Tensions are escalating quickly as BHP aggressively pushes into communities in the farming and rainforest region of Intag, Ecuador, in their efforts to begin gold and copper explorations on schedule.
BHP owns two concessions (Santa Teresa 1 and 2) in this region of northwestern Ecuador. These concessions were granted by the Ecuadorian Government with zero public consultation in 2017, along with others covering nearly 2 million hectares. A total of 129 concessions across Ecuador are owned by Australian companies.
BHP is currently asserting to its shareholders that “explorations are in very early, low impact stages in Ecuador” and “we are following all relevant laws and due diligence with regard to community consultation and environmental risk.” (statements taken verbatim from BHP’s AGM in Sydney, November 2019).
Below is a timeline of events and community resistance since October 2019, based on extensive communication with, and reports from, residents living within the Santa Teresa concessions.
Oct 2019: A letter from Benjamin Mace, BHP’s Chief of Operations in Ecuador, was delivered at a closed door meeting in the small community of Puranquí. Most of the community, including the mayor, were not invited to this meeting – in fact, only known pro-mining community residents even knew about it. The letter indicated that a water license had been granted by the State Secretariat of Water (SENAGUA) for the imminent commencement of explorations in the area. This licence, under Ecuadorian law, requires no environmental impact statement.
23 Nov 2019: A massive regional assembly of 1500 people in Apuela unanimously rejected mining. Read more...
15 Dec: BHP held a meeting in Cazarpamba community. Some people from surrounding affected areas attended. On seeing the visitors, the BHP representatives promptly packed up and left. Read more here and here.
17 Dec: BHP representatives tried to do the same thing in the neighbouring community of Irubí, but the residents wouldn’t let them leave. So they were forced to present their spiels. They offered ten jobs to residents, without specifying details; they also offered support from an apocryphal “foundation” which they wouldn’t name and which still is yet to be identified. Finally, they left bags of ‘Christmas presents’ for three pro-mining residents and their families.
27 Dec: BHP-affected communities travelled to nearby Junín, the site of a highly controversial and contested gold mining project owned by Codelco and state company ENAMI. They toured the site and witnessed evidence of environmental destruction caused by exploration and construction stages of the mine.
11 Jan 2020: Representatives from six communities in BHP’s Santa Teresa 2 concession met up in Cazarpamba to support residents who, fed up with unauthorised night-time access by BHP employees, had installed a chain across the road. At the meeting, BHP was unequivocally denounced: “¿Cuantas veces no BHP?”
14 Jan: Cazarpamba residents prevented the entry of three BHP employees who arrived unannounced in the company of 30 police. Later residents heard that police were waiting for reinforcements to push through to Irubí. More roadblocks were subsequently set up at Irubí, with support from surrounding communities, and company representatives and police were again repelled. Read more...
16 Jan: A combined community forum was held for Apuela and Cazarpamba. Again, there was unanimous rejection of BHP by those attending (over a hundred).
18 Jan: A regional assembly was held for all six mining impacted communities in Santa Teresa 2 at Cazarpamba. 320 people attended. Again, there was unanimous rejection of mining. Local environmental organisation DECOIN's report with photos is here.
20-25 Jan: the Ecuadorian Vice Minister of Mines invited the Apuela Parish government council to Quito to “discuss” the mining situation on the ground. The invitation included several council persons, but excluded the vice president, who is staunchly anti-mining. Only the president of the Parish government showed up to the meeting.
26 Jan: The Apuela president met with the president of Cazarpamba and told him that the Vice Minister of Mines had threatened “to take them both to court for opposing the development of the nation”, based on obstructing BHP’s plans to begin exploration.
More developments are expected in coming weeks as the Vice Minister has made it clear that he plans to meet with all community presidents in the area. Meanwhile residents have vowed to continue blockading and preventing company representatives from entering.
The full list of resolutions made at the assembly at Cazarpamba, 18th January, is now available for distribution to any interested parties who wish to support Intag residents and local organisations with regard to human rights and environmental issues posed by BHP’s actions. See below for the Spanish version (English will be available shortly).