Xinka People of Guatemala, Thousands of International Supporters Demand Answers from Pan American Silver

Canadian mining company Pan American Silver is holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM) today in Vancouver, with a small group of company insiders in the room and limited phone access for others. But despite the challenges of being heard, Guatemalan communities are raising serious questions about the company's acquisition of the Escobal mine with its 2019 purchase of Tahoe Resources and about social division the company is sowing by intervening in communities during the global health pandemic.

Source
Union of B.C Indian Chiefs – Xinka Parliament – MiningWatch Canada – Earthworks – Students for Mining Justice (UBC)

Barrick Gold AGM 2020 – CEO Mark Bristow Responds to Questions about North Mara Mine in Tanzania

Submitted by Catherine on
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On May 5, 2020, Barrick Gold held its annual general meeting (AGM) online. I attended via a proxy and raised questions regarding human rights abuses at the company's North Mara mine in Tanzania.

Barrick Gold AGM 2020 – CEO Mark Bristow Responds to Questions about Porgera Mine

Submitted by Catherine on
Special Blog Type

On May 5, 2020, Barrick Gold held its annual general meeting (AGM) online. I attended (as a proxy shareholder) along with McDiyan Robert Yapari of Akali Tange Association in Porgera, Papua New Guinea, and raised questions regarding human rights abuses at the company’s Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea.

Barrick Gold AGM Faces Continued Failure on Human Rights

No social licence and no permit extension in Papua New Guinea; legal action, again, on behalf of victims in Tanzania

As Barrick Gold executives once again face their shareholders, investors should be asking themselves why this company is continuously embroiled in conflict and legal action involving its deeply harmful relationships with the indigenous communities that surround its mines.

May Day COVID-19 Report

Submitted by Kirsten on
Special Blog Type

In honour of May Day this year, MiningWatch Canada has assembled the following summary of reported COVID-19 outbreaks affecting mine workers at Canadian owned/operated mines across the world.

The list is not exhaustive, and relies heavily on media-reported outbreaks (as of April 30). The numbers provided here are likely lower than the actual number of cases.

How many of these infections could have been prevented had companies taken proactive action to protect their workforces?

How many more workers will die as a result of the virus?

Global Civil Society Organizations Condemn Violent Dispersal of Indigenous Peoples’ Mining Barricade in the Philippines

(Manila/Ottawa) Over 190 non-governmental organisations from the Philippines and across the world have signed a statement condemning violent police action against a peaceful community barricade at a mining site in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya on 6 April 2020. The indigenous peoples’ barricade was set up in July 2019, following the expiration of Canadian-Australian mining company OceanaGold’s mining permit.

Source
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment – Friends of the Earth Australia – Alyansa Tigil Mina – MiningWatch Canada

On Earth Day, Land Defenders Share Struggles for Self-Determination and Community Health in Guatemala and British Columbia

Online campaign launched in solidarity with peaceful resistance to Canadian mining project in Guatemala

(Vancouver, Ottawa) On Earth Day, the global COVID-19 pandemic has many reflecting on the importance of clean water and a healthy environment. For Indigenous peoples on the frontlines of struggles against Canadian mining projects in British Columbia and Guatemala, the public health crisis reinforces the importance of their ongoing, long-term efforts.

Source
MiningWatch Canada – Students for Mining Justice (UBC)

What Mining Means for Nova Scotia (Part 2)

In my last column, we looked at the environmental risks of the mining industry, leaving us with a question: how do we reconcile the uncomfortable realities of modern mining with those of climate change, environmental integrity, and the rights of Canadians to health and natural beauty?

Source
Halifax Magazine

ATM Statement: Condemnation of violent dispersal of peoples’ barricade in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

(Quezon City, April 6, 2020) Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) strongly condemns the violent dispersal by the police against indigenous community leaders in Barangay Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, late afternoon today.

More than 100 personnel of the Philippine National Police from the regional and Quirino provincial units escorted a diesel tanker and forcibly entered the premises of the Didipio mine of Oceana Gold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI).

Source
Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM)

COVID-19: Mining Companies Putting Workers and Communities at Greater Risk

Submitted by Jamie on
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Mining executives are washing their hands, alright — they’re washing their hands of responsibility for their workers’ and communities’ well-being.

In not acting quickly to curtail or halt operations in light of COVID-19, mining companies are putting workers and communities at greater risk. 

Here are ten points to consider:

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