Tag: bhp

Constitutional Court could save Australian Government funded Reserve in Ecuador from mining

A forest reserve in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions, originally set up with Australian Government support and home to over 200 species at risk of extinction, has been scheduled for a landmark legal case. In a precedent-setting move, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador has announced it will take on the case of the Los Cedros Protected Forest, which is threatened by grand-scale copper and gold mining, by using unique Rights of Nature laws enshrined in the constitution. 

Edgar Merlo, who heads the legal team for Los Cedros, says: “The [Constitutional] Court’s ruling in this case would be a first in Ecuador: on the Rights of Nature, the right to prior consultation of communities, and the right to legal certainty, since concessions were granted without respecting the declaration of protective forests. The final judgement by the Constitutional Court in this case could change the legal focus in Ecuador, South America, and the entire world on the Rights of Nature and the rights of local communities, so that mining concessions are not granted in Protected Forests.”

One of the UK’s leading environmentalists, Jonathon Porritt echoed this view: “Ecuador was the first nation to include the Rights of Nature in its constitution,” he said. “It could now become the first nation to protect large swathes of biodiversity, based upon this constitutional innovation. This would set an invaluable precedent worldwide.”

Plate-billed Mountain Toucan. Image credit: Murray Cooper

Los Cedros Biological Reserve in north-western Ecuador was established in 1988 with the help of a grant from the Australian Government’s Development Assistance Bureau and the support of Australian not-for-profit organisation the Rainforest Information Centre.

Los Cedros is one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the world, with more than 4,800 hectares of primary cloud forest, and it safeguards the headwaters of four important watersheds. It protects over 200 species with high extinction risk, five of which are regarded as critically endangered by the Ecuadorian government. (see Roy et al. 2018, iNaturalist, and the Los Cedros website for more information.)

“The remoteness and high-quality of the habitat explain why there are six species of cats and three species of primate, including some of the last critically endangered brown-headed spider monkeys in the world, as well as the endangered Andean spectacled bear. New species are also being discovered every year,” explained Dr Mika Peck from Sussex University.

“This biodiversity was recognised when the Constitutional Court specifically cited the importance of Los Cedros in preserving the last populations of the spider monkey and the Andean spectacled bear which is in danger of extinction,” says John Seed, founder of the Rainforest Information Centre.

José DeCoux, the manager of Los Cedros says: “Mining in Protected Forests is a violation of the legal status of declared Protected Areas, the collective rights of indigenous peoples, the Rights of Nature, and the right of communities to prior consultation before potential environmental damages.”

Mining concessions in and around Los Cedros Reserve. Image credit: Rainforest Action Group
Mining concessions in and around Los Cedros Reserve. Image credit: Rainforest Action Group

In 2017, the Ecuadorian government announced new concessions for mining exploration on over 2.9m hectares (6.17m acres) of land, a roughly 300% increase. Many of these exploratory concessions are in previously protected forests and indigenous territories. Mining exploration is also occurring in headwater ecosystems and biodiversity hotspots of global importance like Los Credos, and appears to be in violation of Ecuadorian law and international treaties.

“More than 30% of Protected Forests have been under imminent threat from mining since 2017, when a policy change within the Ecuadorian government allowed these protected lands to be included in mining concessions,” explained Paul Gilding, former Executive Director of Greenpeace Australia and Greenpeace International.

As part of this rapid mining expansion, BHP and Canadian mining company Cornerstone Capital Resources were given mining permits in collaboration with the Ecuadorian state mining company, ENAMI.

“The permit for mining was given despite the Ministry of Environment’s own publication citing Los Cedros in its ‘Areas of Priority for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Ecuador’,” says John Seed.

The Los Cedros Protected Forest authorities won their case for an Action of Protection in the Provincial Court of Imbabura in June 2019, which stripped the mining companies of their operating permits. The government, working alongside the mining companies, subsequently appealed against the decision.

Meanwhile, the mining company Cornerstone Capital Resources continued exploration within the protected area in direct contravention of the court order, despite overwhelming opposition in the region, and without the appropriate permits.

“This case expresses the current conflict between the Ecuadorian government and its intention to open the country’s untapped oil and mineral reserves to foreign investment and the long-held public sentiment in Ecuador against extractionist economic development,” says John Seed.

“The case will help determine the balance between short-term economic gains through mining development and the slower — but generally more sustainable — economic development that accompanies long-term biodiversity conservation,” explained John Seed.

“This case has implications not just for Los Cedros, but for all 186 Protected Forests in Ecuador, totalling some 2.4m hectares,” said Dr Bitty Roy, Professor of Biology at the University of Oregon and one of a number of scientists for whom Los Cedros is a research base.

Globally, this is the first case where constitutional protections for nature will be evoked at a national level to protect an ecosystem from large-scale mining. Ecuador remains the only country in the world to have enshrined these rights in its Constitution. It is also a country that has recently attracted a massive amount of interest from transnational mining companies, who see vast potential in its mineral wealth, particularly copper and gold.

Australia is Ecuador’s biggest investor, with companies like SolGold, BHP, Newcrest, Hancock Prospecting, Fortescue Metals, Titan and Tempus Resources pouring millions into copper and gold exploration.

Around 750,000 hectares of legally Protected Forests across the country are currently covered by mining exploration concessions. Australian mining companies stand to be impacted by any positive ruling on the case, with at least 67 concessions covering, in whole or part, Indigenous territories or Protected Forests.

Aussie miner SolGold would be most impacted by the ruling, with 19 concessions covering Protected Forests and 18 covering Indigenous territories.

Full media release here.

Cornerstone Resources illegally exploring at Rio Magdalena?

Cornerstone Capital Resources announces high potential Porphery targets at Espejo and Rio Magdalena, but fails to mention that Rio Magdalena is subject to a stop work order issued by the Provincial court in Imbabura in June 2019 due to the area's high environmental significance.

N. manduriacu, an endemic glass frog threatened by drilling at Rio Magdalena. Image credit: Jose Vieira

For the past eight months, local environmental groups have been denouncing ongoing operations by ENAMI and Cornerstone employees on the Protected Forests covered by Cornerstone Resources' Rio Magdalena concessions. Judges had revoked the environmental license for the companies to explore in June last year, ruling that there had been a violation of mining-impacted communities' right to be consulted. The judges had also forced the Ministry of Environment and Water to publicise the ruling and formally apologise to the impacted communities.

Despite the court order, employees continued to explore illegally in the species-rich area, as Cornerstone's latest news proves.

Ecuador environmental group OMASNE denounced Cornerstone's announcement that it would start to drill in the second half of 2020, saying, "It is outrageous to see the vulnerability to which nature, communities and territories threatened by extractive activities are subject. On June 19, 2019, the Provincial Court of Justice of Imbabura hosted the Protection Action in favor of the Los Cedros Protective Forest, verifying the breach of the right to environmental consultation of the communities. However, since the ruling of the sentence, little or nothing have been done by the state institutions 'competencies', to repair the damages and comply with it."

"We reject the disrespect for human rights, national laws and international agreements as well as the sovereignty of Ecuador by the mining company CORNERSTONE S.A. of Canadian capitals, which despite having been withdrawn the environmental license by order of the judge of the Provincial Court of Justice of Imabura for its operation on the Rio Magdalena mining project that occupies 60% of the Los Cedros Protective Forest - Intag, has not stopped its activities within the forest and communities surrounding the project."

