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Mining Conflict and Opposition

British Columbia: Tsilhqot’in Nation plans peaceful action to protect two sacred lakes from mining – by Brenna Owen (CBC News/Canadian Press – July 2, 2019)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

The Taseko Mines project west of Williams Lake was approved by the province in 2010

A First Nation in British Columbia’s western Interior says its members intend to peacefully take action to protect two lakes with cultural and spiritual significance from drilling by a mining company.

According to a release from the Tsilhqot’in Nation in Williams Lake, Taseko Mines Ltd. sent a notice on June 27 indicating it would begin using heavy equipment such as logging and road-clearing equipment starting Tuesday.

The company says the drilling and related activities are an attempt to prove the lakes will not be harmed by its so-called New Prosperity Project, a proposed open-pit copper and gold mine west of Williams Lake.

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Protesters oppose Minnesota mine at PolyMet AGM in Toronto (CBC News – June 26, 2019)

https://www.cbc.ca/

Groups say Canadian-owned copper-nickel mine is threat to water flowing into Lake Superior watershed

Human rights and environmental groups protested at the PolyMet annual general meeting Wednesday over a proposed copper-nickel mine recently approved in Minnesota, about 50 kilometres from the Canadian border.

Ottawa-based PolyMet has recently obtained final state permits to move ahead with construction of the NorthMet mining complex, which would have three new open pits, waste rock heaps, and a permanent tailings waste dump on a site in the St. Louis River watershed which drains into Lake Superior.

The activists are concerned over the risk of tailings spills which could harm a sensitive watershed, kill fish and affect Indigenous wild rice beds. Representatives from Amnesty International Canada are framing it as a rights issue, pointing to the Mount Polley mine disaster in B.C. when a dam failure sent toxic tailings into a watershed used by Indigenous people.

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Four Corners Could See Uranium Mining Revival This Summer – by Nate Hegyi (KUER.org – June 25, 2019)

https://www.kuer.org/

The Trump administration may soon push for more uranium mining in the Colorado Plateau, arguing the mineral is critical for national security. The potential move prompted criticism from Democrats during a hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on Tuesday.

“Arbitrarily classifying uranium as a critical mineral and declaring it a matter of national security is just a way for the Trump administration to speed up new mine permitting and prop up the declining uranium mining industry,” said subcommittee chairman Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.).

In 2017, 93% of the uranium used by U.S. nuclear reactors was imported from foreign countries. In 2018, the U.S. Interior Department listed the mineral as one of 35 commodities that were deemed essential for the economic and national safety of the U.S.

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Peru native groups use new legal strategy to push back on oil, mining plans – by Maria Cervantes (Reuters U.K. – June 27, 2019)

https://uk.reuters.com/

LIMA (Reuters) – Indigenous groups in Peru are turning to the courts with a new legal strategy for keeping mining and oil projects off their land, racking up victories that could make it harder for companies to secure permits in the major minerals producer.

Native communities from the Peruvian Amazon and the Andes have filed at least eight lawsuits against the government since passage of the so-called “prior consultation” law in 2011, which gives them the right to weigh in on official decisions that could affect them, according to judicial documents.

The law, based on an international pact Peru signed in 1993, aimed to grant overdue rights to indigenous people and prevent deadly clashes over mining and energy projects.

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A photo of a dead fisherman left many questions for a Swiss-Russian mine in Guatemala – by Marion Guégan and Cécile Schilis-Gallego (Toronto Star – June 22, 2019)

https://www.thestar.com/

A group of fishermen from an Indigenous community in Guatemala demanded to know more about the environmental impact of a ferronickel mine established on their ancestral land. One of them was killed, and a local reporter was criminalized for covering the story.

Forbidden Stories, an international consortium of 40 journalists publishing in 30 media organizations around the world, joined forces to continue the reporter’s work. This is part of the “Green Blood” series, a project pursuing stories of journalists who have been threatened, jailed or killed while investigating environmental issues.

If it were not for a journalist taking pictures that day, some might claim that it is unclear how Carlos Maaz’s last moments unfolded. There was a cloud of tear gas, the chaos of an improvised protest, the echo of bullets and rocks flying through the crowd.

