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Date: Tue, 8 May 2007 20:03:51 -0500
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From: "CIEPAC" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: [Ciepac-i] Chiapas Today 535: Canadian Mining in Mexico: Made in
Canada Violence
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"Chiapas Today" Bulletin No. 535
CIEPAC; CHIAPAS, ME'XICO
CANADIAN MINING IN MEXICO: MADE IN CANADA VIOLENCE
Mandeep Dhillon - 07-May-2007 - num.535
No One is Illegal y Justicia for Migrant Workers, Coast Salish territories
(Vancouver, Canada)
The history of mining in Mexico is a long one. The riches of the Mexican
sub-soil were a major motivation for Spanish colonizers and the mining industry
is often accorded an important place in events leading to the Mexican
Revolution; the 1906 bloody repression of striking miners working for U.S.
Cananean Consolidated Copper in Sonora is often cited as a precursor to current
labor struggles in Mexico. The authors of the Mexican Revolution sought to make
a reality of the ideal that those who work the land should have control over
it. In order to protect its land from foreign interests, Article 27 of the 1917
Mexican Constitution dictated that the land, the subsoil and its riches were
all property of the Mexican State. More importantly, Article 27 recognized the
lasting collective right of communities to land through the "ejido" system and
limited private land ownership.
As in the colonization of Indigenous lands elsewhere, mining was an activity of
primary economic importance to colonizing forces and a major cause of injury,
death, land destruction and impoverishment for Indigenous communities. Not much
has changed in this imbalance today. And Canadian mining corporations - with
wealth created from the historic (and ongoing) take-over and exploitation of
Indigenous territory in Canada - are at the lead of these colonizing forces in
present day Mexico.
Important changes to the Mexican Constitution in anticipation of the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) resulted in the facilitation of land
privatization and the entry of foreign corporations. One such change was the
modification of Article 27, allowing for the sale of "ejido" land to private
owners - government or third parties including foreign multi-nationals. Another
was the Mining Law of 1992 which together with the Law on Foreign Investment
allowed for 100% foreign investment in exploration and production. Article 6 of
this Mining Law also stipulates that the exploration and exploitation of
minerals will have priority over any other use of the land, such as agriculture
or housing. The modifications also allowed for the participation of the private
sector in the production of some minerals previously reserved to the government
including coal and iron.
Though the Canadian corporate world is often seen as a secondary beneficiary of
aggressive American corporate expansion - the reality of the mining industry
certainly turns this myth onto its head. And the picture of mining activities
in Mexico is a prime example.
The Scope of the Canadian Mining Industry
Canadian mining corporations lead the global mining industry. The Canadian
industry ranks first in the global production of zinc, uranium, nickel and
potash; second in sulphur, asbestos, aluminium and cadmium; third in copper and
platinum group metals; fourth in gold; and fifth in lead. It has interests in
over 8,300 properties worldwide - 3,400 of which are in 100 foreign countries.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, which has been identified as the main
current geographical target for mineral exploration, Canadian mining
corporations represent the largest percentage of foreign mining companies -
with interests in more than 1,200 properties. In 1998, over $4.5 billion USD
were raised by Canadian mining companies through domestic and foreign projects
which represented 51% of the world's mine capital.
Canadian Corporate Interest &Mining in Mexico
The politics of neo-liberalism in Mexico, which gained important ground in the
1980s and took flight with the implementation of NAFTA, have had a tremendous
impact on the presence of Canadian corporate interests in Mexico. Since NAFTA,
bilateral trade between the two nations increased about 300%. According to the
report, Opening Doors to the World: Canada's International Market Priorities -
2006, "Over 1,500 Canadian companies have a presence in Mexico, and a further
3,100 are currently working on their first sales in Mexico." Canada is Mexico's
fifth largest investor. Some of Canada's largest corporations which have a
significant presence in Mexico include Scotiabank, TransAlta, Transcontinental,
Magna International, Palliser, Presion Drilling, Fairmont and Four Seasons
Hotels.
In a 2005 address, the Canadian Ambassador to Mexico, Gaetan Lavertu noted that
"well over half of the foreign mining concessions issued in Mexico are
registered to Canadian companies. The bulk of these investments are from
British Columbia-Mexico recognizes Canada's leadership and technological
advantages in the minerals and mining equipment business".
The importance of Mexico to Canada's mining industry is confirmed by a 2004
report entitled "Current Mexican-Canadian Relations in the Mining Sector" by
Cecilia Costero. The report describes Mexico as almost entirely mineralized
with an estimate of 85% of mineral reserves yet untouched. This despite the
10,380 mines which have already been exploited. After the manufacturing
industry, mining is the second largest Canadian capital interest in Mexico. In
2000, this interest was to the tune of over $150 million USD. In December 2001,
225 Canadian mining corporations were operating in Mexico (over 40% of the
foreign investment), 209 of which owned over 50% of the capital in their
projects. In the same year, Canada led foreign nations in terms of direct
investment in the Mexican mining industry. Further, Mexico imports 75% of its
machinery used for mining and 4.4% of its total market needs from Canada.