Los Cedros Biological Reserve is an internationally famous scientific reserve, consisting of 17,000 acres of premontane wet tropical and cloud forest in Northwestern Ecuador. It is home to over 297 species of bird, 900 species of moth and thousands of other species, many endemic to the area.

Developing a mine in this sensitive area would destroy forever one of the most biologically diverse and endemic habitats on the earth.

The news illustrates the impunity with which international mining companies continue to operate in Ecuador, with no concern for legal or environmental constraints.

BHP’s divide and conquer

First published in The Ecologist
By Liz Downes

21st February 2020

BHP is putting pressure on vulnerable ecosystems and communities in a mega-biodiverse region of Ecuador despite flaunting its commitment to environmental sustainability.

Toisan Forest. Image credit: Elizabeth Downes

The world’s biggest mining company is publicly committing to a clean, green transition: promising to shift from one of the world’s biggest carbon polluters to a top provider of resources for the renewable energy sector.

Andrew McKenzie, BHP’s CEO, proudly unveiled the company’s new climate investment program in July 2019: a US $400 million commitment to reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Shareholders at their 2019 London and Sydney AGMs were regaled with reports of how well BHP is sticking to its coal reduction targets, and with its investment plans in copper to meet the world’s growing demand for renewables.

What BHP left out of these reports is where all this copper is going to come from, and how the mining of it will impact on some of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems and communities.

Illegal

BHP is currently reliant on production from the world’s largest copper mine, Escondida in Chile, and from other big projects including Australia’s Olympic Dam. But it is also interested in ‘greenfields’ explorations in one of the world’s emerging copper hotspots, Ecuador.

This small country is one of the world’s most biodiverse.  The Andes runs like a spine down the middle, creating a diversity of altitudes, rainfall patterns and temperatures where endemism is unparalleled. These mountains are the primary source of water for the Amazon and Pacific Coast river systems. They are actively volcanic, high-rainfall and prone to frequent earthquakes. Ecuador is the last place anyone with any sense should put an open cut copper mine.

Unfortunately, over 2 million hectares of the country are plastered with mining concessions, predominantly owned by transnational companies. This land covers protected forests in the megadiverse Tropical Andes Biological Hotspot and almost a million hectares of indigenous territories.

Concessions were sold by the Ecuadorian government in 2016-2018 with zero public consultation, in a bid to save the country’s stalled economy following an irreparable downturn in crude oil investments and diminishing reserves.

Now companies are beginning to explore the country’s mineral assets. But they are meeting organised resistance from communities who are not only angry about the violation of their constitutional rights to consultation, but concerned about forced relocation, impacts on food production, water contamination, environmental damage and increased threats of illegal mining and organised crime.

Rock samples

In the northwest of the country, tensions are escalating as BHP’s subsidiary Cerro Quebrado aggressively pushes into the long-embattled rural region of Intag, in efforts to begin copper exploration on schedule.

BHP owns five concessions in these parts: Santa Teresa 1 and 2, and slightly west, Sabaleta 1, 2 and 3. These cover agricultural communities, headwaters systems, and the last remnants of the megadiverse Chocó Andean cloud forest belt. The Sabaleta blocks take in part of two protected forest reserves, Los Cedros and Cebu, while the Santa Teresa concessions cover sections of the Toisán mountain range. In the region’s forests, 279 species of  animals in danger of extinction have been reported.

Ken MacKenzie, the chairman, was questioned at the AGMs about their activities in Intag - given the region’s extreme ecological and social vulnerability. He assured shareholders that explorations were in early, low-impact stages in Ecuador and that the company was following the law and due diligence with regard to community consultation and environmental risk.

In August 2018, BHP shut down the website and social media pages of local activist Carlos Zorrilla. He accused the company of taking part in activities in Intag which were not properly or fully explained to shareholders through the Canadian Stock Exchange. The company denies Zorrilla's allegation. 

In October that year, two unmarked cars were seen driving into the community of Puranquí. When pulled up by locals, the occupants of the car said they worked for Cerro Quebrado and were there to take rock samples. They said they had spoken to the community president. This was denied by the staunchly anti-mining president.

Threatened

In the same community, one year later, a signed letter from BHP’s Ecuador operations manager, Benjamin Mace, was delivered at a closed-door meeting. Most of the community, including the president, were not invited. Only a few pro-mining residents even knew about the meeting. The letter indicated that a license had been granted by the State Water Secretariat approving the commencement of explorations in the area. Under Ecuadorian law, a water license requires no environmental impact assessment.

In September 2019, a regional assembly of 1,500 people unanimously rejected mining in the area.  In December, despite the assembly’s outcome, BHP attempted to hold a closed-door meeting in the community of Cazarpamba. Some concerned residents of nearby communities found out about it and attended. On seeing the visitors, the BHP representatives promptly packed up and left.

In mid-January, community residents of Cazarpamba and Irubí, both situated in BHP’s Santa Teresa 2 concession, got fed up with unauthorised night-time access by BHP vehicles and installed a chain across access roads into the communities. They prevented the entry of three BHP employees who arrived unannounced in the company of thirty police. The blockade remains in place, and police have vowed to return with reinforcements.

At a regional assembly on 18th January, representatives from the six communities in BHP’s Santa Teresa 2 concession drafted a formal document of resolutions. This declares the Intag zone free of mining, demands the immediate exit of mining companies and their representatives, and requests support for development of local economies such as ecotourism and sustainable agriculture in place of mining.

A couple of days after these resolutions were passed, the Ecuadorian Vice Minister of Mines, Enrique Gallegos-Anda, invited the Apuela Parish government council to Quito to discuss the mining situation. During this meeting the Vice Minister allegedly threatened to take the Apuela and Cazarpamba presidents, president, Nelson Vetancourt,and Christian Gomez respectively, to court for ‘opposing the development of the nation’.

Embattled

Residents have vowed to continue preventing blockading roads against BHP until their voices are heard and all resolutions are addressed. But there are fears that militarisation of the region may be inevitable, as the government arms up to force mining companies in.

People in Intag know what it’s like to live in a militarized zone. The region has a 25-year history of opposing mega-mining projects. Their peaceful resistance is possibly the longest in Latin America. In 1997 they kicked out Japan’s Bishimetals, and in 2010, Canadian Copper Mesa had to quit, stopping what would have been Ecuador's first open pit mine. But more companies kept coming.

Local leaders such as Carlos Zorrilla, who helped found the grassroots environmental organisation DECOIN, have lived through times where death threats and attacks on activists and their property were a regular occurrence. They anticipate the same things happening again as the mining crisis escalates.

“It’s a David versus Goliath-on-steroids situation,” Zorrilla says.

In the next couple of years, a major copper mine, Llurimagua, is set to open for business in the embattled area of Junín, unless it is stopped. Llurimagua is jointly operated by state company ENAMI and Chilean copper giant Codelco. The project’s history is riddled with conflict.

Money

In 2014, the companies began exploring in Junín, in forests where locals were running a successful ecotourism project and had resisted mining for fifteen years. They were escorted to the mining concession by hundreds of special police units and military personnel. Ecuador's government imposed a de-facto state of emergency on the entire Intag region.