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Reporters investigated abuse and corruption at a Barrick gold mine in Tanzania. They faced threats and censorship – by Marion Guégan and Cécile Schilis-Gallego (Toronto Star – June 19, 2019)

https://www.thestar.com/

In Tanzania, reporters trying to investigate violence, environmental damage and other wrongdoing connected to a gold mine in the north of the country are trapped between the silence of a mining giant and the lies of a repressive government.

At least a dozen reporters — local and international — who wrote about the mine have been censored or threatened. Forbidden Stories, an international consortium of 40 journalists publishing in 30 media organizations around the world, unveiled the shameful history of gold leaving the North Mara gold mine to end up in coveted high tech phones and computers.

This is part of the “Green Blood” series, a project pursuing stories of journalists who have been threatened, jailed or killed while investigating environmental issues.

“Truly innovative products leave their mark on the world instead of the planet,” Apple proudly claims on its website. “We are building a better world for future generations,” says Canon’s CEO. Nokia’s “technology improves lives.”

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Virginia ban on uranium mining upheld by U.S. Supreme Court – by Andrew Chung (Reuters U.S. – June 17, 2019)

https://www.reuters.com/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The largest-known U.S. uranium deposit will remain firmly under ground after the Supreme Court on Monday upheld Virginia’s ban on mining the radioactive metal, rebuffing a challenge backed by President Donald Trump’s administration to the 1982 moratorium.

In a 6-3 decision that underscored states’ rights, the justices affirmed a lower court’s ruling that threw out a lawsuit by Virginia Uranium Inc and other owners of the massive deposit valued by the company at $6 billion on private land in southern Virginia.

The company, seeking to exploit the deposit, contested Virginia’s power to enact the ban, saying the policy should have been preempted by federal law governing nuclear energy. Virginia Uranium is a subsidiary of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Virginia Energy Resources.

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British Columbia: Supreme Court rejects Tsilhqot’in appeal in Taseko mine case (Canadian Press/CBC News British Columbia – June 14, 2019)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/

The Tsilhqot’in Nation calls mine exploration a violation of human rights

The Tsilhqot’in Nation says it will continue to protect what it considers a sacred lake in the central Interior despite a blow from Canada’s top court.

The Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a B.C .court ruling allowing Taseko Mine Limited (TML) to proceed with exploratory drilling around Fish Lake — also known as Teztan Biny.

The permit allows TML to proceed with an extensive drilling project that authorizes 76 kilometres of new or modified road and trail to be cleared, along with 122 drill holes, 367 excavated test pits and 20 kilometres of seismic lines near Teztan Biny.

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U.S. senators to Horgan: clean up B.C.’s mining mess – by Sarah Cox (The Narwhal – June 13, 2019)

The Narwhal

Eight American senators have written to B.C. Premier John Horgan urging him to address downstream contamination from the province’s metal and coal mines.

The letter — an unprecedented joint undertaking from all senators from the four states bordering the province, including both Republicans and Democrats — outlines concerns about potential environmental and economic impacts from B.C. mines that pollute rivers flowing into the U.S.

“As you know, Alaska, Washington, Idaho and Montana have tremendous natural resources that need to be protected against impacts from B.C. hard rock and coal-mining activities near the headwaters of shared rivers, many of which support environmentally and economically significant salmon populations,” the senators wrote in the two-page letter, released Thursday.

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Trump administration signals support for uranium mining that could touch Grand Canyon – by Miranda Green (The Hill – June 12, 2019)

https://thehill.com/

The Trump administration is signaling a renewed push to consider uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, a move that would undoubtedly ignite a political fight involving environmentalists and the mining industry.

President Trump’s decision to declare uranium a critical mineral for national security purposes, coupled with a Commerce Department recommendation to mine reserves of a key component to nuclear weapons, has environmentalists worried that the reversal of an Obama-era ban on mining near the cherished national park is imminent.

“It’s not a secret that uranium mining companies have pined after the Grand Canyon for a long time,” said Amber Reimondo, energy program director at Grand Canyon Trust. “The last time there was a uranium price spike in 2007, over 10,000 mining claims were filed.”

