Manado Declaration on Submarine Tailings

People from Southeast Asia and the Pacific region came together in Manado, Indonesia from April 23-30, 2001, with others from the home countries of transnational mining companies, to discuss the issue of the ocean dumping of mine waste, known as Submarine Tailings Disposal.

We believe that Submarine...

Yati Bun Resignation from Porgera Environmental Advisory Komiti (PEAK)

I wish to tender my resignation as Chairman and member of PEAK. It has been a struggle since February 2000 when I joined PEAK but my experience and events to date has forced me to this situation.

Background Information: Tiomin Resources Inc. in Kenya

The coastline of Kenya, from the port of Shimoni to the ancient village of Mambrui, is under severe environmental threat from irresponsible mining. The Kenyan coast is a stunning tropical paradise, with its 250 miles of palm-fringed beaches, blue lagoons and magnificent coral beaches. Conservation...

Tribal People in India Confront Alcan Investment: Three Die

On December 16, 2000, conflict over the development of a bauxite mine and alumina plant in the Kashipur region of Orissa in India turned violent with the killing of three innocent tribal people. During a meeting of villagers opposed to the mine, armed police entered Maikanch village and opened...

Annual General Meeting in Sudbury Sets Plans for the Future

MiningWatch Canada held its Annual General Meeting (only our second) in Sudbury, March 2nd and 3rd.

The meeting started with a forum to discuss the recently-ended Falconbridge strike, involving representatives of CAW/Mine Mill Local 598 as well as various community organizations. Key elements of...

Settlement Reached in Sudbury Falconbridge Strike

(From an article by the Sudbury Coalition for Social Justice)

On Tuesday, February 20th, the 1250 striking mine, mill and smelter workers at Falconbridge Nickel Mines in Sudbury, Ontario ratified an agreement reached between the company and CAW/Mine Mill Local 598 the previous day. Falconbridge's...

Falconbridge Strike Analysis: a Union Perspective

Based on a CAW Mine Mill Local 598 newsletter article written by Brian Macdonald and Norm Chammus: Despite assurances from the company last spring that they had no intention of undermining employee rights in the Collective Agreement, on May 2nd, 2000, an exchange of demands was initiated and the...

Kenyan Villagers Take Tiomin to Court

The fight to stop titanium mining on the Kenyan coast is gaining some ground in the courts. On February 27, the High Court sitting in Mombasa, Kenya, issued a temporary injunction stopping the titanium mining firm — Tiomin Resources Inc. — from mining or prospecting for the mineral at Msambweni.

Th...

Royal Oak's Nasty Legacies: Colomac and Giant Mine Updates

The Colomac gold mine, on Dogrib territory, was shut down in 1997, then abandoned by Royal Oak and transferred to the Federal government on December 13, 1999. Under its Water Licence, the company had posted a $1.5 million security deposit. At present it is on "care & maintenance" and awaiting clean...

Federal Government Creating Inventory of Contaminated Sites

The federal Treasury Board has established the Contaminated Site Management Framework. It has two parts: a policy for an inventory of contaminated sites and solid waste landfills. The policy was completed and posted on the Treasury Board website in June 2000. It is effective as of April 1...

Communities Organise Against Ocean Dumping

A regional conference on submarine tailings disposal will be held in Manado, North Sulawesi in Indonesia between April 23-30, 2001. Submarine tailings disposal is the disposal of mine-mill waste or tailings into the sea through a submerged pipe, thus by-passing the international ban on ocean dumping...

New Book Coming Soon from MPI: The Silver Bullet: Communities Confronting Mining and Globalisation

Australia's Mineral Policy Institute (MPI) is coordinating the writing of a book "The Silver Bullet: Communities Confronting Mining and Globalisation." Pluto Press have said they will publish the book if we can guarantee 700 pre-sales.

The book is targeted to activists, but will also be of interest...

'Honduras is worth more than gold'

Undoubtedly, you own at least a small piece of Honduras, or some other gold-producing country. Many people do, though frequently they don't know it. About 84 percent of all gold extracted from the earth this year will go toward producing rings, necklaces and earrings for consumers in North...

Urgent Action: Support Tribal People in India Confronting Alcan Investment

On December 16, 2000, conflict over the development of a bauxite mine and alumina plant in the Kashipur region of Orissa in India turned violent with the killing of three innocent tribal people (Adivasis). During a meeting of villagers opposed to the mine, armed police entered Maikanch village and...

Philippine Indigenous Tribe Urges Calgary Mining Company to Respect their Land Rights

On November 4th to 14th, 2000, representatives of the Subanen — indigenous people of the Philippine island of Mindanao — will be touring in Canada. They are seeking support in their efforts to assert their ancestral land rights in the face of aggressive mining exploration activities by Calgary...

Community monitoring in the Yukon

The MiningWatch Canada small grants fund paid for sampling expenses for the Yukon Conservation Society and Carmacks community members to conduct field investigations and analyse samples at the closed Mt. Nansen mine in the Yukon. The company is now bankrupt and the federal government is...