Canadian gold mining company Placer Dome, recently acquired by Barrick Gold, has confirmed reports coming out of the remote Papua New Guinea highlands that security guards at its Porgera gold mine have been shooting at, and killing, villagers. Placer Dome is owns a 75% interest in, and operates...
Kinross Gold and Katanga Mining: Part of the Pillage of the Democratic Republic of Congo?
According to various analyses, a joint venture involving Kinross Gold, and which is now being taken over by Katanga Mining Limited, gives the multinationals access to huge pieces of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining company, Gécamines (La Générale des Carrières et des Mines) at “fire...
National Pollutant Release Inventory Drops Exemption for Mining
On February 25, 2006, the Canada Gazette published a “Notice with Respect to Substances in the National Pollutant Release Inventory for 2006”. In “General Criteria”, Section 3(1)(h), the mining exemption now only applies to “pits and quarries”.
In Canada, the National Pollutant Release Inventory...
The Legacy of Asbestos Mining in Newfoundland
On March 15, 2005, the CBC aired a story titled “Mine site air heavily laden with asbestos” about the Baie Verte Mine in Newfoundland. The story was based on a provincial government study that CBC obtained through a freedom of information request. The study shows that the former mine — which...
Two Trout and Salmon Lakes in Newfoundland Slated for Destruction by Mine Waste
MiningWatch Canada is currently participating, as a member of the Canadian Environmental Network (CEN), in a multistakeholder review of the Metal Mining Effluent Regulations (MMER). The MMER were originally promulgated under the Fisheries Act (section 36) in 1977. The revised regulations came into...
Urgent Need to Investigate Respiratory Impairment of Hemlo Miners
Almost five years after the Globe and Mail published a full page story that raised an alarm about silicosis among gold miners in the Hemlo Camp in northern Ontario, little has changed.
The Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers explains silicosis this way:
“Breathing dust containing free...
The Mining Controversy: An Awareness and Education Kit for Ontario Grade 7
(Revised November 2006.) Investigating mining as it relates to aspects of the economy, the environment, and communities; a cross-curricular programme relating Reading, Geography, and Science, this package contains everything needed to deliver an effective, skill-based unit. Prepared by Beth Nicol...
Chalatenango Communities Step Up Resistance to Au Martinique
The town of San José Las Flores in Chalatenango overlooks the hills the mining company Au Martinique Silver claims to be rich in gold and other precious minerals, according to its March presentation to investors posted on the Martinique web site. However the community of 200-plus families is not...
From San Marcos to Colombia: The Regional Integration of Gold and Bullets
SUMMARY: Analyzing the role of militarization as an integral part of the control of territory, natural resources and Peoples, this article raises doubts about the so-called war on drug trafficking in mining districts. A comparison is drawn between Plan Colombia in South America and the current...
Issues of Concern Regarding Aur Resources' Proposed Duck Pond Mine in Central Newfoundland
Aur Resources plans to destroy two 'ponds' in central Newfoundland (natural water bodies that are vitally important habitat for trout, salmon, waterfowl, and other species) by using them for the disposal of mine waste that will be acid-generating and toxic. Aur has argued that the destruction...
Ha tlatgi ha kustiyi: Protecting the Taku Tlingit Land-based Way of Life
A report by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation reiterating its opposition to the proposed road in the absence of "effective measures in place to protect the environment and Tlingit land-based way of life".
An excerpt from the introduction:
"British Columbia does not yet have Taku River Tlingit...
The Kam Kotia Mine Disaster: Ontario's most notorious mine waste problem
by Gregory Reynolds
HighGrader Magazine
Fall 2002
It has been labelled the “the worst environmental disaster” in Ontario. It has been criticized by mining opponents as “corporate greed” running wild. Some taxpayers are unhappy that $14 million of their money has been spent - and $14 million more...
Letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay re: Kinross-Forrest Joint Venture in D.R. Congo
Concerned that the Democratic Republic of Congo lost out in the joint venture between Gécamines, the Congolese state mining company, and Kinross-Forrest, partially owned by Kinross Gold, several non-governmental organisations sent this letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay urging him to...
Open Letter to Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Opposing Approval of Pascua Lama Project
Mr. President
Ricardo Lagos E.
La Moneda,
Santiago, Chile.
Your Excellency,
The hereafter signatory organisations write to inform you of their total support for the content of the letter sent last year by diverse Chilean organisations, including 18,000 signatures which endorsed the great...
Summary of Findings from Environmental Studies of Calancan Bay related to Surface Disposal Dumping of Mine Tailings into the Bay from the Tapian Pit of the Marcopper Mine
The geochemistry of the Tapian ore body is such that acid drainage and metal leaching from exposed tailings, such as those in the causeway, must be expected. The sulphide mineral nature of the Tapian ore body, which is linked to acid drainage and metal leaching is well documented.
"The...
The Challenge of the Mines: The Role of Stakeholder Engagement in the Sustainable Development of Tanzania's Gold Mining Sector
Dennis Tessier's Master's thesis (for the University of Dar Es Salaam) examines the role stakeholder engagement could play in bringing about sustainable development in Tanzania's gold mining industry. The study was conducted using qualitative research methods with three primary areas of focus: a...