Mining Conflict and Opposition – Page 56

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation issues second stop work order to Hudbay – by Ian Graham (Thompson Citizen – March 8, 2013)

March 20, 2013

The Thompson Citizen, which was established in June 1960, covers the City of Thompson and Nickel Belt Region of Northern Manitoba. The city has a population of about 13,500 residents while the regional population is more than 40,000. editor@thompsoncitizen.net

IAN@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) at Pukatawagan announced March 5 that Chief Arlen Dumas would return to the Lalor Mine near Snow Lake to issue a second stop work order against Hudbay, which operates the mine. A previous stop work order from MCCN was issued to the company and the Manitoba government on Jan. 28.

“Both the province and Hudbay have failed to comply with the order and thus Chief Arlen Dumas is returning to issue a second order,” announced MCCN in a press release.

“This order is issued because: Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd. And affiliated companies have breached the traditional laws of Missinippi Nehethowak as represented by Mathias Colomb Cree Nation by constructing, operating, and extracting resources from Lalor Mine at Snow Lake without the express permission of the owners Missinippi Nehethowak as represented by Mathias Colomb Cree Nation,” read the stop work order presented on Jan. 28. “WARNING: The failure to stop work, the resumption of work without permission from the Missinippi Nehethowak as represented by Mathias Colomb Cree Nation is punishable by the laws of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation.”

No Confidence [Federal EA for Ring of Fire] – by Jeff Labine (tbnewswatch.com – March 19, 2013)

March 19, 2013

http://www.tbnewswatch.com/

Eli Moonias says he has no confidence in the federal government’s environmental review process.

The chief of Marten Falls First Nation said there appears to be no accountability for the damage caused by the Alberta oil sands and that’s why he doesn’t trust the federal government to do a thorough job in its assessment in the Ring of Fire.

“No one is accountable with what’s happening with the Athabasca River situation,” he said. “I’m told that the poisons that seep into the river are dangerous. It will destroy the river. It will destroy life there. I don’t have confidence in the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. I don’t trust them at all.”

He said people have told him that some of the dangerous chemicals being used in the tar sands will also be used in the Ring of Fire.

Although Moonias didn’t know the specific dangerous the supposed chemicals, he said he wants to find out. Moonias was one of many delegates at the annual Matawa First Nations gathering at the Valhalla Inn Tuesday.

The three-day meeting gives elders, chiefs and community members a chance to meet to discuss strategies as well as celebrate successes.

NEWS RELEASE: A WIN FOR MATAWA FIRST NATIONS CANADA AND CLIFFS LOSE DECISION ON MOTIONS IN LEGAL PROCEEDING

March 19, 2013

Chiefs Reiterate Their Demand For An Immediate Halt to the Current Environmental Assessment Process

THUNDER BAY, ON. MARCH 19, 2013. ‐ Matawa First Nations Chiefs welcome the decision by Madam Prothonotary Aronovitch of the Federal Court to deny motions filed by Canada and Cliffs in the Judicial Review (JR) proceeding that is examining the Environmental Assessment (EA) process in the Ring of Fire. The First Nations launched a legal challenge to the federal EA process for the Cliffs Chromite Project in early November 2011. Cliffs and Canada brought motions challenging some of the evidence of the First Nations in the case. On Friday March 15, 2013, Cliffs and Canada lost their motions on all counts. The Federal Court found that these motions caused “unnecessarily delay” in the proceeding. The court awarded costs to the First Nations, and set the case on an expedited schedule towards a hearing.

“Cliffs needs to halt the current EA process and negotiate an appropriate process with our First Nations. We believe the Court will agree with us on that too.” said Chief Roger Wesley of Constance Lake First Nation.

“What we have now is a paper-based EA process, run completely outside of the communities affected, with no meaningful involvement of First Nations, and is non-transparent. It needs to be made accessible, by holding hearings in the First Nations and using an independent panel. The First Nations have made it very clear that they are willing to negotiate the parameters for an effective EA process,” said Chief Sonny Gagnon of Aroland First Nation.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency decided on a Comprehensive Study EA process in 2011 for the Cliffs Chromite Project. The Matawa First Nations Chiefs have maintained that the process is on the wrong track and for two years have been demanding a better process.