Made In Canada: Violence &Displacement
The devastation and violence perpetrated by Canadian mining corporations has
been documented clearly with links to human rights violations in Guatemala,
Peru, Romania, the Philippines, Honduras, Ecuador, Bolivia, Ghana, Suriname,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania, India, Indonesia,
Zambia and Sudan. Though the criticism of Canadian mining corporations taking
advantage of so-called weak human rights protection in the South is made often
enough, significantly less is said about the role of the same corporations in
the destruction and displacement of Indigenous communities within Canadian
borders. In Saskatchewan, on Deline Dene territory, over 1.7 million tons of
radioactive waste and tailings were dumped in and around Great Bear Lake during
the 1940s and 50s, contaminating all food sources of the Dene People. The
community lost 50 men due to radiation effects. Since 1990, 27% of the 609
First Nations reserves in Canada have undergone some level of e!
xploration activity for non-metallic minerals.
In British Columbia, where over 97% of the land is yet unceded First Nations
land according to Canadian and International law, the British Columbia Mining
Plan of 2005 designated over 85% of the province's land "open to exploration"
even setting up an online system for staking mineral claims. (In the right-wing
Canadian think tank The Fraser Institute's 2005/06 survey, mining corporation
executives and representatives ranked B.C. 2nd for "uncertainty about native
land claims" being a deterrent to mining investment; only Venezuela was ranked
higher.) Mining is a $5 billion industry in B.C. with a multitude of Canada's
mining corporations based in Vancouver. In a review of a non-exhaustive list of
Canadian mining companies operating in Mexico, over 60 of them locate their
head-quarters in Vancouver.
Selling Mining Projects
The website of Endeavour Silver, one of those Vancouver based corporations,
includes an industry article which attempts to answer the question, "Why
Mexico?" The piece says that "Mexico is the world's premier silver exploration
and mining country for several reasons-mining is an integral part of national
and local economies-this takes on increasing importance as migration from rural
areas to cities increases due to lack of rural employment opportunities: mines
create economic anchors wherever they are found, which mitigates this effect
locally and allows rural residents to maintain well-paid, dignified and
productive occupations."
In actual fact, reviews of Mexican neo-liberal policies since the 1980s
including NAFTA have concluded that land privatization for corporate use
including mining projects has resulted in an exponential increase in
displacement and migration. Since NAFTA came into effect in 1994, over 15
million Mexicans have been displaced from their lands. The myth that mining is
a necessary activity for economic development has been central to the industry.
Most employment created by mining projects for local residents is short term
and low-paid. Furthermore, mining companies receive heavy government subsidies
in most countries, leave virtual ghost-towns after their projects end and leave
local governments to dispose of wastes. The environmental price and the long
term cost to local communities are never calculated. In fact, the article goes
on to state that "Mexico has strong environmental laws and a commitment to
uphold them, but effective obstructionist environmental organizations are f!
ew". As in the community of Cerro de San Pedro, Mexico which has been battling
Toronto-based Metallica Resources Inc. for over 10 years, communities pay with
the loss of their land, homes, health and lives.
"Culturally," writes the author, "Mexicans are friendly towards mining at all
levels. This means-developers can expect to be welcomed when they enter an
area...in stark contrast to their reception in many other parts of the world."
Currently in Mexico, public audiences are not required by law prior to granting
mining concessions. Local communities are often the last to find out about
mining projects and are hardly ever informed about the projected effects of
mining operations on their land and their health. This phenomenon is not
limited to Mexico. Communities affected by mining in Canada, which is often
attributed respect for consultation processes, have often related experiences
of false consultation processes or deals made between corporations and
so-called community leaders without community involvement. Such has been the
case with Montreal based Niocan Inc. which has been attempting to open a
Niobium mine on unceded Mohawk territory next to the community of Kanehsatake.!
Residents of Kanehsatake received notice of the consultation meetings only
days prior and were shut out of negotiations carried out with Niocan by a
Canadian government backed band-council leader that the community had attempted
to oust multiple times.