Over the next several years, communities denounced violations of permits, licenses and the environmental impact study, and presented evidence of serious human rights violations, contamination of the Junín river, illegal logging, unauthorized land-use, and impacts to the community tourism business. Authorities, with their hands in corporate pockets, rejected or ignored the denunciations.

In early 2019, an investigation by the National Ombudsman produced a damning report of the project. It found deficiencies in regulation and control of the mining operations by government entities, resulting in serious long-term environmental consequences. Using this evidence, locals are now preparing for a legal battle against Codelco, based on violations of constitutional laws around prior consultation and the rights of Nature.

With all this going on, it is not surprising that communities are resisting newcomers like BHP.

BHP could learn from Llurimagua’s history and the impending legal showdown if it really wanted to. A failure to ‘socialise’ resistant communities isn’t the company’s only problem in Intag. It could repeat Codelco’s mistakes in Junín, if it decides to follow the money rather than be accountable to its own environmental policy.

Forest

All five of BHP’s concessions lie within the Cotacachi-Capayas Ecological Reserve Buffer Zone as identified in Ecuador’s national 2007-2017 Management Plan for National Parks. But due to weakened environmental laws, the Ecuadorian Government does not explicitly prohibit mining in these parts or in any other concession that covers protected areas.  

BHP should though. The company’s environmental policy states that it will not explore or extract resources within or adjacent to the boundaries of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Protected Areas. That is, unless a substantive plan is implemented “that meets regulatory requirements, takes into account stakeholder expectations and contributes to the values for which the protected area is listed.”

In other words, if they can work around the laws, they will. But accountability still applies: if anything goes wrong in a protected area, such as a contaminated waterway or a species extinction, they are not only required by law to tell their shareholders, but are exposed to litigation based on Ecuadorian constitutional laws.

BHP also declares it will “not operate where there is a risk of direct impacts to ecosystems that could result in the extinction of an IUCN Red List Threatened Species in the wild.” In spite of this promise, the company is at risk of demonstrating just how easy it is to eliminate a species in Ecuador.

In 2018, a new frog was discovered in Intag: the Manduriacu glass frog. Its only known habitat is a few square kilometres in the Río Manduriacu river catchment, a piece of remnant cloud forest close to the biologically intense Los Cedros Protected Forest, and Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park. BHP’s Sabaleta 1 and 2 concessions overlap this area, and rock sampling is already taking place there. Citing the mining risk, scientists recommended the frog be IUCN-listed as critically endangered.

Collateral

The area is the only home for another critically endangered amphibian, the Tandayapa Andean Toad. To highlight the area’s extreme vulnerability, in the nearby Llurimagua concessions, two other endemic frogs were recently discovered. One of these, the Longnose Harlequin Frog, was deemed extinct until its unexpected rediscovery. The other, the Confusing Rocket Frog, is so rare the IUCN does not even list it. Even preliminary mining exploration activities have been found to pose serious risks to species with such limited range.

At the 2019 AGM in Sydney, members of the Rainforest Action Group spoke to a BHP board member about the perilous situation of the two amphibians living near the Sabaleta 1 and 2 concessions. The board member admitted that BHP can’t always easily access this kind of information from the ground.

The problem with this statement is that information about both species is easily accessed through published scientists’ reports, and in the case of the toad, a glance at the IUCN Red List. It is not hard to seek information if a company is truly concerned about its accountability.

The same criticism applies to BHP’s socialisation process in Intag. The OECD’s corporate guidelines lay out best practice standards for multinational corporations with regard to community consultation. If a company is only able to enter under the protection of military police, this indicates that consultation process has failed to follow best practice protocols.

When it comes to mining, local communities and environments are stakeholders; they should not be collateral damage in the race for profits. BHP needs to not just tell its investors it is doing the right thing by people, climate and the environment; it needs to prove it.

About this author

Liz Downes is a member of the Rainforest Action Group who is running a campaign investigating Australian mining companies’ involvement in social conflicts and environmental damage in Ecuador. The Ecologist contacted BHP for comment at 9am on Thursday, 20 February 2020 but there has not been a response as yet.

Timeline of BHP’s divide-and-conquer tactics in Intag, Ecuador

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.

RAINFOREST ACTION GROUP BHP CONCESSIONS NORTH ECUADOR
BHP concessions in Intag in North Ecuador. Image credit: Rainforest Action Group

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?”

Image Credit: DECOIN. Police attempt to force communtiies to allow BHP to enter

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).

RESOLUCIONES DE LA ASAMBLEA DE COMUNIDADES AFECTADAS POR LAS CONCESIONES MINERAS REALIZADA EL SÁBADO 18 DE ENERO EN LA COMUNA CAZARPAMBA, PARROQUIA APUELA

Cientos de Comuneros y Comuneras de las Comunidades Afectadas por las Concesiones Mineras ilegalmente entregadas por el Gobierno Nacional del Ecuador a la Empresa BHP Billiton – Cerro Quebrado, de las parroquias Cuellaje, Plaza Gutiérrez y Apuela, reunidos en Asamblea el sábado 18 de enero de 2020 en la Comuna de Cazarpamba, considerando los atropellos, amedrentamiento a la comunidad e intento de ingreso por la fuerza con la complicidad de la Policía Nacional, y ante el inminente riesgo de afectación a las fuentes de agua de consumo humano y la alteración de la paz social y los sistemas de producción y de vida familiar comunitaria, en forma legal y legítima, ejerciendo su Derecho a la Resistencia, consagrado en el Artículo 98 de la Constitución Política, Códigos y Leyes Vigentes del Ecuador, tomamos las siguientes Resoluciones, para ser entregadas a las autoridades e instituciones competentes, así como a los medios de comunicación locales, provinciales y nacionales:

