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Mining

Corporate Pressure Mounts On Chileans Opposing Copper Mine

Vancouver-based Los Andes Copper, developer of the proposed Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum mine in Chile’s Valparaíso region, has launched an aggressive campaign targeting the municipality of Putaendo’s mayor, Mauricio Quiroz, and local biologist Arón Cádiz-Véliz. The company is pressing legal and media challenges against them for opposing the mine and leading scientific efforts to protect the area. The conflict centres on a report and technical study commissioned by the municipality, aimed at designating the Rocín River Valley—a high-altitude ecosystem with glaciers, wetlands, and endemic species—as a protected area.

Chilkat Indian Village Tells New Palmer Mine Owners They’re ‘Not Welcome’

Leaders of the Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan and the conservation group Chilkat Forever are warning the new owners of the Palmer mine project that they will face “sustained and unyielding opposition” if they pursue hardrock mining in the Chilkat Valley. The groups said the proposed mine — recently acquired by Vizsla Copper — threatens the Jilḵáat Aani Ḵa Héeni (Chilkat Valley Watershed), a region known for its rich cultural traditions and biodiverse ecosystem, including bald eagles, salmon, moose and bears. “Whether it’s Vizsla Copper Corporation, American Pacific Mining Corporation, or another operator that owns the Palmer mining project, this industrial hardrock mining development lacks the consent of the Chilkat Indian Village - Klukwan and of many in the broader community,” said Kimberley Strong.

Opposing The Transfer Of Native Sacred Land Isn’t ‘Anti-American’

With a deadline looming for the ownership transfer of Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week granted an emergency injunction that temporarily halted the transfer.  Within 24 hours, President Donald Trump weighed in on the debate with inflammatory, ill-informed rhetoric on social media. He called the appeals court a “Radical Left Court” for issuing the emergency injunction blocking the transfer of Oak Flat to foreign-owned mining interests.  In his post, Trump wrote “our country, quite simply, needs copper–and NOW.” He went further, labeling those who oppose the mine as “anti-American,” suggesting they’re working against the interests of the United States.

Human Rights Obligations At Canadian Embassies Dead On Arrival

Over the winter, hundreds of demonstrators in the city of Bucaramanga, Colombia denounced a Canadian gold mine owned by Aris Mining in the eastern Andean wetlands. They were rallied by the Comité Santurbán, a collective of activists protecting the vulnerable Santurbán watershed, known as a páramo, from industrial mining. Opposition has been ongoing for at least 16 years. But this past December, members of the Comité were designated by a group supporting the Canadian mine as “persona non grata.” In October, they were labelled as “enemies of progress in Santander” and accused of being responsible for “the deterioration of the country’s heritage”.

Apache Women Ask Courts To Halt Land Swap For Oak Flat

A group of Apache women asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to halt a disputed land exchange at the center of a long battle over plans to build a huge copper mine at Oak Flat. It's the fourth lawsuit that seeks to stop the U.S. Forest Service from signing over title to the site, held sacred by Apache peoples and culturally significant by other tribes, to Resolution Copper in exchange for other plots of environmentally sensitive land in Arizona. The four women, who all have spiritual and cultural connections to the 2,200-acre campground in Tonto National Forest about 60 miles east of Phoenix, filed their suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia July 24.

World’s Governments Fail On Moratorium On Deep-Sea Mining

Despite growing momentum, world governments failed to agree to a moratorium on deep-sea mining as the 30th session of the International Seabed Authority wrapped up on Friday. The authority’s July meeting was the first since U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expedite permits for deep-sea mining under U.S. authority and The Metals Company (TMC) promptly applied for U.S. permits. Governments rebuked the U.S. and TMC for their unilateral approach and did not agree on a mining code that would allow the controversial practice to move forward under international law.

A New Chapter In Ecuador’s Anti-Mining Struggle

Ecuador is a country that has developed a strong consciousness for environmental conservation throughout its history. Its constitution, approved in 2008, was a pioneer in the world in granting rights to nature. In 2021, more than 80% of the inhabitants of Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city, voted in favor of banning mining there. In 2023, in a popular consultation, the Ecuadorian people demanded that the oil in the Amazonian Yasuní National Park be left in the ground. The inhabitants of the country’s capital, Quito, also voted against the exploration and exploitation of metallic minerals in the Andean Chocó area. Mention should also be made of the numerous struggles that Indigenous peoples have waged for decades against the destruction of nature by large mining and oil companies.

