Judge rules Rinehart’s Ecuador subsidiary must not block public road

June 8, 2021

Hundreds of workers from Rinehart’s subsidiary Hanrine have blocked the only road to the town of Buenos Aires in north-west Ecuador for more than 40 days, hoping to force locals to allow them passage through the town to the concession Imba 1. The judge of the Urcuquí Multicompetent Unit, Manuel Sucuzhañay, today accepted the Precautionary … Read More

Gina Rinehart’s Ecuador concession faces new trouble

April 26, 2021

The Ombudsman’s Office of Ecuador has called on the National Government to suspend all mining activities in the Buenos Aires parish where Rinehart has several concessions, after what it deemed was excessive military force against inhabitants resisting mining. The Buenos Aires community says they have not been consulted and do not want a mine in … Read More

New report on Solgold in Ecuador

March 9, 2021

The report “SolGold in Ecuador; Solgold’s woes continue” investigates each of SolGold’s priority projects in Ecuador, as well as the company’s financial situation; looking at environmental risk and community resistance to projects, as well as risk to concessions near the Colombian border from increasing instability due to ex-FARC dissidents, illegal mining and cocaine production. The … Read More

Llurimagua mine in Ecuador could lose environmental license

March 5, 2021

A Constitutional Injunction brought against the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment and the State Attorney General in August 2020 over concerns the rights of endemic species were being violated is to have its final hearing at the Multicompetent Judicial Unit of the Cotacachi canton on March 11 2021. Judge Carmen Jaramillo Cevallos ruled in September … Read More

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve threatened by BHP, SolGold and other miners

February 17, 2021

Protest in Ecuador over UNESCO Biosphere Reserve threatened by SolGold, BHP and other miners Yesterday marked 60 days of protest against mining for people in the Parish of Pacto in Ecuador. In December, the Pacto parish declared an indefinite protest, arguing that mining activity threatens the biodiversity and water sources of the Chocó Andino reserve, … Read More

Los Cedros Reserve court date set

October 15, 2020

Landmark Rights of Nature case to be heard in Ecuador’s Constitutional Court on October 19 The outcome of this significant case to protect the Los Cedros Reserve from mining would set a precedent for all future Rights of Nature cases, and could dramatically limit the ability of mining companies to operate in Ecuador. In 2018, … Read More

Major legal victory for endemic species in Ecuador Rights of Nature case

September 26, 2020

A Constitutional Protection Action win at the Cotacachi Court on September 24 may stop mining companies destroying the habitats of endemic species in Ecuador “In a huge win for the environment, on Thursday 24 September a judge at the Cotacachi Court ruled that the Ministry of the Environment failed at its job of protecting species … Read More

Rinehart mining camp burnt in Ecuador

August 27, 2020

Gina Rinehart’s Ecuador subsidiary Hanrine is facing renewed unrest in the province of Imbabura, Ecuador. On Tuesday 25th, a group of 180 people set fire to a mining camp at one of her concessions in Buenos Aires in north-east Ecuador. More on that here. The attacks came days after the local parish council met and … Read More

Sunstone Metals concession El Palmar an ecological and financial nightmare

August 17, 2020

Sunstone Metals agreement to acquire El Palmar, a copper-gold project in northern Ecuador is an ecological nightmare fraught with risks. El Palmar abuts the Los Cedros Biological Reserve, a scientific observational and research site, with a case for protection soon to be heard at the Constitutional Court in Ecuador. Los Cedros Biological Reserve in north-western … Read More