The Andes
Colombia: ELN abducts gold prospectors
Guerillas of Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) abducted five gold prospectors working for a Canadian company on an exploratory mission in Bolívar department.
Tag: mining
Southern Cone
Argentina: silver mine defeated —but Chevron gets fracking deal
In a victory for local environmentalists, Minera Argenta suspended its Navidad silver mine in Chubut–but the national oil company has signed a fracking deal with Chevron.
The Andes
Peru: Conga project to advance in 2013?
Peru’s Minister of Mines Jorge Merino assured investors that his government will make every effort to see the controversial Conga gold mining project move forward in 2013.
The Andes
Peru: protest over mine’s water diversion
Thousands of campesinos filled the streets of Chiclayo in northern Peru to protest La Zanja mining company’s plan to dump waste water in high Andean canyons.
The Andes
Bolivia: Aymara declare mine personnel ‘fugitives’
Aymara authorities at Mallku Khota in Bolivia’s Potosí department declared two technicians from Canadian mining company South American Silver to be fugitives from justice.
Mexico
Campesinos block gold mine in Zacatecas
Campesinos in Zacatecas are blocking the gates of a gold mine owned by magnate Carlos Slim to protest ecological impacts on their communal lands.
The Andes
Aymara dissident denounces Evo Morales in Geneva
Rafael Quispe of the Bolivian Aymara organization CONAMAQ denounced President Evo Morales before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva for violating indigenous autonomy.
The Andes
Peru: Conga mine opponents threatened
Two leading opponents of the Conga mine project in Peru’s northern Cajamarca region had their homes broken into, and a third’s vehicle was vandalized.
Southern Cone
Argentina: anti-mining activists assaulted in Chubut
Dozens of opponents of large-scale mining projects were injured when hundreds of construction workers attacked them at the provincial legislature building in Chubut.
The Andes
Peru’s cabinet in bid to save Conga project
Peru’s government urged opponents of the Conga minig project to return to the dialogue table, as protesters set up an encampment at the Lima offices of Newmont Mining.
Southeast Asia
Burma: repression of anti-mine protesters
Aung San Suu Kyi is to lead an investigation after brutal repression of protests by farmers facing forced relocation to make way for expansion of a Chinese-owned copper mine.
The Amazon
Brazil: violence halts work at Belo Monte dam
Work on Brazil’s controversial $13 billion Belo Monte hydro-dam has been at a halt since workers torched buildings at three work sites in a wage dispute.