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Mining in Canada is shrinking, and a wave of impassioned community opposition is partly to blame – by Gabriel Friedman (Financial Post – June 8, 2019)

https://business.financialpost.com/

More people are banding together to block projects, which could have grave consequences for the economy

One minute John Perkins was seated near the back of a fire hall in rural Nova Scotia, listening to a discussion about drainage at gold mines, the next he was backing away from a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer with his hands up.

It took just a few minutes for the officer to wrestle Perkins, a 68-year-old retiree with a passion for photography, through a doorway, into handcuffs and out the building, amid a flurry of exclamations and questions from people sitting nearby.

As a result of the clash, a public meeting about dam tailings management — organized by Vancouver-based Atlantic Gold Corp. as part of its outreach to a community where it wants to build a mine — further inflamed a maelstrom of controversy about the mine as people walked out en masse and videos of the incident racked up tens of thousands of views in a matter of days.

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Nova Scotia: Philanthropist Paul Sobey slams ‘mind-boggling’ gold mine plan in pristine area (CBC News Nova Scotia – May 30, 2019)

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/

‘It’ll definitely, in my opinion, destroy one of the most pristine areas in the province,’ says Paul Sobey

Despite promises of jobs and economic prosperity, a member of one of Nova Scotia’s most prominent business families and a major land conservation donor is adamantly opposed to a proposed open pit mine in Guysborough County.

Atlantic Gold is hoping to dig the mine near the St. Mary’s River, north of Sherbrooke. The Nova Scotia Nature Trust owns 600 hectares of land in the area, part of which — 93 hectares — was donated by Paul and Marsha Sobey, and David and Faye Sobey.

The gold mining company came under fire recently after a Nova Scotia man was roughly arrested at a public meeting with Atlantic Gold, seemingly without reason. Raw video of John Perkins arrest spread like wildfire on social media, eliciting public outcry.

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PolyMet Mining, DNR win a round with Minnesota appeals court ruling – by Greg Stanley (Minneapolis Star Tribune – May 28, 2019)

http://www.startribune.com/

In a victory for PolyMet Mining Corp., the state Court of Appeals said Tuesday that a plan to open Minnesota’s first copper-nickel mine can move forward without a new environmental review.

The ruling resolves the first of several lawsuits filed by environmental groups since the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued PolyMet a set of permits last year to construct the $1 billion mine near Hoyt Lakes.

With federal and state permits in hand, those lawsuits are the last major legal hurdle PolyMet needs to clear before it can begin work on what it calls its NorthMet mine.

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Mining proposal for Skagit River headwaters in B.C. sparks outcry from congressional Dems, Gov. Inslee – by Evan Bush (Seattle Times – May 22, 2019)

https://www.seattletimes.com/

Nine members of Washington state’s congressional delegation, all Democrats, called Wednesday for the U.S. Department of State to intervene in a simmering dispute with Canada over a company’s proposal for exploratory mining in the headwaters of the Skagit River.

“The potential for releases of copper and other heavy metals would pollute waters downstream,” the congressional leaders wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, declaring their opposition to the project.

The letter outlines concerns over potential harms to Washington’s tourism and recreation economy, public health and vulnerable fish populations, among others.

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The Uncertain Future of the Boundary Waters – by Stephanie Pearson (Outside Magazine – May 20, 2019)

https://www.outsideonline.com/

At 1.1 million acres, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is one of the largest and most popular backcountry destinations in the U.S. and a longtime proving ground for adventurers. But now the region is facing the threat of sulfide-ore copper mining. Stephanie Pearson paddles into the wild.

The new moon is invisible, and the night is black. My sister, Jen, is paddling in the stern. Her shivering wobbles the bow where I’m sitting. Canoeing in 45-degree weather at midnight dressed in T-shirts and underwear is not our normal behavior while camping in northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in September.

But an enormous black bear is on its hind legs, ten feet away, aggressively swiping at the food pack dangling from a low tree branch at our campsite. By the sound of its grunts, it’s hungry.

In our panic, we failed to forage for layers. Jen scooped up her sleeping bag and white Labrador, Sunny, I grabbed my knife and headlamp, and we tripped over ourselves to get to the water’s edge, where we launched the canoe.

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