Ontario’s right to issue mining permits upheld in Appeals Court – by Henry Lazenby (MiningWeekly.com – March 19, 2013)

March 19, 2013

http://www.miningweekly.com/page/americas-home

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Ontario’s highest court – the Court of Appeal – on Monday overturned the decision of the Ontario Superior Court in the case ‘Keewatin versus Minister of Natural Resources’, giving the province the right to ‘take up’ treaty lands for settlement, mining, lumbering or other purposes.

In 2000, the Grassy Narrows First Nation applied for a judicial review to set aside all licences, permits, management plans and work schedules that Ontario had granted to forester Abitibi-Consolidated, now known as Resolute Forest Products Canada, in 1997.

The First Nation argued the province’s permitting of clear-cut operations in parts of the Keewatin portion of Treaty 3 territory, infringed on the provisions of the treaty they signed in 1873.

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the province did not need the federal government’s approval to take up the lands.

Goldcorp’s Red Lake gold mine, the largest gold mine in Canada, is located within the Keewatin lands and it was granted party intervener status on the appeals case, owing to its operations depending on licences issued by Ontario.

Project developer Rubicon Minerals on Monday said it had been notified of the court’s decision, which it saw as a “very positive” outcome, despite not being a party to the case.

MINING WATCH CANADA NEWS RELEASE: Algonquins of Barriere Lake Affirm Opposition to Copper One’s Rivière Doré Project and All Claim Staking and Mineral Exploration in their Territory

March 19, 2013

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Source: Algonquins of Barriere Lake

(Rapid Lake, Quebec) Today, the Algonquins of Barriere Lake are re-affirming their opposition to the proposed exploration activities of the junior mining company Copper One (TSX-V: CUO) within their unceded traditional territory. Copper One’s Rivière Doré project is within the area of an existing co-management agreement that Barriere Lake signed with Quebec and Canada in 1991 (the Trilateral Agreement).

The Trilateral Agreement was negotiated in a spirit of coexistence with Quebec and Canada in order to share the responsibility and benefits of sustainably managing a portion of the Algonquins of Barriere Lake’s traditional territory. Mining was not a consideration in the agreement and there has not been a process established by which claim staking, mineral exploration or mining could be considered within our territory. Despite a well-established body of case law (for example the recent decisions in Ross River Dena Council and Wahgoshig First Nation) the Quebec government has not fulfilled its duty to consult, accommodate and seek our consent for claim staking or mineral exploration.

In the last decade, both Canada and Quebec have failed to uphold the spirit and letter of the Trilateral agreement. As a result the people of Barriere Lake have been forced to spend considerable resources and put themselves at risk of harm and legal retribution defending their land. The government owes the community the duty to consult and obtain the consent of Barriere Lake prior to any mineral exploration. As the duty rests with the government of Quebec, the community sees no reason to negotiate with Copper One, a private party that established an interest in Barriere Lake’s territory without consent.

MINING WATCH CANADA NEWS RELEASE: Cliffs and Feds Causing Unnecessary Delays to Ring of Fire Court Case, Lose Bid to Exclude Expert Evidence

March 18, 2013

Monday, March 18, 2013 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

http://www.miningwatch.ca/

Ottawa – MiningWatch Canada was pleased to learn that on March 15 Cliffs Natural Resources and the federal government lost their bid to exclude expert evidence from a court challenge launched by Matawa Tribal Council. Matawa is challenging the federal government’s decision to conduct a bare-boned environmental review of Cliffs’ proposed open pit chromite mine, 350 km long access road into the Hudson Bay Lowlands and ferrochrome processing facility. Cliffs and the Attorney General of Canada took issue with affidavits from experts on wildlife, water quality and environmental assessment.

In November 2011 Matawa launched a legal challenge of the decision about how to review the massive project, arguing that the decision violated constitutional obligations to consult and accommodate the affected First Nations and that the federal government made errors in administrative law in making the decision.

