24.09.2025 Friends of MiningWatch International Allies against Mining in El Salvador Applauds Judicial Ruling That Finds All Five Water Defenders Innocent of All Charges San Salvador – On September 24, the presiding tribunal in San Vicente, El Salvador found five prominent water defenders from Santa Marta, Miguel Ángel Gámez, Alejandro Laínez García, Pedro Antonio Rivas Laínez, Antonio Pacheco, and Saúl Agustín Rivas Ortega, innocent of charges of murder, kidnapping, and illicit association. Once again, the five prominent Water Defenders who faced politically-motivated charges have...

23.09.2025 Friends of MiningWatch Community group files judicial review in B.C. Supreme Court challenging proposed Record Ridge mine ROSSLAND, B.C. — The Save Record Ridge Action Committee (SRRAC) has filed a petition for judicial review in B.C. Supreme Court, challenging an Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) decision not to require an environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed Record Ridge magnesium mine. “We are asking the Supreme Court to send this decision back to the EAO, directing it to reach...

23.09.2025 News Release Xinka Leaders Call on Canada to Respect their Self-Determination over a Canadian-owned Mine in Guatemala (Ottawa) Today, two delegates from the Xinka Parliament of Guatemala held a press conference on Parliament Hill calling on the Canadian government and Vancouver-based mining company Pan American Silver to respect the Xinka People’s decision to seek the permanent closure of the Escobal mine in accord with their rights to self-determination under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous...

22.09.2025 Ecuadorians Flood the Streets in Massive March For The Protection Of Water in Cuenca, Sending a Strong Message to DPM Metals Inc On September 16, thousands of people in the canton of Cuenca in Southern Ecuador’s Azuay Province took to the streets in one of the biggest marches in the recent history of Ecuador, to demand an end to industrial mining in the high altitude paramo de Kimsakocha, a crucial water source for the communities throughout the region. The march has been...

15.09.2025 Friends of MiningWatch Neskantaga First Nation Rejects Federal and Provincial Push to Fast-Track Ring of Fire Development, Calls Out Neglect of Community Crises Neskantaga First Nation is rejecting the coordinated announcements made this week by Ontario and Canada to fast-track Ring of Fire mining development and road building. The provincial and federal governments are both working to advance these destructive projects while ignoring the devastating social and health crises facing First Nations communities, including Neskantaga. On September 10 th, Ontario announced plans to...

04.09.2025 Letter to the Minister of International Trade: Canada’s commitment to a strong Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) The following letter was sent to Maninder Sidhu, Minister of International Trade, by MiningWatch Canada. RE: Canada’s commitment to a strong Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) Dear Minister Sidhu, As the Government of Canada considers its priorities and budget we are writing to remind you of the commitment made to Canadians by then trade minister François-Philippe Champagne when he...

03.09.2025 Friends of MiningWatch Xatśūll First Nation files appeal to overturn recent decision of B.C. Supreme Court regarding Mount Polley Mine dam raise The BCSC decision upholds authorizations by the B.C. Government to allow Mount Polley to raise its tailings storage facility dam without an environmental assessment XATŚŪLL FIRST NATION TERRITORY, B.C.; 3 September 2025: Today, Xatśūll First Nation filed an appeal with the B.C. Court of Appeal to overturn an August 6, 2025 decision of the B.C. Supreme Court (BCSC). The BCSC...

01.09.2025 Friends of MiningWatch Referendum on the proposed open-pit graphite mine in Outaouais: citizens of the five municipalities vote NO by 95% The Regroupement de protection des Lacs de la Petite-Nation (RPLPN) announces that the results of the consultative referendum on the La Loutre mining project confirm the population's strong opposition to this open-pit mining project in the Outaouais region. The referendum, held in accordance with Élections Québec rules in the municipalities of Duhamel, Lac des Plages, Lac-Simon, Chénéville, and Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk, saw...

27.08.2025 Friends of MiningWatch 3rd Anniversary of the Jagersfontein Tailings Dam Disaster: A Call for Truth, Justice, and Accountability Jagersfontein Lerumo Justice Forum and CSOs Tailings Working Group Joint Statement (Johannesburg, August 27, 2025) The SAPS news alert that five men, aged 34 to 80, have been charged in connection with the 2022 Jagersfontein dam collapse is noted. The suspects, who are employees of an engineering company (including a compliance officer and an operations manager), will face charges of...

