Bill C-300, An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas Corporations in Developing Countries, represents the best chance we have as Canadians to assure that Canadian extractive companies follow human rights and environmental best practices when they operate...

Since the current process began last year, MiningWatch Canada has taken a keen interest in “modernizing” the Ontario Mining Act. We have been actively engaging with other NGOs and First Nations across the province to analyse the current mining regime and to develop solutions to the problems we...

Teck Cominco acquired Aur Resources Inc. in August 2007. Teck Cominco changed its name to Teck Resources Ltd. in April 2009. Company web site: www.teck.com

Canada is the largest exporter of uranium ore in the world. Northern Saskatchewan is home to all of Canada’s uranium mines. Roughly half of the supply of uranium comes from mining; the balance comes from decommissioned nuclear weapons.

Uranium is mined in open pit and underground mines...

Quarrying and aggregates (sand and gravel mining) are a huge environmental and social problem in many parts of the world and many parts of Canada. However, since the policy and legal issues are mostly local (municipal and provincial) MiningWatch Canada does not usually get involved. We have picked...

Because lakes and rivers are fish habitat, they are protected by the Fisheries Act. This Act is Canada’s oldest environmental legislation and prohibits the release of “deleterious substances” into fish-bearing waters and the alteration or destruction of fish habitat. However, in 2002, Schedule 2...

Major mineral sands reserves are found in South Africa, USA, Sierra Leone, India, Australia and Madagascar. The most popular mining methods are dredging or dry mining. Dredging involves working in artificial ponds and pumping ore to floating concentrators whereas dry mining uses a variety of...

Until April 2009, most of the pollutants caused by extractive phase of mining were not included in the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI).

The exemption for mining was for activities related to the actual removal of ore, rock or overburden, up to and including primary crushing...

Mining affects every aspect of a community in a myriad of ways, affecting the economy, the environment, families, health, land use, water, etc. This section provides a number of documents that address the impact of mining on communities.

Gold is often co-mined with copper, molybdenum and uranium. Main reserves of gold can be found in South Africa, Tanzania, Mali, Ghana, USA, Australia, Canada, China, Chile, Peru, and Brazil. Gold is extracted via large scale open pit mining or underground mining.

Gold mining produces a large amount...

Mining has a substantial impact on the environment, although different kinds of mining affect the environment in different ways.

Coal is generally obtained through open pit mining. Major coal reserves are found in China, the United States, India, Australia, Russia, Poland, Indonesia and Japan. Coal is mainly used for the production of electricity and heat. When used in a power plant, coal emits sulphur gas (containing sulphur...

Asbestos is a mineral based fibre that has been widely used all over the world due it its resistance to heat and corrosive chemicals. Typically asbestos appears as a whitish, fibrous material, known as chrysotile asbestos. Asbestos has been used in over 3000 products, everything from brake linings...

While definitions vary, abandoned mines are most consistently defined as those mine sites where the mine operator or exploration company has ceased or suspended indefinitely their activities, be that exploration, mining or mine production, without rehabilitating the site. Some parties make a...

Violence perpetrated by Porgera Joint Venture’s security forces

Allegations of rapes, beatings and killings of community members by Porgera Joint Venture (PJV) security forces have been prevalent for at least a decade. In 2005, a grass roots human rights organization established by indigenous...

The struggle of the former Zaire towards democracy and away from extreme exploitation and impoverishment has been a difficult and violent process. Mining has been a lucrative business in the Congo since colonial times, but it has also been brutal and hugely destructive of the environment and peoples...