MiningWatch has repeatedly echoed Matawa’s call for a negotiated joint review panel process that would give the project greater scrutiny, include greater First Nations and public participation and fully harmonise federal and provincial processes. Federal bureaucrats also recommended a different process but these recommendations also failed to sway decision makers.

The affidavits in question were from well respected experts in their fields. Professor Bob Gibson from the University of Waterloo is highly regarded for his publications and teaching about environmental assessment policy.

Canada aboriginal movement poses new threat to miners – by Julie Gordon and Allison Martell (Reuters Canada – March 17, 2013)

November 3, 2015March 18, 2013

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) – An aboriginal protest movement that’s often compared with Occupy Wall Street has the potential to disrupt mining projects across Canada, threatening to undermine the country’s coveted reputation for low-risk resource development.

Idle No More, a grass-roots movement with little centralized leadership, swept across Canada late last year with the help social media. Protesters blocked roads and rail lines, and staged big rallies in the country’s largest cities to press a sweeping human rights and economic development agenda.

Mining companies are also in the movement’s sights as aboriginal bands seek to renegotiate old agreements and seize more control over mining developments, whether they are on lands designated as native reserves or not.

“We’ve existed in this territory for millennia. We don’t have a land claim – it’s beyond that, actually. Our rights exist throughout all of our territories,” Arlen Dumas, chief of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, said about the northern Manitoba land where HudBay Minerals Inc, a Toronto-based mid-tier miner, is building its Lalor project.

Protesters cut off access to the gold-copper-zinc mine for several hours in early March, demanding talks with the company on an ownership stake in the C$794 million ($773.84 million) project, which has started limited production.

Barrick gold shipment detained by Dominican Republic – by Reuters (Globe and Mail – March 14, 2013)

March 15, 2013

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

Barrick Gold Corp., the world’s largest gold miner, said on Thursday that a shipment of gold from its Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic had been detained by customs officials in the Caribbean nation.

The delay comes just weeks after Dominican President Danilo Medina demanded that the company renegotiate its operating contract for the rich gold mine and threatened to clamp a windfall tax on profits if the contract was not modified.

Toronto-based Barrick said in a statement it was investigating the cause of the delay and seeking confirmation that the shipment can resume. It gave no further details. Fernando Fernandez, director of customs in the Dominican Republic, said the shipment was halted because of a problem with documentation.

“When it is resolved, the shipment will go out,” he told reporters. Pueblo Viejo, one of world’s largest new gold projects, is jointly owned by Barrick and Canada’s second largest gold miner, Goldcorp Inc.

On Feb. 27, in a speech marking the 169th anniversary of the Dominican Republic’s independence, Mr. Medina said the terms of the contract with the two Canadian miners were unacceptable and demanded more benefits from the mine.

Myanmar villagers protest mine – by Yadana Htun (Globe and Mail – March 14, 2013)

March 14, 2013

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

MONYWA, MYANMAR — The Associated Press – Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi met with rare public scorn Wednesday as she tried to justify an official report endorsing continued operation of a copper mine opposed by many local residents in northwestern Myanmar.

Ms. Suu Kyi travelled to Monywa township on Wednesday to talk with protesters about the report of a commission she led to investigate the Letpadaung mine’s operations and a police crackdown on a protest there last November that left scores of people badly injured.

The report, made public Tuesday, said honouring the mining contract with a Chinese joint venture outweighed villagers’ demands that mining operations be halted because of alleged social and environmental problems. It only mildly criticized police, despite the injuries caused to protesters, mostly Buddhist monks, by the use of incendiary smoke bombs.

More than 700 protesters shouted denunciations of the report as Ms. Suu Kyi’s motorcade passed between visits to four villages.

Raising their fists in the air, protesters yelled: “We don’t want the commission,” and “To stop the Letpadaung copper project is our duty,” shouting louder as Ms. Suu Kyi’s car came closer. Sandar, a protester from Alaltaw village, said the report neglected the troubles the mine caused local residents.