  1. Solicitarle al Municipio de Cotacachi aplicar las ordenanzas vigentes que protegen el agua, bosques y comunidad; incluyendo la Ordenanza que declara a Cotacachi Cantón Ecológico; la Ordenanza del Área de Conservación y Uso Sostenible, Manduriaco - Intag; La Ordenanza de ríos y riberas; y que asuma su competencia de uso y regulación del suelo en todo el Cantón para prohibir la minería metálica.
  2. Apoyar incondicionalmente las medidas de hecho adoptadas por las comunidades afectadas por las concesiones mineras, y responsabilizar de cualquier consecuencia negativa a los Directivos de las empresas mineras y a las Autoridades que permitan o faciliten el ingreso a nuestras comunidades.
  3. Crear y fortalecer el Sistema Intercomunitario de Vigilancia y Coordinación Inmediata para evitar el ingreso de las Empresas Mineras a las ilegales concesiones o para el Desalojo de sus Campamentos si fuera necesario.
  4. Solicitar y exigir mediante oficio, un Pronunciamiento y Resolución Oficial de las Autoridades, Parroquiales, Cantonales y Provinciales sobre la Minería Metálica en todas sus fases dentro de sus Jurisdicciones; para lo cual se invitará al Consejo del Gobierno Provincial y al Concejo Municipal en pleno, para que se trasladen a la Zona de Íntag y Sesionen formalmente en el mes de febrero de 2020, a efectos de que en el orden del día o agendas se trate, se debata y se concrete sus pronunciamientos sobre los temas ambientales y mineros.
  5. De ser necesario, se promoverá y organizará una marcha masiva al Municipio de Cotacachi, Prefectura Provincial y Gobernación de Imbabura, con el apoyo y solidaridad de las organizaciones sociales de Cotacachi, Imbabura y el País.
  6. Gestionar e Impulsar de manera indispensable un Programa de Comunicación Radial y Educación Ambiental sobre los impactos de la minería en las Comunidades afectadas.
  7. Fortalecer, ampliar y complementar la Organización Zonal de Íntag para la defensa íntegra de todo el territorio frente a la amenaza minera, para presionar el abandono de ENAMI, CODELCO, BHP, Cornerstone y otras empresas, incluyendo el desalojo si fuera necesario.
  8. Exigir a todos los niveles de gobierno (nacional, provincial, cantonal y parroquial) la priorización de la inversión y desarrollo de actividades agropecuarias, turísticas y emprendimientos productivos sustentables.
  9. Exigir al Gobierno Nacional la revocatoria de las concesiones mineras en la Zona de Íntag, en razón de haber sido entregadas incumpliendo la Consulta Ambiental de las comunidades, derecho consagrado en el Artículo 398 de la Constitución.
  10. Respaldar la representatividad de la Vocera actual de la Asamblea de Unidad Cantonal dentro del Concejo Municipal, con el legal y legítimo derecho a voz y voto.
  1. Proponer al Municipio de Santa Ana de Cotacachi, que en cumplimiento de su responsabilidad de Gobierno Autónomo del Territorio, realice la consulta popular a nivel Cantonal, para que el pueblo ratifique la posición antiminera tomada en el cantón desde 1996 a través de sus asambleas parroquiales, zonales y cantonales .
  2. Exigir la eliminación de cualquier de cualquier forma de extractivismo minero metálico en los Planes de Desarrollo y Ordenamiento Territorial (PDOT) y PUGS Provincial, Cantonal y Parroquiales, en atención a innumerables resoluciones parroquiales, zonales y provinciales de rechazo rotundo a la minería y en concordancia con la Ordenanza de Cantón Ecológico, Ordenanza de Riveras, Ordenanza del Área de Conservación y Uso Sustentable Municipal – Íntag Toisán y otros cuerpos legales y Resoluciones Municipales.
  3. Impulsar la elaboración y aprobación de una Ordenanza Municipal Específica para declarar al cantón Santa Ana de Cotacachi Libre de Minería Metálica.
  4. Ratificar el compromiso personal, familiar y comunitario de cuidar y conservar EL AGUA FUENTE DE VIDA, priorizando su uso para el consumo humano y prohibiendo su utilización en procesos o actividades mineras.
  5. Exigir a la Gobernación y diferentes entes nacionales que desistan de utilizar la fuerza pública como guardaespaldas de las empresas mineras.
  6. Crear una organización zonal para de manera más directa enfrentar y buscar alternativas a la minería metálica

Police and BHP use aggressive tactics against community in Cazarpamba

Ongoing resistance to BHP’s attempts to explore for copper and gold in its Santa Teresa 2 concession came to a head on Tuesday 14th January when police attempted to dismantle a community blockade so BHP employees could pass. A subsequent community meeting on 18th January voted for the immediate call for revocation of all mining concessions in the Intag region.

Image Credit: DECOIN. Police attempt to force communtiies to allow BHP to enter

The blockade on January 14 was the latest in a series of measures by community members to protest the company’s ongoing attempts to explore in the area.

“Community members have been dealing with increasingly aggressive tactics by BHP subsidiary Cerro Quebrado to divide the community and explore for minerals on their land for the last two years. Exploration permits for the Santa Teresa and Santa Teresa 2 concessions were granted to the company in contravention of the constitutional rights of communities to be consulted,” says Ms Rebekah Hayden, spokesperson for the Rainforest Action Group.

The Rainforest Action Group is a research, education and advocacy group that calls for corporate accountability, particularly when forests and Indigenous rights are threatened.

“Also violated were the rights of local and county governments to be consulted on activities that will have consequences for the areas under their jurisdiction. Nine communities are affected by these concessions, along with thousands of hectares of primary forest and pristine rivers,” says Ms Rebekah Hayden.

“Locals are gravely concerned at the potential impact of exploration and mining on agriculture, forests and waterways in the region, as well as the effects on local rural and urban communities,” Ms Hayden says.

“Despite OECD requirements that BHP respect the rights of affected communities, BHP continues to contravene these with increasingly militarised tactics now that police have been engaged to force the community to back down,” says Ms Rebekah Hayden.

Image Credit: DECOIN. The assembly in Cazarpamba

As a result of the clash between police and community members, an assembly was held on January 18 with 320 people attending from 16 communities.

“Elected officials from the parish council governments of Apuela, Cuellaje, and Plaza Gutiérrez attended along with delegates from the Cotacachi mayor´s office and the president of Cotacachi’s Assembly for County Unity. The assembly voted unanimously to end to the presence of mining companies in Intag. They also called for government authorities to prioritise investment in agricultural, livestock and tourism activities, and take effective measures to stop mining activity in the Intag region,” says Ms Rebekah Hayden.

“The assembly warned authorities that they would take measures to eject mining companies from their territories if they continued in their attempts to divide communities and violate their Constitutional rights,” Ms Hayden says.

The communities also unanimously denounced the use of police and the military as bodyguards of mining companies, and demanded government and national entities to desist from this.

The resistance comes in the wake of an Ecuadorian Constitutional Court ruling on January 12 that communities “have the right to hold public referendums on whether or not to allow a mining project to go forward”. This ruling gives greater power to communities resisting mining in their area, and indicates that any legal case brought against BHP in the area is likely to succeed.

“The Rainforest Action Group is concerned that BHP shareholders do not know the extent to which it is contravening both OECD international guidelines for corporate practice and the Constitutional rights of communities in its attempts to explore for gold and copper in Ecuador,” Ms Hayden says.

“Despite being warned by the Rainforest Action Group at their AGM in November about the potential risks in Ecuador, BHP is continuing to conduct explorations there,’ Ms Hayden says.

CONTACT INFORMATION AND FULL MEDIA RELEASE HERE.

Complete list of resolutions agreed on by the assembly:

1) To request the Municipality of Cotacachi to apply the current ordinances that protect water, forests and communities; including the Ordinance that declared Cotacachi an Ecological Canton; the Ordinance of the Conservation and Sustainable Use Area, Manduriaco-Intag; the Ordinance of Rivers and Riversides; and to assume its competence for the use and regulation of the soil in the whole Canton to prohibit metallic mining.

2) Request the revocation of all mining concessions in Intag for not carrying out the Environmental Consultation of the communities, a right enshrined in Article 398 of the Constitution.

3) To request local, sectional and national governments to prioritise investments in agricultural and tourism activities.

4) To request the Municipality of Cotacachi to draft and approve an ordinance declaring the  Cotacachi County free of metal mining.

5) Support the community controls to prevent unwanted individuals from entering communities.

6) Create a support and rapid reaction organisation in defence of communities affected by mining.

7) Demand the government and different national entities to desist from using the public forces as bodyguards of mining companies.

8) To demand that the members of the Parish, Cantonal and Provincial governments express their opinion on metal mining within their jurisdictions.

