Mining Conflict and Opposition – Page 59

Mining firm [HudBay Mining] seeks to end roadblocks – by Bruce Owen and Geoff Kirbyson (Winnipeg Free Press – March 19, 2013)

March 20, 2013

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

Heading to court to obtain injunction

One of the biggest employers in northern Manitoba wants a judge to do what the RCMP won’t — stop a Manitoba First Nation from putting up Idle No More roadblocks at its mining sites.

Lawyers for Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting will be in court Wednesday to get an injunction to stop the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and Chief Arlen Dumas from engaging in any acts that interfere with the mining company and its employees, court documents filed last week in Court of Queen’s Bench say.

HBM&S also wants an order for RCMP to arrest anyone who contravenes that injunction. “I am concerned that if further blockages occur, the RCMP will require a court order to take steps to enforce compliance with HBM&S’s right to access to and from its projects and mining operations in Manitoba,” HBM&S vice-president Brad Lantz said in an affidavit.

Members of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation have blocked access to the HBM&S Lalor project near Snow Lake twice this year and have threatened to blockade access to the company’s Reed Lake copper mine, 120 kilometres east of Flin Flon.

Lantz said at the two Lalor project blockades RCMP attended, but took no action to restrain protesters from interfering with access to company property.

B.C. green-lights mine despite Nisga’a Nation’s objections – Canadian Press (Globe and Mail – March 19, 2013)

March 20, 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.

VICTORIA — The Canadian Press – The British Columbia government has given the environmental green light to a billion-dollar mine in the province’s northwest over the objections of the Nisga’a Nation, whose traditional territory is home to the mine site.

Provincial environment and mines ministers issued on Tuesday the Environmental Assessment Certificate to Avanti Mining Inc. to revive a mothballed molybdenum mine about 140 kilometres north of Prince Rupert. Government officials agreed the Kitsault Mine could proceed after a review concluded the project isn’t expected to result in any significant adverse effects, based on the company following 34 conditions.

“The environmental assessment process involved a rigorous, thorough review that provided for significant opportunities for the Nisga’a Nation, First Nations, government agencies and the public to provide input,” the government said in a news release. Provincial ministers Terry Lake and Rich Coleman received the referral report on March 1 and had 45 days to render a decision.

But the Nisga’a Nation has been concerned for some time the process has been rushed because of the upcoming May election. As a result, its government filed a notice of disagreement under its historic treaty.

Industry decries PQ’s mining royalties plan – by Robert Gibbens (Montreal Gazette – March 15, 2013)

March 20, 2013

http://www.montrealgazette.com/index.html

MONTREAL – Miners often say there only two kinds of mines — the ones that you can finance and the ones you dream about.

Natural Resources Minister Martine Ouellet had a difficult task in trying to convince about 500 people at the Quebec government’s forum on mining royalties Friday that the planned changes to mining taxes won’t hit the industry’s competitive power.

Ouellet said the Parti Québécois government wants to increase royalties “particularly where returns are truly exceptional” to ensure there is “always compensation to be paid to extract a resource that belongs to all Quebecers.”

The forum, held at the Hautes Études Commerciales, was the last step in the Marois government’s resource industry consultation process before tabling a new mining law in the National Assembly, possibly next week. Legislation to set a 5 per cent tax on minerals extracted from the ground plus a 30-per-cent royalty on profits will follow. These moves come after the Liberal government already raised the tax on profits to 16 per cent from 12 per cent in 2010.

Industry speaker after speaker told the forum the immediate effect of the tax increases would be to hamper project financing and hit new exploration even further, reduce the lifespan of existing mines and jobs, and spell lower income for the province.

HudBay sues First Nation over Idle No More blockade – by CBC News (March 18, 2013)

March 20, 2013

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/

A Manitoba First Nation is being sued by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting for a series of Idle No More protests and blockades.

The company claims protestors from Mathias Colomb Cree Nation (MCCN) caused a safety risk to employees when they blocked the entrance to where the company’s gold, zinc and copper mine is being developed near Snow Lake in January and March.

Protestors claim it was the company that closed the gate. They also disagree it was a blockade. “Actually we didn’t organize blockades. We organized demonstrations where you go and exercise some of our treaty rights on our ancestral lands,” said MCCN Chief Arlen Dumas.

Dumas said HudBay and the Manitoba government should have obtained consent from area aboriginals before going ahead with development. The band never surrendered its rights to the land and resources, he said. Work is well underway on development of the 916-hectare property.

A court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Wednesday. Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting also wants an injuction against any further protests.

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.