Canada must do much more to promote ethical mining – by Natalie Brender (Toronto Star – March 11, 2013)

March 12, 2013

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Canada’s efforts to promote ethical mining amount to no more than tap-dancing on the tip of an enormous iceberg of problems.

Recent months have seen heated debate about CIDA’s venture into funding partnerships between Canadian mining companies and international development NGOs. Earlier in March, CIDA Minister Julian Fantino told a gathering of international resource companies, government officials and NGOs that Canada’s venture into such partnerships is part of a larger vision for the mining sector. “A responsibly managed extractive sector,” he said , “can drive sustainable economic growth, lead to more gainful employment, and provide more resources for families and their communities.”

Fantino’s words make it sound as though an ethically responsible approach to mining is already well understood, lacking only a bit of willpower, cooperation and funding to be put into effect. With the right management, he implies, mining can deliver ‘wins’ all around—for mining companies, Canadian and foreign governments, the environment and local communities.

High on that list of sound management techniques are apparently efforts such as the CIDA-funded projects in the area of corporate social responsibility, which see mining companies aiming to improve communities in the locales of their mining sites. Coming at the issue from another angle, Canada also has a strong track record in advocating for voluntary measures such as transparency initiatives (which seek to make public the financial transactions between mining companies and governments) and compacts to stem the flow of minerals bound up with armed conflicts.

NEWS RELEASE: Uranium mines in Quebec: First Nations, municipalities and citizens unite their voices for a moratorium

March 12, 2013

March 11, 2013

QUEBEC CITY, March 11, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ – Two years to the day following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, First Nations, municipalities and Citizen groups unite their voices, asking the Quebec government to announce a moratorium on uranium mines. They also ask the Government to quickly act on its promise to hold a generic environmental evaluation on uranium in Quebec.

Uranium is a radioactive metal used in the production of nuclear energy and bombs. Its extraction and use pose significant health and environmental risks. Moratoria are already in place in British-Colombia, Nova Scotia and in the Commonwealth of Virginia. “Quebec must follow these examples. Their decisions were based on strong analysis and despite pressure from industry, they wisely decided to shut the door on uranium mining for health, security and environmental reasons,” confirms Ugo Lapointe from Québec meilleure mine.

Many communities are claiming their opposition to uranium mining in Quebec. The Cree Nation of Mistissini (James-Bay / Eeyou Istchee), in Northern Quebec, is one of them. “As protectors of the largest fresh water lake in Quebec, Lake Mistassini, we strongly oppose any uranium development. It goes against our way of life and our beliefs. As opposed to other form of tailings, such as that from the Stornoway mine also on our territory, waste from this type of mine stays radioactive for thousands of years, and that is socially unacceptable. We are all here today to say out loud that uranium should not be mined in Quebec” said the Mistissini Council Chief Richard Shecapio.

Not responsible for killing at Guatemalan mine, HudBay says – by Jeff Gray (Globe and Mail – March 6, 2013)

March 8, 2013

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

As the widow of a slain Mayan community leader looked on, lawyers clashed in a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday over whether a Canadian mining company, HudBay Minerals Inc., can be held liable for alleged violence at a Guatemalan mine owned by a subsidiary.

Lawyers for HudBay, who are trying to have the case tossed out, say allowing it to proceed would “wreak havoc” with the well-established corporate law principle that parent companies are not liable for the actions of their subsidiaries. They also claim it would encourage “meritless” cases against other mining companies.

“They are trying to change the law,” HudBay lawyer Robert Harrison told court Tuesday on the second day of a two-day hearing on the firm’s motions to have the case thrown out.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs, and Amnesty International Canada, which intervened in the case, denied their arguments are radical. They argued that HudBay itself can be held liable for alleged negligence in the case, alleging the company’s executives made key decisions “on the ground” for its subsidiary about its security guards, relations with nearby indigenous people, and the “forced evictions” of Mayan protesters who claim the mine’s land as their own.