9) Create new tools to protect water resources, and to prioritise its consumption for human use, and to prohibit it for the use of mining activities.

10) Carry out a popular consultation at the Cou9nty level, so that the people can decide if metal mining should be definitively prohibited, in all its phases, within the Cotacachi Canton.

11) Undertake education and training programs on the impacts of mining.

12) To create a Intag-wide organization to, in a more direct way, face and look for alternatives to metallic mining.

13) Warn the mining companies of the unwavering will of the citizens of the Intag area to evict the mining companies if they continue to violate their rights.

BHP reps flee after community members oppose closed-door meeting

A closed-door meeting held to recruit employees from the Cazarpamba community in Imbabura ended unexpectedly for BHP representatives who fled in embarrassment after community members decried the company’s presence in a region which overwhelmingly voted to reject mining at a parish assembly on the 23rd November.

It is alleged that BHP representatives only invited members of the Cazarpamba community they believed to be sympathetic to mining to the meeting held on December 10. The company had planned to present their exploration plans for the area, but suddenly abandoned the meeting without presenting anything when representatives from environmental group DECOIN and local Parish government members arrived.

A video (in Spanish) shows BHP representatives being upbraided for their secrecy by community representatives, who asked the company "What are you afraid of?" "What are you hiding?".

“Community members questioned the legality of BHP’s actions, not only in this socialisation attempt, but in their continued efforts to explore in the Santa Teresa concessions despite community rejection of mining in the region,” says Mr Anthony Amis, a member of the Rainforest Action Group.

“Given the Constitutional requirement that BHP must consult with communities before undergoing explorations, the decision for BHP representatives to leave the meeting was fatal, with those present at the meeting believing their hasty retreat meant they were indeed acting illegally in the region,” Mr Anthony Amis says.

The environmental license for initial exploration for the Santa Teresa and Santa Teresa 2 concessions was given to BHP 23 months ago, yet the company has been stymied in its exploration efforts due to the community’s strong anti-mining stance. The recent developments follow on from BHP’s announcement of a $22 million increase in their stake in SolGold on 24 November.

“The meeting at Cazarpamba was not BHP's first attempt at conducting business by excluding community members who are anti-mining. In October this year, residents of a nearby Intag community, Puranquí, filed a complaint that BHP had set up a meeting without knowledge of the community Mayor or Council, who are predominantly anti-mining, and had held the meeting in secret with members of two pro-mining families,” Mr Anthony Amis says.

After BHP employees left the Cazarpamba meeting, DECOIN and local Parish government members talked about the illegalities and risks associated with the project and BHP’s negative conduct in the region, which allegedly includes intimidation to people opposing mining, and conducting mining activities in protected and environmentally fragile areas.

Despite BHP’s stated commitment to biodiversity conservation, there are 4,200 hectares of community and Parish government-owned watershed reserves within the 9,246 hectares that make up the two Santa Teresa concessions.

BHP Think Extinction Manduriacu Frog. Image credit: Rainforest Action Group

“The company is insisting on starting exploration in the region despite an unusually high number of animals on the IUCN Red List within the Santa Teresa concession, including the critically endangered Black-breasted Puffleg Hummingbird, the rare Black and Chestnut Eagle, and an extremely rare frog species on the brink of extinction which is only found in the area of one of these concessions,” says Mr Carlos Zorilla, environmentalist and co-founder of DECOIN.1

Members of the Rainforest Action Group earlier raised concerns regarding BHP’s selective community socialisation and complaints of their conduct at BHP’s AGM on 7 November. BHP Chairman Ken MacKenzie had this to say in response: “We are talking to communities and can assure you that we are following FPIC (free, prior and informed consent) and all local laws; we have strict standards for consultation and our conduct when entering new areas."

In June, judges in the provincial court of Imbabura shut down exploratory activities in two mining concessions belonging to the Canadian Cornerstone, just west of BHP’s Sabeleta concessions and within the same Cotacachi County. The court ruled that ENAMI/Cornerstone had broken Constitutional Law by not consulting with the community in regards to their Rio Magdalena concessions, and their environmental license to conduct explorations was revoked.

“The Magdalena concessions for which environmental licenses were revoked border on BHP’s Sabeleta concessions. The concessions cover part of a world-renowned remnant of the original Western Andes cloud forest, which contains species that exist nowhere else in the world, and provides drinking water for hundreds of communities,” says Mr Anthony Amis.

“Although BHP has not yet been taken to court for activities on the Sabeleta concessions, locals claim that BHP has similarly not consulted with community and employees have wreaked damage in its exploration efforts, including threatening an endemic frog population which is only found in the concession," says Mr Anthony Amis.

“Despite BHP’s attempts to smooth-talk shareholders and promote itself as a green company, the reality on the ground is very different. We are concerned that the company is minimising possible risks to the project,” says Mr Anthony Amis.

“BHP, as well as all other mining companies in Intag, are keeping from investors obstacles such as the land-use municipal ordinance approved in 2018, which protects all of the Intag area from mining. Ecuador's Constitution unequivocally gives sole responsibility to local governments for land use,” says Mr Carlos Zorilla.2

Community consultation is safeguarded under the Constitution and several cases have been won this year by communities against mining and oil companies on those counts.

“It is clear to the Rainforest Action Group that BHP is acting at odds to Ecuadorian Constitutional Law, and is keeping investors in the dark as to the ecology on the concession. Shareholders deserve to know the extent of BHP’s conduct on its concessions,” says Mr Anthony Amis.

1. From internal email. Permission to use quote.
2. From internal email. Permission to use quote.

CONTACT INFORMATION AND FULL MEDIA RELEASE HERE.

BHP’s hopes for copper blighted by community resistance

A community assembly in Intag on the 23rd November – an area BHP touts as being its Ecuador stronghold – ended with the almost unanimous rejection of mining in the area. The meeting was held only the day before rumours surfaced that BHP would be increasing their stake in SolGold.

Apuela Assembly November 2019. Image credit: DECOIN

The assembly held in the Parish of Apuela, Intag, was attended by nearly all the communities in the Parish, with local leaders begging the Parish Government to help them prevent mining companies from entering their communities. Despite being formally invited, BHP representatives did not attend the meeting.

 ‘At the assembly several community presidents denounced BHP’s entry into their respective communities, and called for measures to be taken at a higher level to impede future entry. The absence of representatives from BHP seems at odds with their socialisation attempts, and was not viewed favourably by locals who wanted to know the company’s plans for the region,” says Liz Downes, a member of the Rainforest Action Group.

“No representatives of the Cerro Quebrado-BHP company went to the Assembly to appear before the communities, and to share information about their plans and projects for mineral exploration within the Santa Teresa and Santa Teresa mining concessions 2, which affect not only Apuela, but also two neighboring parishes (Plaza Gutierrez and Cuellaje),”[1] says Mr Carlos Zorilla, environmentalist and co-founder of local environmental group DECOIN.

Representatives from the Ministries of Environment, the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources, the Mining Regulation and Control Agency, the Secretariat of Water, and Ecuadorian state mining company Enami also failed to appear.

Assembly in Apuela. From left to right on the board: Pablo Duque, Ombudsman, Parroquo de Apuela, and representative of the Provincial Government. Image credit: DECOIN.

