There is jubilation in Bolivia, as the people’s representatives are again in power following the removal by force of arms last year of president Evo Morales’ MAS party. The party’s new iteration, under the leadership of Luis Arce, won an even larger majority than last time, sweeping away the coup...
Xinka Parliament Announces Breakthrough in Escobal Mine Consultation Process, Rejects Pan American Silver’s Bad Faith
On October 15, 2020, the Xinka Parliament announced that Guatemalan authorities have finally recognized their representatives elected to participate in a consultation on the Escobal silver mine. Along with other agreements, this breakthrough could allow the court-ordered process over the future of...
From Mines to Electric Vehicles: Three conditions to ensure electrification isn’t a mining disaster
As Ottawa and Quebec develop multi-billion dollar recovery plans that aim, in particular, to expand extractive mining to feed the growth in electric batteries, we call on our governments to implement needed reforms to ensure this does not undermine the sustainability of transportation. To enable a...
Talks at Los Filos in Guerrero, Mexico, Break Down; Ejido Calls On Equinox Gold to Name New Negotiators
After 42 days of camping out to stop operations at the Los Filos mine in Guerrero, México, the Ejido of Carrizalillo has issued a public statement (translated below) to Equinox Gold’s top management calling on the company to send a new negotiating team after talks broke down this week over a new...
Why Can't Equinox Gold Keep an Agreement? Timeline of events at Los Filos, Mexico
[updated November 25, 2020]
On September 3, 2020, the Ejido of Carrizalillo shut down the Los Filos gold mine in Guerrero, México over racist and discriminatory treatment as well as the company’s breaches of their social-cooperation agreement. On September 11 the Ejido agreed to terms that...
RMI Report 2020: Even the Best Mining Companies Fail to Protect Human Rights & the Environment
As the extraction of minerals continue to grow exponentially worldwide, including to supply increasing demand for energy transition technologies and batteries for electric vehicles, the Responsible Mineral Index 2020 (RMI 2020) concludes that "even the best mining companies" still fail to meet...
Canada’s National Contact Point is Long Overdue for an Overhaul
On October 7, 2020, MiningWatch submitted a brief to Global Affairs Canada with detailed recommendations for a complete overhaul of Canada’s National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines). This Canadian non-judicial body was set up to receive...
Mine Waste in Canada: A Growing Liability
Why do affected communities care about mine waste? And why should we care?
When companies dig the metals and minerals we use from the ground, they typically only extract a tiny fraction that is economically viable and sold to the markets. The rest is waste.
For example, for each ton of iron...
One Month Later, Equinox Gold Still Failing to Meet Basic Conditions for Dialogue with Communities at Los Filos Mine
Today marks one month since the Ejido of Carrizalillo began a peaceful, legal encampment to stop operations at Equinox Gold’s Los Filos mine in Guerrero, Mexico, over the company’s failure to comply with 70% of the terms of its social cooperation agreement with the community. The company’s...
Declaration of the Union of the Assemblies of the Communities of Chubut
[Posted from the The Union of the Assemblies of the Communities of Chubut]
The Union of the Assemblies of the Communities of Chubut (UACCh), made up of assemblies from across the provincial territory, declare: We repudiate the information published on September 24 in the Official Bulletin of...
Take Action to Support the Indigenous Shuar Arutam People in the Ecuadorian Amazon
On September 8, Canadian mining company Solaris Resources Inc. issued a press release announcing the signing of an “Impacts and Benefits Agreement (“IBA”) for the Warintza Project ” with the Shuar Centres of Warints and Yawi. The release followed statements that the company has been making since...
Lithium and the False “Energy Transition”
On Tuesday, September 22, American company Tesla celebrated Tesla Battery Day, which coincides with the company’s Annual General Meeting. Tesla is the largest producer of lithium batteries and electric cars in North America, and its majority shareholder is businessman Elon Musk, who has appeared...
Parliamentary Petition Addresses Human Rights Crisis in the Philippines, Mining, and Canada's Role
Please support human rights in the Philippines by signing this petition before December 30, 2020. MiningWatch Canada and the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP-Canada) have launched an electronic Parliamentary petition in response to increasing extrajudicial attacks...
Equinox Gold Drives Mexican Farmers to Shut Down Los Filos Mine to Protect Their Dignity and their Health
On September 3, 2020, the families of the Ejido of Carrizalillo in Guerrero, Mexico, shut down operations at Canadian mining company Equinox Gold’s Los Filos mine. Goldcorp began building the mine on Carrizalillo’s collective lands in 2006, which it had purchased illegally, leading to the first 83...
Ecuador Communities Day of Action Hits Cornerstone Resources’ AGM
On August 25, Cornerstone Resources (TSX:CGN) held its Annual General Meeting for shareholders, online and out of the reach of the communities and organizations most affected by its activities.
In response to this closed-door virtual meeting, communities in Ecuador affected by the company’s...
Chile: Valparaíso Court Nullifies Illegal Authorization of Vizcachitas Mining Company Drilling Project
In a historic ruling, the Valparaíso Court of Justice has nullified the illegal authorization of the “Prefeasibility Mining Drilling for Las Tejas” project and has ordered the Regional Environmental Assessment Service (SEA in Spanish) to implement a process of citizen participation for the...