Los Cedros court win

June 25, 2019

The judges in the provincial court of Imbabura ruled that there had been a violation of mining-impacted communities’ right to be consulted, and revoked the previous sentence of November 2018 in which the Action of Protection was discarded. They also forced the Ministry of Environment and Water to publicise the ruling and formally apologise to … Read More

Mafia gunfight over Rinehart concession

June 25, 2019

At least 19 people were injured in a twelve-hour shoot-out between rival organised crime gangs in Hanrine’s lucrative gold mining concession in northwestern Ecuador. The gunfight near Buenos Aires killed an unknown number of people, with bodies reportedly hastily buried or dumped down mine shafts where the confrontation took place. A truck transporting local residents … Read More

New mining policy

May 21, 2019

“This constitutes a deepening of extractive policy in Ecuador and a violation of individual and collective civil rights, especially the right to previous consultation, as communities have not been consulted regarding the award of concessions in favour of mining companies. The consolidation of the extractivist model will contribute to increased violence towards affected communities, evidencing … Read More

Amazon community denied protection against Chinese Copper mine

January 17, 2019

Latest court ruling casts renewed doubts on Ecuador’s upholding of its constitutional process amid fresh protests of human rights violations at the country’s largest open-pit copper mine, Mirador. The Amazonian Social Action Community Cordillera del Cóndor Mirador (Cascomi) brought the case against the Ecuador Ministry of Mining, Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of the Interior, … Read More

Illegal mining in Imbabura

January 10, 2019

First published in LA HORA, 26 March 2018 The risk of an epidemic in the mountain known as El Lomón, El Triunfo community, Buenos Aires parish, Urcuquí canton, is high. The lives of the miners are essentially held by a thread, not dissimilar to that formed by the tiny splinters of gold that appear in … Read More

Gina Rinehart’s Mining Concession Problems in Ecuador

January 4, 2019

Hanrine Ecuadorian Exploration and Mining (HEEM), a subsidiary of Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has been involved in a political minefield in Ecuador for the past year. In mid December 2018, hundreds of members of the Ecuadorian Military were trucked into the town of Buenos Aires, in the northern Imbabura Province in an attempt to curtail … Read More

The neoliberal agenda in Ecuador

January 2, 2019

The richest and most powerful in Ecuador do not like to pay taxes. That is why now, after 10 years, the elites have a new ally: Lenín Moreno. His submission to the pressures of big capital has meant that in one year of management he has moved away from the role for which he was … Read More

BHP Electric Car Greenwash

December 17, 2018

December 17, 2018 Melbourne Rainforest Action Group (MRAG) today released a report detailing the activities of BHP Billiton in South America. The report highlights the company’s poor environmental and social record in a number of locations. Of particular concern is that BHP is now promoting itself as being environmentally responsible by promoting the use of … Read More

Direct actions at IMARC

November 3, 2018

Environmental groups and human-rights defenders argued against the increase in global development, particularly against mining in protested forests and on Indigenous land. The Melbourne Rainforest Action Group (MRAG) was joined by the Latin American Solidarity Network, Mapuche-Aboriginal Struggles for Indigenous Land and FrontLine Against Coal for three actions that took place over the week. Protestors … Read More

Mining disaster possible in Ecuador?

September 10, 2018

News reports on the 5th of September that mining company BHP has purchased a 6.1% stake in exploration company Solgold for $35m have raised concerns that another mining disaster in northern Ecuador could be possible if Solgold’s Cascabel gold/copper mine is eventually constructed. Environmentalists fear that a repeat of the BHP’s /Samarco tailings dam collapse … Read More