News

Green group supports ban on open-pit mining, protection of 'no mining zones'

PHILSTAR

Gaea Katreena Cabico 

mining2021 02 1819 30 29 2021 05 26 23 05 05An environmental activist group voiced its support for proposed measures declaring areas “no mining zones” and banning the open pit method of mining in the Philippines, a country rich in precious minerals.

In a position paper read at a hearing of a panel of the House of Representatives Wednesday, Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment called for the urgent passage of House Bill 253 and House Bill 6450 which seek to limit mining in the Philippines.
House Bill 253, or the No Mining Zones bill, seeks to close all areas declared as “no mining zones” to mining applications. Meanwhile, House Bill 6450, or the Open Pit Mining Ban bill, aims to impose a moratorium on the open pit method of mining for copper, gold, silver and complex ores in the country.

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First Pre-Consultation Meeting with the Xinka People on the Escobal Mine

ResistEscobal

 

BTS XinkaParliamentSignIndigenous Xinka authorities and the Ministry of Energy and Mines establish initial agreements regarding the pre-consultation process

The first pre-consultation meeting concerning the Escobal mining license was held on Friday, May 21 of this year in the offices of the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala. The purpose was to identify the entities that will participate as observers and to establish the first set of agreements about how the pre-consultation and consultation process will be carried out.

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Scientists, fishers say new mining deals to cause more damage than good

Bulatlat

Adam Ang

mount dinkidayOceanagold’s mining operations in Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya have dried up the sources of water, polluted the environment and crippled the livelihood of farmers. 
“We won’t be fooled by the pretext that reopening our natural resources to large-scale mining would help revive the pandemic-battered economy as it would inflict serious damage than repair.”

Environment defenders, including scientists and fishers, have debunked President Rodrigo Duterte’s justification for the lifting of the nine-year ban on new mining contracts.

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Human Rights Advocates and Legal Experts Deliver Blueprint for New International Corporate Accountability Law in Canada

CNCA

Screen Shot 2021 05 11 at 16.32.58Today the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA) releases draft model legislation that provides lawmakers with a blueprint for writing into Canadian law the corporate duty to respect human rights and the environment.

The draft model law, if adopted, would require Canadian companies to prevent human rights and environmental harm throughout their global operations and supply chains.

Similar laws are in place or being developed in several countries. Canada, however, is falling behind. Instead of legally requiring companies to respect human rights and the environment, Canada encourages them to voluntarily take measures to do so.

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Community and environmental concerns not “pertinent” to Pan American Silver’s business

Breaking the Silence

downloadVancouver-based mining company Pan American Silver held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 12th: the final shareholder meeting for retiring founder and Board Chair Ross Beaty. To shareholders attending online, Beaty narrated a glowing chronicle of Pan American Silver’s socially and environmentally responsible history in Latin America. Yet, when Breaking the Silence and other shareholders submitted questions regarding the social and environmental impacts of the company’s business on communities in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and Argentina, they were ignored and their questions deemed not “pertinent”.

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Pan American Silver Pressured to Shut Down Community Interference in Guatemala

Counterpunch

Jen Moore

Screen Shot 2021 06 16 at 13.51.30In the wake of a shooting attack, death threats, and fear of further violence against members of the peaceful resistance to Pan American Silver’s Escobal silver mine in Guatemala, nearly 4,000 people are calling on the Vancouver-based company to halt all community activities in the Central American country.

In mid-April, activists delivered a petition to Pan American Silver urging the company to respect the Indigenous Xinka people’s right to be freely consulted without violence and threats, and to immediately cease interference in their communities. Indigenous leaders such as Secretary-Treasurer of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Kukpi7 Judy Wilson and Winona LaDuke, former UN Special Rapporteurs Michel Forst and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, and influential authors Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein signed the petition.

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