This urgent action is being distributed by the Colombian Network Against Large-Scale Transnational Mining (Reclame Colombia), which brings together nearly fifty organizations in Colombia.

The letter below can also be signed on to at the RECLAME web site: http://www.reclamecolombia.org/

Doctor
Beatriz Elena Uribe Botero
Minister of Environment, Housing, and Territorial Development
Republic of Colombia

Honourable Doctor,

News release: For the last three days MiningWatch Canada’s Canada Program Coordinator Ramsey Hart has been participating in a delegation examining the uranium mining industry in Saskatchewan. The group of thirty made stops in Regina, Saskatoon, at the Rabbit Lake Mine and at a mill in northern Saskatchewan.

News release from Matawa First Nations: While regional municipalities from Thunder Bay to Sudbury compete for site selection for the smelter facility and construction route of a transportation corridor into our traditional territory, our First Nations who actually live in the Ring of Fire have not yet been invited to the table to even initiate discussions over community impacts.

Photo essay: Despite repeated recommendations from the international community during 2010 to suspend Goldcorp’s controversial Marlin mine in the northwestern highlands of Guatemala, the open-pit mine continues operating. Its presence in the indigenous municipalities of San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipacapa has led to allegations of serious human rights violations and social upheaval.

A holiday appeal from the Sandy Pond Alliance: The Sandy Pond Alliance, a group of private citizens, has launched a legal challenge to nullify Schedule 2 and prevent the destruction of lakes, ponds, rivers and streams. Your gift will go directly to the Sandy Pond Alliance to support their legal challenge. This action involves commitment, effort and dedication to our province and country.

Western Canada Wilderness Committee news release: The Wilderness Committee is responding to the appalling news from Sherridon, Manitoba, where a government funded reclamation of an abandoned mine site continues to show that government and industry are not ready to deal with the long-term environmental damage resulting from mining.

MiningWatch Canada is concerned about the statements made by junior mining company Strateco Resources claiming that recent hearings in Mistissini and Chibougamau showed it had “strong support” for its Matoush Uranium Exploration Project in the James Bay region of Quebec. The company’s press release does not accurately reflect the significant opposition it faces from the Cree and stakeholders, nor the resulting risks to approval and further advancement of this project.

News release: A recently announced lawsuit against HudBay Minerals Inc. points to the industry's failure to take responsibility for corporate abuses beyond Canadian borders. Paradoxically, the company recently won an award for Corporate Social Responsibility from the Mining Association of Canada. Toronto-based HudBay and two of its subsidiaries are being sued for the death of Adolfo Ich Chamán, who was hacked and shot to death by private security forces employed at the company's nickel mining project in eastern Guatemala on September 27th 2009.

(Ottawa) Following Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's kick-off to his pre-budget consultations in Toronto Friday, Canadian environmental organisations released their priority recommendations for the 2011 federal budget, including measures that could save the government well over $800 million per year.