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...

Indigenous and non-indigenous solidarity groups picketed Glamis Gold's 2005 annual meeting. Photos and background can be found at the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs web site. The protestors handed out a flyer: Failure to Disclose Material Risk: Are you aware of how Glamis Gold Limited...

On Nov. 3, 2004, Canada’s Ambassador to Guatemala, James Lambert, wrote an article in Prensa Libre, in which he described the economic benefits and the social and environmental responsibility demonstrated by the mining industry in Canada. The history of mining in Canada, as with other industries...

Most of the pollutants released by the creation of tailings and waste rock during mining are exempt from the National Pollutant Release Inventory, the NPRI.Digging up metals generates enormous piles of rock, which contain trace amounts of potentially harmful substances. As an example, one gold...

The extensive concerns and questions about the project indicate that it should be submitted to a mediator.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PEASANT ORGANIZATIONS
- CNOC-
5ª Street 1-61 Zone 1
Tel.: 2202957 Fax: 2303196
email: cnocdis@intelnet.net.gt

(unofficial translation)

To national and international attention:

We denounce the death of two peasants in Los Encuentros, Sololá, and we support the...

by Sandra Cuffe for Rights Action In early December, a series of events focusing on mining were organized in Guatemala. Although the majority of the dozens and dozens of mining concessions, exploration and exploitation licences were granted under the previous government thanks to...

Of. No.684. MC-GL.A.2004

Cotacachi, 15 December 2004

Chris Werner
John Grist
Members of the Board of Directors,
ASCENDANT EXPLORATION S.A.
ASCENDANT HOLDINGS LTD.
Av. Republica Del Salvador N34-183,
Torre Azul- 3rd floor
Quito, Ecuador

To whom it may concern,

As representative of the Municipality of Cotacachi...

Support the people of the Huasco Valley in northern Chile by sending e-mails (see text below) to:

The President of Chile opinion(at)presidencia.cl
The Chilean Parliament and Senate: presenst(at)senado.cl, presicam(at)congreso.cl

This campaign will end January 6, 2005.

In Northern Chile: Glaciers...

Joint Appeal to all Citizens and Organisations and Political Parties to Protect the Democratic Rights of the People and the Right to Protect their Livelihoods and Life
by Deshapremi Jana Samukhya and Prakrutika Sampad Surakhya Parishad, Kucheipadar, Kashipur, Rayagada

1. Under the direct...

DECLARATION: Iximché Junlaju Ajmaq y Kab'laju Noj (November 29 and 30, 2004) That the mining exploration and exploitation licences granted by the government of Guatemala to transnational corporations have negative effects on the lives of the Guatemalan people, especially on indigenous...

When the Mining Association and the Prospectors Association talk about “sustainable mining”, they often neglect to tell us several key facts about the industry.

BY POST & EMAIL
Email: mday@leighday.co.uk

The Chief Executive Officer
Ascendant Holdings Limited
PO Box 216 Kohler
WI 53044
United States of America

MJD.GTM. 59119

17 November 2004

Dear Sir

RE: Ascendant Holdings Limited operations in the Junin region, Ecuador

We are instructed by a...

October 28, 2004

Lise-Aurore Lapalme
Natural Resources Canada
580 Booth Street, 10th Floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0E4

Paul Schafer
Senior Program Officer, Ontario Region
Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency
907-55 St. Clair Avenue East
Toronto, ON M4T 1M2

Re: Comprehensive Study ...

Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM)
P. O. Box 558 Tarkwa
Tel 233 362 20137
P. O. Box c/o 1200 Tema
Tel 233 22 200585
Ghana
email: wacam@ghana.com

23rd October 2004

WACAM wishes to bring to the public notice the cyanide spillage of Bogoso Gold Limited (BGL), a...

In a feature article (reproduced below) in Canada's National Post Business magazine of August 2004, Peter Taylor writes on the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility by focusing on Canadian mining multinational Placer Dome. Placer's ongoing environmental and social problems, as a result of a...