These myths are not supported solely by mining corporations. The Canadian
government has been an active player in pushing forward Canadian mining
projects in foreign countries, including Mexico, through its embassy
representatives and trade councils. This type of Canadian government pressure
continues even when mining projects result in the murders of opposing local
residents such as occurred during the opposition to Vancouver-based Glamis
Gold's Marlin mine in Guatemala. Along these lines, Kenneth Cook, the Canadian
ambassador to Guatemala, has recently been denounced for carrying out a
disinformation campaign seeking to discredit a documentary film on the recent
violent eviction of the Maya Q'eqchi' Indigenous communities near El Estor,
carried out on request by another Vancouver-based corporation, Skye Resources(1)
>From B.C. to Oaxaca
Another reason given for Mexico being a prime location for silver exploitation
on Endeavour's website is that "politically, Mexico is the most stable country
in Latin America". Another industry report states that, "political and
financial stability, legal security for investors-are all positive factors
impacting Mexico`s mining industry today. However, one must also consider the
highly unionized nature of its mining and metallurgical workers-and possible
socio-economic issues generated by low wages and under-employment as possible
road blocks to the continued prosperity of the industry".
Weakened workers' rights and the silencing of social movements are necessary
pre-cursors to the flourishing of mining projects in Mexico and elsewhere.
Industry reports such as this one are clear about it. The "political stability"
that corporate and Canadian government reports allude to is certainly not
social stability but rather the heavy-handed control of movements, the
militarization of the country-side and the displacement of local communities
that is currently being seen in Mexico and which allows for the implementation
and protection of corporate investment.
The world has recently become witness to Oaxaca's social movement that is
calling for an end to years of impoverishment through neo-liberal policies,
displacement of Indigenous communities and government violence. The state
violence against this movement has recently increased to unprecedented levels.
Oaxaca, like the rest of Mexico's south is rich in natural resources that have
been the target of foreign corporations for years. Vancouver based Continuum
Resources already has ten projects in Oaxaca at various stages, covering over
70, 000 hectares of land and "continuing to consolidate larger land positions".
At the end of September, Vancouver based Chesapeake Gold Corp announced it had
optioned 70% of its two Oaxaca projects to Vancouver's Pinnacle Mines.
+++Horseshoe Gold Mining Inc., also based in Vancouver, acquired 60% interest
in Almaden's Fuego prospect located in Oaxaca and Halifax's Linear Gold Corp
also owns an active project in the state. Neighbouring Chiapas, ano!
ther of Mexico's most impoverished and most militarized states is also the
target of Canadian mining projects. From 2003 to 2006, the federal government
has granted a total of 72 mining concessions in Chiapas, representing a total
of 727,435 hectares. More than 55% (419,337 hectares) of these lands conceded
without any information or consultation with local communities lies in the
hands of two Canadian mining corporations alone: Linear Gold Corp and Fronteer
Development Group.
Canadian mining corporations in Oaxaca and Chiapas are not just witnesses to
the violence that is occurring there but rely on that violence to protect their
profits. Businesses and governments have identified one of NAFTA's
short-comings as the failure of its benefits reaching Mexico's southern states
rather than an increase in poverty and inequality caused by NAFTA itself. In
more recent business reports and talks between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico
focused on the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), the opening up of
Mexico's energy resources - in particular to Canadian corporations - has been
accorded prime importance. (So has the further development of energy sources in
Canada.) According to the Independent Task Force on the Future of North
America, which has been identified as one of the major business think-tanks
behind the SPP, "improvements in human capital and physical infrastructure in
Mexico, particularly in the center and south of the country, would knit th!
ese regions more firmly into the North American economy and are in the
economic and security interest of all three countries". It comes as no surprise
that the same corporate and government bodies are calling for expansions of
Canada's exploitative guest-worker program which they cite as an example of
bi-lateral success. For Canadian and Mexican governments and business, such
guest-worker programs are a win-win situation as they provide a means to
control forced migration caused by corporate and military displacement while
reaping the economic benefits of a moveable, exploitable labor force in Canada
and through remittances sent to Mexico. According to a Mexican government
official who ran the program for two years in one of the southern states, these
programs also allow for the Mexican government to weaken social movement
building by intermittently removing thousands of its poorest citizens. Canadian
complicity in increasing displacement both at home and in Mexico is to be!
anticipated.
The perception of Canada as the U.S.' junior partner often comes with a lack of
clarity on Canadian responsibility in the history of violence and displacement
within and beyond its national borders. Often, language around Canada-based
solidarity work with the struggles of Indigenous communities, campesino and
labor movements in Mexico distorts the responsibility of Canadian governmental
and corporate players in the violence which has engendered those movements.
Canadian mining corporations are but one example of how Canadians are complicit
beyond just silence on the issues but through a very active process. The
reality of mining also offers a concrete point of solidarity between those who
have been displaced from the South and Indigenous communities in "Canada".
Allies in Canada also cannot limit solidarity work to pointing fingers at a
"corrupt Mexican government" or U.S. imperialist drive. To get to the roots of
this displacement, there is a need to first look inwards at w!
hat is being perpetrated against Indigenous communities here and how the
authors of that violence are also dictating crimes against the people of
Oaxaca, Chiapas and other parts of Mexico.