Press Release: Wabauskang Expects Court of Appeal Decision to Bolster its Case against Ontario and Rubicon

March 6, 2013

Wabauskang First Nation

Treaty 3
March 6, 2013

Wabauskang First Nation expects its lawsuit opposing Rubicon Mineral’s proposed Phoenix Gold Mine Project in Red Lake, Ontario will soon be strengthened by a decision from Ontario’s highest court.

Wabauskang’s lawsuit against Ontario and Rubicon relies on Grassy Narrows First Nation’s victory in the Keewatin decision from 2011. There the Court effectively concluded that only Canada, not Ontario, can issue resource authorizations that affect Treaty rights in Grassy Narrows’ and Wabauskang’s traditional territory, including the Red Lake area. The Keewatin appeal was heard in January and a decision is expected in the next few months.

While attending this week’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto, Wabauskang Chief Leslie Cameron said, “we were heavily involved in the Keewatin appeal and made arguments in support of Grassy Narrows and that support our own case against Rubicon and Ontario. The Court of Appeal seemed really interested in our arguments. We’re expecting to win.”

“If we’re successful, Ontario’s going to have to totally rethink how it treats us and other Treaty 3 First Nations when it comes to mining,” said Chief Cameron. “For a start, we think Rubicon will have to face the writing on the wall and admit they shouldn’t have got their closure plan for the Phoenix Mine. We’re reasonable people.

Rio Mongolian Mine Failure Would Be ‘Catastrophe,’ Minister Says – by Michael Kohn (Bloomberg.com – March 4, 2013)

March 4, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/

Mongolia’s businesses could face a “catastrophe,” if Rio Tinto (RIO) Group and the government cannot resolve a dispute over funding the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, the deputy minister for economic development said.

The two parties met last week to decide on financing the project through this year, yet disagreements on taxes, cost overruns and management control resulted in a one-month stop-gap budget. Rio in March will shoulder all the costs for a mine that at full production will account for 30 percent of Mongolia’s economy.

“Rio is funding the project for daily, weekly, monthly operations but not for the big structural investment,” said deputy minister Ochirbat Chuluunbat at a forum in Ulan Bator today. “It will be a catastrophe if it stops.”
Illtud Harri, a Rio Tinto spokesman in London, declined to comment on whether the company was providing all of the funding for the $6.6 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine this month.

Rio controls 66 percent of the project through its unit Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TRQ) and the Mongolian government the rest. The shareholders are squabbling even as the mine is expected to start commercial production by June. Turquoise Hill rallied 10 percent to C$7.25 in Toronto on Friday after news of the month extension.

Vale and Hudbay: Mining under the microscope – Thompson Citizen Editorial (February 27, 2013)

March 4, 2013

The fat is in the fire, as the old saying, dating back to at least the 16th century, goes. “I’m not surrendering my sovereignty for any more beads and trinkets. When mining companies come to our communities, the beads and trinkets of the past, jobs and training, that’s over,” aboriginal rights lawyer and academic Pam Palmater told about 100 people at an Idle No More – Northern Manitoba forum, co-sponsored by Churchill riding NDP MP Niki Ashton and the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (TNRC) at the USW Local 6166 Steel Centre Feb. 16. “We’re talking about sharing management ownership of the resource that belong to both treaty partners.”

The forum also featured speeches by NDP Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation Steve Ashton, and Clarence Pettersen, NDP MLA for Flin Flon. Palmater, a Mi’kmaq lawyer whose family originates from the Eel River Bar First Nation in northern New Brunswick, is an associate professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Palmater and Pettersen spoke of Pukatawagan Chief Arlen Dumas’ struggle with Hudbay over Lalor Mine near Snow Lake. Pettersen says while he supports Dumas and Idle No More – Northern Manitoba, he supports negotiations between Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and Hudbay over constructing, operating, and extracting resources from Lalor Mine at Snow Lake and does not support the self-styled “stop-work order” or any blockade, such as the one Jan. 28, of Lalor by Mathias Colomb Cree Nation or Idle No More – Northern Manitoba.