From Workplace To Wall Street; Technologies Impacting Mine Workers

When considering workplace artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and new digital technologies, one might envision workers in Silicon Valley or remote factory robotics. However, coal miners represented by the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) are addressing the effects of technological change in coal mines and Wall Street from New York City to the Navajo Nation.  In the workplace, contemporary mining technologies and practices without adequate regulations and implementation of safety technologies have resulted in a surge of silica-dust-induced Black Lung disease.

Niger Nationalizes Uranium Mining Company

After taking other initiatives aimed at better controlling and managing its natural resources, Niger has announced that it will nationalize the mainly French-owned company that has been mining uranium in that African country for decades. In question is Somair, the only uranium mine still in operation in the country. Somair was operated by Orano (formerly called Areva), a French multinational specializing in nuclear fuels. Orano had already had its rights to export Nigerien uranium and its operational control of the company withdrawn. The authorities in Niamey, Niger’s capital, explained their decision by accusing Orano of “irresponsible acts,” namely extracting more than its authorized share of uranium.

San Carlos Apache Tribe Welcomes Federal Court Ruling On Oak Flat

San Carlos Apache Reservation, Ariz. —The San Carlos Apache Tribe welcomes Friday’s federal court ruling preventing the Trump Administration from trading sacred Oak Flat to Chinese-backed Resolution Copper Mining no sooner than 60 days after the government releases an environmental report expected to be published later this month. The Trump Administration had indicated that it intended to trade 2,422 acres of Tonto National Forest 70 miles east of Phoenix that includes Oak Flat to Resolution Copper immediately upon publication of the mine’s updated environmental report.

The Oceti Sakowin Fight To Protect A Key Sacred Site In South Dakota

The Oceti Sakowin, also known as the Great Sioux Nation, are actively opposing a proposed exploratory drilling project on lands adjacent to the sacred site of Pe’sla in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The campaign is one of many Indigenous efforts around the world that seek to defend and reclaim ancestral lands from the extractive industry. A high-elevation meadow also known as Reynolds Prairie, Pe’sla is of deep spiritual importance to the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota tribes, which have used it for ceremonial gatherings for thousands of years. According to Lakota oral traditions, Pe’Sla is the site of creation, “a bald spot among the pine-treed hills…where the Morning Star came down to help the people”.

Colonial Mining Fuels Israeli Genocide: Global Protests Target Glencore

In a protest against Glencore, one of the world’s largest mining conglomerates fueling Israel’s genocide in Gaza and devastating the environment of the local communities in the mining towns in Africa and South America, activists organized a global day of action on Wednesday, May 28. Demonstrations were reported in South Africa, Colombia, Peru, Germany, and Switzerland, where the Anglo-Swiss multinational held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that day.  The company’s shareholders have gathered in Switzerland “to celebrate the record profits” it makes by extracting and transporting coal to “the genocidal state of Israel” where it is “used to fuel the killing machine,” Socialist Youth Movement member Zaki Mamdoo told Newzroom Afrika.

Panamanians Gear Up For Indefinite Strike On April 28

On April 24, thousands of Panamanians took to the streets to protest the recent approval of the pension reform in Panama promoted by the neoliberal government of José Raúl Mulino. Law 462 has been the source of a lot of controversy in the Central American country because, according to several unions, it will reduce retirement pensions compared to the previous system. The mobilization was called by the Association of Professors of Panama (ASOPROF) and the Single National Union of Industry and Construction and Similar Workers (SUNTRACS), who have announced that they will embark on an indefinite national strike on April 28.

World Water Day: Scientists Took Action Against Polluting Project

An international group of scientists have taken action across the world to challenge a major extractivist project that’s set to endanger the health and livelihoods of local communities in southwest Peru. To mark World Water Day 2025 on 22 March, activists from Scientist Rebellion mobilised a range of global actions in solidarity with communities fighting the impending river pollution-disaster, the Tia María copper mine in the agricultural Tambo Valley. Communities have been fighting the controversial Tia María copper mine for over 15 years. Crucially, local Indigenous residents have voiced overwhelming opposition to the project that will pollute rivers and endanger their agricultural subsistence and livelihoods.

‘As The Coal Age Ends’: UK Announces Ban On New Mines

In a landmark decision, the United Kingdom’s energy secretary Ed Miliband has announced the banning of new coal mines in Britain, as part of the country’s drive to reach net zero. The UK government has committed to introducing legislation to restrict the licensing of future coal mines by amending 1994’s Coal Industry Act, a press release from the UK Government said. “Coal mining powered this country for over 140 years and we owe a huge debt to workers who kept the lights on for homes and businesses across the country. Now the UK is in prime position to lead the way in phasing out coal power around the world, which remains the single largest contributor to global emissions,” said Energy Minister Michael Shanks in the press release.
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