKS and originally posted on their EARTHblog. Transylvania, Romania, is known for its fictional vampires – this is the region where Bram Stoker set his classic vampire novel, Dracula, in 1897. Over a century later, the region is threatened...

Submissions to the Federal Review Panel for Taseko's New Prosperity Gold Copper Project

On this page you'll find submissions from MiningWatch Canada to the New Prospeirty review panel, including our expert technical report on the net economic benefits of the project by Dr. Marvin Shaffer. This page also includes a few key submissions from other reviewers that relate to the comments...

New Prosperity Project Federal Review Panel – Closing Comments of MiningWatch Canada

This statement was given by Ramsey Hart at the last day of hearings for Taseko Mines'  New Prosperity Gold-Copper Project. It addresses three issues that MiningWatch commented on during the review process: the flaws in proposed mitigation measures, the importance of obtaining consent of affected...

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Responds to Allegations Regarding Porgera "Remedy" Framework

In response to appeals from MiningWatch and many other groups, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued an opinion regarding the framework of remediation initiatives developed by Barrick Gold Corporation for women who have been victims of sexual violence by...

The Africa Mining Vision: A Limited Field of View?

Notes for a presentation at the 14th meeting of the African Initiative on Mining, Environment, and Society (AIMES), held in Accra, Ghana, August 13-15, 2013, by Jamie Kneen.

Cliffs Should Stop Pointing Fingers, Check Its Corporate Ego Before Resuming Work on Ring of Fire

On Wednesday, US mining company Cliffs Natural Resources announced that it was ceasing work on the environmental assessment process for its high profile chromite project in the area of northern Ontario dubbed the “Ring of Fire”.

Global Condemnation of Barrick’s Effort to Secure Legal Immunity from Rape Victims

For many years Papua New Guineans, with the support of MiningWatch Canada and other international organizations, have demanded that Barrick Gold acknowledge a long-standing pattern of vicious beatings, rapes and gang rapes of local indigenous women by security guards at the Porgera Joint Venture...

Canadian Ambassadors, or Ambassadors for Canadian Mining Companies?

From Mexico to Greece, we have been observing and documenting how Canadian Embassies go to bat to defend the interests of Canadian mining companies against the demands of communities and despite egregious human rights abuses.

In May, we released a report with Common Frontiers and the United...

Algonquin Communities Push for Joint Review for Matamec’s Rare Earths Project Under New Federal Environmental Assessment Rules

For the past two years MiningWatch Canada has been collaborating with Wolf Lake and Eagle Village Algonquin First Nations as they grapple with a proposed rare earths mine. Matamec Explorations Inc. is proposing the construction of a 4,200 tonne per day open pit rare earth mine in the traditional...

Is Mine Closure in Ontario Protecting the Public?

Across Canada past mining activities have left a legacy of degraded environments and contaminated sites that were not rehabilitated by the mine operators and became public liabilities. These have included extreme cases of the privatization of profits and the socialization of costs like the Giant...