22.08.2025 Brief Prospective brief on the omnibus bill on regulatory relief from Quebec's Ministry of Economy coming this fall Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy Attn: Christopher Skeete, Minister for the Economy 710 Place D’Youville 6th Floor Quebec City, Quebec G1R 4Y4 Phone: 418-691-5650 ministre.de@economie.gouv.qc.ca BGCR@economie.gouv.qc.ca Subject: Prospective brief on the Quebec Ministry of Economy's omnibus bill on regulatory relief to be introduced this fall These comments are submitted to the Quebec Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy after... Read more

15.08.2025 Brief Comments Submitted to the IAAC on the Troilus Mining Project (Impact Assessment) Impact Assessment Agency of Canada Troilus Mining Project Assessment 901-1550 Estimauville Avenue Quebec City, Quebec G1J 0C1 Phone: 418-254-2435 troilus@iaac-aeic.gc.ca Subject: Comments on the impact assessment of Troilus Gold's Troilus gold and copper mining project in Eeyou Istchee in Northern Quebec These comments are submitted as part of the assessment of Troilus Gold’s Troilus gold and copper mining project in... Read more

15.08.2025 Brief Comments Submitted to the IAAC on the Mont Sorcier Mining Project (Guidelines) Impact Assessment Agency of Canada Assessment of the Mont Sorcier Mining Project 901-1550 Estimauville Avenue Quebec City, Quebec G1J 0C1 Telephone: 418-254-2435 montsorcier@iaac-aeic.gc.ca Subject: Comments on the draft individualized guidelines for the impact assessment and the draft public participation plan for Voyager Metals’ Mont Sorcier mining project in Eeyou Istchee in Northern Quebec These comments (in french only) are submitted... Read more

12.08.2025 News Release Perfect Storm Hits Dundee Precious Metals Amid OSC Complaint on Failure to Disclose Loma Larga Legal Risks Tuesday, August 12, 2025 (Toronto, Cuenca) – A perfect storm has hit Dundee Precious Metals’ (TSX:DPM) on the eve of its Special Shareholders Meeting. Today, Law Professor Shin Imai filed a complaint against the company before the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) over its failure to disclose material information to its shareholders about serious legal threats related to an ongoing court-ordered...

31.07.2025 MiningWatch in the News Stonewalling voices at risk: Human rights obligations at Canadian embassies dead on arrival By Lital Khaikin, Rabble.ca Canadian embassies are failing to stand up for activists in foreign countries who seek to protect their land and resources from exploitation by Canadian corporations. 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...

30.07.2025 Xinka Delegation to Tour Eastern Canada to Demand Respect for Indigenous Self-Determination in Guatemala  A Delegation of Xinka Women will visit Eastern Canada in September 2025 #PuebloXinkaDijoNo After nearly seven years in a court-ordered consultation process, the Xinka Indigenous People of Guatemala have denied consent for the restart of Canadian Pan American Silver’s Escobal mine in southern Guatemala. The Xinka are now calling for its permanent closure. The company and Canadian authorities must respect...

23.07.2025 Friends of MiningWatch Surprising Changes at Equinox Gold If memory serves us correctly, May 7 of this year was the last time we sent a letter to Mr. Greg Smith, then CEO of Canadian company Equinox Gold, which went unanswered, like many other letters and official communications we have sent him. These letters serve as proof not only of his discourtesy, but also of contempt, racism, and discrimination...

23.07.2025 Blog Entry Communities at Risk: New Barrick Tailings Dam Sparks Environmental and Human Rights Concerns in the Dominican Republic Joint blog by MiningWatch Canada and Earthworks. People living near the world's sixth-largest gold mine are taking legal action to protect their communities, ecosystems, and their rights. Local communities and civil society organizations have filed two constitutional protection actions (amparos) calling for an immediate halt to Barrick Mining Corporation's recent efforts to begin construction of their massive new dam that...

21.07.2025 MiningWatch in the News Canada needs to reset its free trade plans with Ecuador Peggy Nash, Viviana Herrera and Caren Weisbart, originally published in the Hill Times Human rights, not corporate rights, should drive international trade relations under this new government. International relations today are rife with difficult challenges to peace, security, democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and a healthy environment. Prime Minister Mark Carney calls this a “hinge moment” for Canada—a...

10.07.2025 Ecuador: Azuay Says No to Environmental Licence for Dundee Precious Metals Environmental defenders in Southern Ecuador filed an injunction ( medida cautelar ) against Canadian-owned Loma Larga project and announced several actions protesting the arbitrary decision of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (“MAATE”) to grant an environmental licence for exploitation to Dundee Precious Metals. Yaku Perez, the lawyer who filed the injunction on behalf of Federation of Campesino...

08.07.2025 Friends of MiningWatch Papua New Guinea: Response to Prime Minister’s Statement on Porgera Mine As the Chairman of the Porgera Landowners Association (PLA), I am compelled to respond to the recent statement by Prime Minister James Marape on the achievements of New Porgera Limited (NPL) in the first quarter of 2025. While the Prime Minister has every right to commend what appears to be a promising restart to operations, I must speak on behalf...