The assembly was addressed by the Ombudsman of Imbabura, Doctor Katherine Andrade, a representative of the Provincial Government of Imbabura, and expert geologist Pablo Duque, retired dean professor of the National Polytechnic School. Pablo Duque informed the community as to the risks of mining in the region, and explained why large-scale mining could not happen in this area without irreversible environmental damage.

Apuela sits in the middle of the Santa Teresa 2 mining concession, which belongs to BHP’s South American subsidiary Cerro Quebrado. Residents of Intag, a farming region with a history of strong resistance against large-scale mining due to widespread concerns about social and environmental impacts, have expressed concerns over what they consider to be a lack of community consultation and transparency by Cerro Quebrado during the process of gaining permits.

“The Intag region experiences high rainfall and earthquake risk, making mining infrastructure and tailings dams inordinately risky. It also contains the last remnants of mega-biodiverse cloud forests within the Chocó Andes belt, which are habitats for critically endangered species such as the Andean Spectacled Bear. Any disturbance or contamination of rivers would gravely affect the environment as well as the lives of people and endangered species in the region,” Ms Downes said.

According to Mr Carlos Zorrilla, a formal resolution and list of demands are expected to be officially announced by the Assembly this week. These will include a demand for the revocation of the mining concessions in the Parish over the lack of environmental consultation; a barring of mining companies from entering the communities; and a request for a full consultation over the entire Intag area.

“There has been persistent and ongoing resistance from locals to mining companies exploring on their lands. To access the Santa Teresa 1 and 2 concessions for exploration activities, BHP employees must use a private road, which the owners have now vowed to bar them from using,” says Liz Downes.

BHP’s announcement regarding SolGold comes only six weeks after Ecuador erupted in widespread protests over IMF austerities, which caused the IMF to classify the country as a high risk for foreign investment, particularly in extractive industries.

It also comes amid ongoing concerns over serious security issues at the Cascabel project site, where explorations are underway. Cascabel came under fire earlier this year in an intensive investigation by the National Ombudsman, who stated in his report that environmental and other risk assessments done by the company in order to obtain exploration licenses were inadequate.

“BHP regards Ecuador as being a promising investment due to its potentially large reserves of high-grade copper deposits, which the company considers essential to its plans to supply the global renewable energy sector. We are gravely concerned about rumours concerning BHP increasing their shares in Solgold, despite our warnings to the company at the AGM about the security concerns of Cascabel and other concessions in Ecuador. It is a bitter irony that renewables risk gravely impacting the environment and water supply of such biodiverse forested areas,” says Liz Downes.

[1] Quote from email. Full email can be forwarded on request.

More details on security concerns at Cascabel can be found here.

CONTACT INFORMATION AND FULL MEDIA RELEASE HERE.

BHP AGM 7 November 2019

A protest outside BHP's AGM, in Sydney on November 7. Photo: Zebedee Parkes

BHP held their 2019 AGM in Sydney on November 7. A small, peaceful protest was held outside by climate groups wanting to draw public focus to the debate around BHP leaving the Minerals Council. Two Rainforest Action Group members flew to Sydney from Hobart and Melbourne to ask questions as proxy shareholders.

The Rainforest Action Group’s first questioner asked:

“My questions concern social and political risks when operating in Ecuador, and our company’s due diligence and transparency to shareholders when managing these risks. In particular I am concerned about our company’s activities in the Santa Teresa 1 and 2 concessions in Imbabura, and in the Luminex/BHP concession in Tarquí, Morona Santiago. Given BHP’s significant investments in these areas, and given BHP’s strong goals and values around social and environmental conduct that the Chairman highlighted in his report, I would like to highlight that:

  1. Both regions feature strong anti-mining sentiments, with communities mobilising against mining due to concerns about water, environmental damage, and lack of adequate consultation or consent to the selling of their lands.
  2. There have been recent complaints against BHP’s conduct in the community of Puranquí, in Santa Teresa 2, involving lack of adequate consultation in the obtaining of exploration and water permits that were acquired two weeks ago. The main complaint was that meetings were held only with a pro mining minority of the community, ie two families, and excluded the Council and Mayor, who were against mining.
  3. The Tarquí concession is close to the controversial Mirador project in Shuar territory, where there has historically been significant unrest. Social and political risk factors for BHP include civil dissent, weak government laws regarding community consultation, a history of human rights abuses in the area due to mining, and the use of military forces to suppress peaceful protests. We have testimonies from this area which I don’t have time to read out, saying that BHP has been operating in this area for over a year with little or no community consultation.
  4. Ecuador is classified by the IMF as ‘high investment risk’ due to political instability, popular resistance against extractive industries, and recent history of uprisings.
  5. My first question is: Given the company’s significant stakes in Ecuador, and the issues outlined above, how does our company plan to use due diligence when working with people who don’t want mining, who feel that their land has been sold from under them, and who have limited recourse to exercise their civil rights within Ecuador under current laws without risk of violent retaliation?
  6. My second question is: Given BHP’s company values, how will the company maintain transparency to shareholders in situations where there is evidence of civil or political conflict or environmental damage directly or indirectly caused by mining activities?”

The Chairman’s reply (roughly) was this:

“For the benefit of shareholders let me give you an overview of the Ecuador situation. We are in very early stages of exploration here; we’ve done very little in these areas. We’re going in slowly and we are aware of the sensitivities. We are only doing very low impact activities in these areas. We are talking to communities and can assure you that we are following FPIC (free, prior and informed consent) and all local laws; we have strict standards for consultation and our conduct when entering new areas. So there is not a lot we can say in answer to this question."

The Rainforest Action Group’s second questioner spoke about BHP’s relationship with SolGold and the dangers and risks of the Cascabel project, including Colombian paramilitary activities, illegal miners and crime in the area. The questioner read from a summary which took about 3-4 minutes to read. The gist of the summary can be found here. Halfway through the presentation, the Chairman started to interject, before finally turning off the questioner’s microphone.

BHP Think Extinction Manduriacu Frog. Image credit: Rainforest Action Group

The Chairman’s reply was as follows:

“I don’t know where these details came from and I am not familiar with most of the issues mentioned. Again, as before, for the benefit of shareholders let me explain what the situation is in Ecuador. We are in very early greenfields stages of exploration here, we’re doing very low impact activities, and we can assure you we are doing sovereign risk analyses around Ecuador as well, and of course, you know, we will continue to monitor that situation. Our shareholding in SolGold is quite small, it’s around 11% of the company, we have a ‘watching brief’ over that. So it’s very early days, and we have due processes in place about all that. What we won’t compromise on is following the law, complying with local regulations and applying our global standards which are well articulated, for example in the ICNN, in terms of how we’d like to survey … and we may very well decide that this is not a place where we want to participate.”

The Board were clearly rattled by some of the more pointed questions from shareholders. Someone who spoke about lung diseases from iron ore micro dust from inhalation in Port Hedland lost his microphone as well, as did someone from the Australasian Corporate Accountability Network who was part of the shareholders’ group that had put forward the motion for BHP to exit the Minerals Council. A Colombian human rights defender raised concerns about Cerrejón and was addressed by the CEO, who said that BHP only owns about 33% share in the mine and therefore is only able to monitor impacts of operations from within a limited jurisdiction. In other words, BHP couldn’t be held to account for the complaints the questioner was bringing forth.

Samarco was mentioned by a shareholder, who commended the Board on how well BHP has handled the situation. The CEO said that the AGM of 2015 was 'emotional', people were 'very cross', and BHP was moved to ensure it was accountable and take the necessary remedial steps. He said he felt BHP had done ‘very well.’ Four questioners raised climate change issues. Two trade unionists also asked questions.

A Chilean asked questions regarding the recent troubles in Chile, particularly in regarding to BHP workers from Escondida mine striking in solidarity with the protesters, and reports of under-remuneration and poor conditions for BHP workers and contractors at Escondida. The questioner also eluded to issues regarding the status of BHP assets in Chile, if the Government fell. BHP’s CEO responded that he was receiving daily reports and in communication with people on the ground in Chile, and was aware of everything the questioner was saying. He said:

“I’ll stick my neck out and say that (the workers) are probably better remunerated and have better conditions than the average Chilean. But … within our contractor community there may be some that feel less advantaged, and we’re conscious of that, and we’ll work through that; we understand the pressure of change.”

The CEO said he had not been aware of the threat of renationalisation of copper, but that he’s focused on raising revenue and reducing Chile’s debt, which he said would pay for better healthcare and education, and possibly increase wages in the long run. He finished by reiterating that Escondida, Spence and other mines in Chile are ‘some of the best in the world’ and that BHP is committed to running a productive and well-remunerated workforce.

A member of the Australian Conservation Foundation, also asked the Board about concerns about radioactive tailings at Roxby Downs in South Australia, particularly in light of impacts on birds and the local environment.

Two Board members came and spoke to RAG’s two proxies at lunch. Chief geophysicist Laura Tyler said she felt that the Chairman hadn't answered their questions, and that she was here to talk but further and give them some reassurances about their concerns. She made some elucidating comments. The first was (roughly):

“We have a policy manual with rules for entering new countries, which we follow carefully. We try to gain as much information as possible about the political situation and about environments in the areas before we start working.”

RAG’s representatives said that with regard to environments at risk from operations, Ecuador was a completely different situation to the desert regions that BHP is mining in Chile, due to the cover of biodiverse rainforests etc. Ms Tyler agreed.

Carolyn Cox, BHP’s Secretary also spoke with the two representatives and gave the contact for the chief of operations in the Americas, suggesting that they write him an email expressing concerns about Ecuador. She agreed that it is important BHP receives feedback from communities on the ground, as they can't keep track of everything otherwise. The representatives mentioned the Manduriacu Glass Frog, a critically endangered species which is thought to now be extinct due to BHP’s preliminary exploration activities in its only habitat. Ms Cox said she hadn’t known about this and appeared to be very surprised as BHP’s environmental goals clearly state they will not conduct operations in any area where there is known to be an IUCN Red List species. She agreed that this concern is worth pursuing further.

Below are links to some media coverage of the AGM, including the decision by BHP shareholders to stay in industry lobby groups:

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/shareholders-at-bhp-agm-vote-to-stay-in-industry-lobby-groups-2019-11-07

https://www.australianmining.com.au/news/bhp-shareholders-opposed-to-cutting-ties-with-coal-lobby-groups/

 

Investor risk alert for Cascabel

Cascabel is an investor nightmare. Located in close proximity to the Colombian/Ecuadorian border, in an area the Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advises not to travel

SOLGOLD CASCABEL CONCESSION

“This border is out of control. Its inhabitants are left to their fate.”

Colonel Mario Pazmiño, the country’s former director of military intelligence.
The Guardian, 24 October 2018

The location of SolGold’s Cascabel concession is an investor's nightmare. Cascabel is located in close proximity to the Colombian/Ecuadorian border, an area where Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advises DO NOT TRAVEL. “We advise against all travel here due to the very high risk. If you do travel, you should typically seek professional security advice. Be aware that regular travel insurance policies will be void and that the Australian Government is unlikely to be able to provide consular assistance.”

Around 26% of SolGold is owned by BHP and Newcrest Mining. SolGold have never built a mine and do not have the capacity to raise the billions of dollars to build a mine at Cascabel, so will most likely sell the concession. The buyers then will inherit all the risks associated with building and operating the mine. SolGold will effectively wash their hands of the operation.

SolGold are anticipating that the Alpala mine in the Cascabel concession will be active for 50-60 years. It will also produce copper, gold and silver from 2.4 billion tonnes of ore. It is the opinion of MRAG that not only will the mine be built in a politically unstable and dangerous region, but infrastructure required for the mine, could come under attack or even sabotage, as could the mine itself.

In their 2019 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), SolGold suggested that mining material will be transported, via pipeline, 60 km north west towards San Lorenzo. San Lorenzo is a known organised crime hot spot, located near where 3 journalists were murdered in April 2018. The murders shocked Ecuador. The police station at San Lorenzo was also car bombed (the first car bombing in Ecuador) in January 2018 by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) dissidents. As a result, the President of Ecuador, Lenin Moreno, declared a limited State of Emergency in the cities of San Lorenzo and Eloy Alfaro to enhance police and military authority.

In August 2019 when the FARC guerrillas announced that the 2016 peace deal had failed and that the re-established armed revolution in Colombia. The Ecuadorian press reported widespread concern in Ecuador regarding the potential impact that the FARC could have in the north of the country. “Return to the FARC weapons causes alarm in Carchi…Tobar Donoso is one of the areas disputed by the FARC, because, according to residents, it is a corridor used by Mexican drug cartels and the front of the disappeared alias Guacho.”

Tobar Donoso is located 50km north-west of Cascabel.

From San Lorenzo, the pipeline will then continue 100km south west to the port of Esmeraldas. San Lorenzo has also been a hot bed of illegal mining activity for many years. Gold mining is now seen as being as lucrative as coca growing by organised crime syndicates in Colombia, with Ecuadorian paper El Comercio saying: “…But military information warns that Colombian criminal groups, linked to FARC dissidents or drug traffickers, are also behind the illegal mining that is registered in the two cantons, due to their proximity to the Nariño department."

Another active group in the region is Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN). Reports suggested in early 2019 that the ELN was targeting border areas inside Ecuador including “facilities and units in the municipalities of Mira in the province of Carchi and San Lorenzo in Esmeraldas as potential targets”.

Both the FARC and ELN have targeted energy infrastructure inside Colombia over the years. Up to April 2019 there have been around 20 attacks on Colombian pipelines in 2019. The 485-mile (780-km) Cano Limon pipeline was kept offline for most of 2018 because of more than 80 bombings. An attack in April 2019 occurred in the Province of Narino, just north of the Ecuadorian border. Narino is also a hotspot for illegal mines and coca growing where the ELN and another criminal group, the Urabeños have made millions of dollars in recent years. Reports suggest that the gold sourced from illegal mining from Narino is transported into Ecuador.

SolGold also state in the PEA that workers at Alpala will most likely be bussed in each day from Ibarra. This probably means that the Alpala mine site itself will have few people staying at the mine overnight, except security staff. Given the precarious location of the mine, it is apparent that the mine itself (and pipeline) could be a target for groups wanting to cause problems such as armed robbery. The mine will most likely be a magnet for many people throughout the region. Power for the mine is also suggested to partially come from Colombia.

The Cascabel mining site at Alpala is ~10km from the DO NOT TRAVEL zone, with entry into the proposed mining through Roca Fuerte almost located on the boundary of the DO NOT TRAVEL zone.  Illegal mining in close proximity to the Cascabel concession has occurred at El Cielito (approx. 5-10km north of Cascabel) between 2017 and 2019. SolGold has apparently employed the services of security firm G4S to look after its Cascabel security.

Military police entering Gina Rinehart's concession in Ecuador.

The largest illegal mining operation in Ecuador in almost 30 years, occurred north of the village of Buenos Aires, on a mining concession called Imba 2, owned by Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart between November 2017 and July 2019. The main illegal mining area, at a place called El Triunfo, was located only 10km south of Alpala. At this location over 10,000 illegal miners operated. They miners were eventually evicted after the Moreno Government sent in 2000 troops and hundreds of police officers.

The mining operations inside Imba 2 were rife with organised crime and mafia influence. A number of brutal murders occurred near the mines. Drug trafficking, prostitution and other criminal acts undermined the security of the existing township of Buenos Aires, with organised criminals from Colombia and Venezuela being pinpointed as key organisers. In August 2018 12 hooded men stole 18 cubic metres of confiscated gold material that had been stored by the local police. Police officer and mining officials have also been implicated in corruption as have officials in the judicial system.

An illegal transport network was established which allowed for the transportation and storing of rock from the mine sites. Between $50,000 and $150,000 was required by truck drivers to “oil the road” and pay bribes on the way of moving illegally sourced materials to processing sites in the south of the country. Destinations of the illegally mined rock included: Azuay, El Oro, Camilo Ponce Enriquez, Zaruma and Portovelo. After processing, the gold was then illegally transported out of the country. It is clear then, that an organised crime syndicate associated with gold mining is operating inside Ecuador, with gold also being funneled in from Colombia. Developers of Alpala mine will have to build their mine on shaky grounds indeed. The following summary by Open Democracy accurately describes the powder keg.

“Under different names … the actors operating on the Ecuador- Colombia border remain the same:

  1. Paramilitary groups which continue to defend the interests of drug traffickers and landowners, even though the AUC no longer exists.
  2. Dissident groups of the FARC now turned criminal and related to drug trafficking.
  3. Colombian drug traffickers allied with Mexican cartels.
  4. The armed forces (the army and the police) of Ecuador and Colombia.
  5. State presence of both nations.

There is also a new actor: the illegal miners who operate in Imbabura, Carchi, Esmeraldas and Sucumbíos, who generate problems for the local populations.”

Australian solidarity blockade at BHP

200 protestors at the head office at BHP today blocked entries to doors this morning amid demands for BHP to take greater accountability of its mining operations globally.

Blockade at BHP 11 October 2019. Image Credit: Melbourne Rainforest Action Group.

The protest comes as Ecuador goes into a state of emergency with hundreds injured and at least 5 killed in one of the most serious uprisings Ecuador has seen in recent years. The unrest arose from resistance to IMF-mandated austerity measures that also allow greater freedom for foreign interests operating in the country, making mining companies such as BHP complicit in the use of military force to protect their business interests.

"Protesters were informed about recent uprisings in Ecuador at the rally. Many were shocked to hear about the violence being perpetrated on the Ecuadorean people by the state. Many in the crowd were also shocked about the extent of mining interests in Ecuador by Australian companies. Of particular concern was the activities of BHP in the Intag Valley and their investments in SolGold," Melbourne Rainforest Action Group member, Anthony Amis.

The blockade was targeted as a “dress rehearsal” to a week of blockades planned at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) from 28 October.

Members from a number of groups including the ExtinctionRebellion, Lasnet Solidarity, Blockade IMARC, and the Melbourne Rainforest Action Group joined the demonstration.

BHP has seven concessions in Ecuador – many of these on Protected Forests and Indigenous territories, as well a Joint Venture in Indigenous territory Tarquí which has been hotly contested. In June, a provincial court in Imbabura revoked the environmental license for ENAMI/Cornerstone and BHP to conduct explorations on their concessions in these areas, barring them entry, however BHP employees continue to illegally conduct exploration in these areas.

The current uprising in Ecuador is led by Indigenous organisation CONAIE which denounced the government and corporate interests in a statement today, saying:

“The business class, who has sold the country and is pro-imperialist, wants to secure the funds from the IMF for their own debt, their crisis. We the working classes, Indigenous peoples and the popular sectors, are paying [for their crisis]. This struggle isn’t for today, nor is it only for the price of gasoline. It is to prevent them from auctioning off our future. What we are unsuccessful of stopping today, two or three generations of us will be forced to pay with hunger and poverty.”

CONAIE ECUADOR

To our bases and the Ecuadorian Peoples

(Original statement in Spanish attached, Espanol adjuntado)

(Quito, October 10, 2019) We have seen days filled with agitation. We have been surprised by our own capacity to fight and resist, and we have demonstrated to the world that the Indigenous movement and the Ecuadorian peoples are one single force, and, from the place that history has granted us, we have made the power tremble. We have stated our position: this does not end until the IMF leaves Ecuador. 

Like all governments who have been debilitated and delegitimized, the only response that Lenin Moreno has given is violence and repression. [the government] Has treated the people as its enemy, without a shred of respect to the simplest norms of respect for human rights. They did not respect the zones of humanitarian protection, instead throwing tear gas bombs towards our children and our elders. They prevented us from creating humanitarian pathways so that the injured could reach hospitals. And, they have massacred our fallen brothers with bullets to their bodies, impacts of gas cannisters, collisions by horses, being beaten and even thrown off of a bridge.  What we are living in this country does not have a name, there is no memory of such atrocious and violent repression in recent history against a people who are reclaiming their rights.

For those who sustain this government so that they feel empowered to throw themselves in a war against the people: the same who are protecting them in Guayaquil. The business class, who has sold the country and is pro-imperialist, who wants to secure the funds from the IMF for their own debt, their crisis. We the working classes, Indigenous peoples and the popular sectors, are paying [for their crisis].

This struggle isn’t for today, nor is it only for the price of gasoline. It is to prevent them from auctioning off our future. What we are unsuccessful of stopping today, two or three generations of us will be forced to pay with hunger and poverty.

We have tears of rage but we have learned from our mothers and fathers that those who die in battle are honoured by multiplying them. The dialogue that Lenin Moreno is proposing is a farce. This is why, comrades, we will radicalize our actions. There is no dialogue with this assassin government unless the minimum requirements are met: the exit of Maria Paula Romo and Oswaldo Jarrin from the government and the abolition of Decree 883.

Until then, our homework is to struggle., to rejuvenate our strength and sustain the road blockades and the take-overs of the departmental offices and public buildings, to hold assemblies in all of the communities and to build alliances with all of the sectors of the people.

No one will take the words of the Indigenous movement to speak with this assassin government until these demands are met. The only official voice is the leadership of the CONAIE. It has been said, leaders who do not comply with the mandate of the people will be subjected to popular and indigenous justice.

Not one step back!

IMF Out of Ecuador!

This Strike does not End!

[signed]

For the council of the government

Jaime Vargas

President of CONAIE

[translated from original statement by Kirsten Francescone, MiningWatch Canada] 

Contacts and full media release here.