On occupied Coast Salish land, here in Vancouver, these relationships visibly
come full circle. As development for the 2010 Olympics causes the destruction
of Indigenous land, the gentrification of the Down Town East Side and the
repression of First Nations peoples both outside and inside the city, many of
the unsafe, slave-wage construction jobs are being filled by Mexican men who
are coming from impoverished communities that have similarly been repressed in
the name of development. In the background stand the tall office buildings of
West Vancouver that house the majority of its mining and "development"
conglomerates.
Non-exhaustive list of Canadian Mining Corporations Currently Operating in
Mexico (Many of these companies operate through subsidiaries.)
Company (Headquarters): States with presence
Alamos Gold (Toronto): Sonora
Aquiline Resources (Vancouver): Sonora
Aurcana Corporation (Vancouver): Queretaro
Avino Silver and Gold Mines Ltd. (Vancouver): Durango
Baja Mining Corp. (Vancouver): Baja Peninsula
Bralorne Gold Mines Ltd. (Vancouver): Durango
Canasil (Vancouver): Durango, Sinaloa, Zacatecas
Canplats Resources Corporation (Vancouver): Durango, Chihuahua
Capstone Gold Corp. (Vancouver): Zacatecas
Cardero Resource Group (Vancouver): Baja California,
CDG Investments Inc. (Calgary): Sinaloa
Chesapeake (Vancouver): Oaxaca, Sonora, Durango, Sinaloa, Chihuahua
Columbia Metals Corporation Ltd. (Toronto): Sonora
Comaplex Minerals Corp. (Calgary): Mexico State
Coniagas Resources (Toronto): Zacatecas
Continuum Resources Ltd. (Vancouver): Oaxaca
Copper Ridge Explorations Inc. (Vancouver): Sonora
Corex Gold Corporation (Vancouver): Zacatecas
Cream Minerals Ltd. (Vancouver): Nayarit
Diadem Resources (Toronto): Zacatecas
ECU Silver Mining (Rouyn-Noranda): Durango
Endeavour Silver (Vancouver): Durango
Energold Drilling Corp [Impact Silver Corp.] (Vancouver): Mexico State
Evolving Gold Corp. (Vancouver): currently exploring acquisitions in Mexico
Esperanza Silver Corp. (Vancouver): Morelos
Excellon Resources (Toronto): Durango
Exmin Resources Inc. (Vancouver): Chihuahua
Dundarave Resources Inc. (Vancouver): Chihuahua
Farallon Resources Ltd. [Hunter Dickinson] (Vancouver): Guerrero
Firesteel Resources (Vancouver): Durango
First Majestic Silver Corp. (Vancouver): Jalisco, Coahuila, Durango, Zacatecas
Fording Canadian Coal Trust [NYCO] (Calgary): Sonora
Formation Capital Corporation (Vancouver): Tamaulipas
Fronteer Development Group (Vancouver): Jalisco, Chiapas
Frontera Copper Corporation (Toronto): Sonora
Gammon Lake Resources (Halifax): Chihuahua, Guanajuato
Genco Resources (Vancouver): Mexico State
Goldcorp Inc. (Vancouver): Sinaloa, Durango, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Zacatecas
Gold-Ore Resources Ltd. (Vancouver): Sinaloa
Golden Goliath Resources (Vancouver): Chihuahua
Grandcru Resources (Vancouver): Sinaloa
Grayd Resource Corporation (Vancouver): Sonora
Great Panther Resources Ltd. (Vancouver): Durango, Guanajuato, Chihuahua
Grid Capital Corporation (Vancouver): Chihuahua
Hawkeye Gold and Diamonds (Vancouver): Nayarit
Horseshoe Gold Mining (Vancouver): Oaxaca
Iamgold Corporation -royalties- (Toronto): Chihuahua
Iciena Ventures (Vancouver): Sonora
Impact Silver Corp. (Vancouver): Zacatecas
International Croesus Ltd. (Vancouver): Jalisco
Intrepid Mines (Toronto): Sonora
Kimber Resources (Vancouver): Chihuahua
Linear Gold Corp (Halifax): Chiapas, Oaxaca
Macmillan Gold (Toronto): Durango, Sinaloa, Zacatecas, Jalisco, Nayarit
MAG Silver Corp (Vancouver): Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Durango
Minefinders (Vancouver): Chihuahua, Sonora
Morgain Minerals Inc. (Vancouver): Durango, Sonora
Metallica Resources Inc. (Toronto): San Luis Potosi
Mexoro Minerals Ltd. (Vancouver): Chihuahua
Northair Group (Vancouver): Durango, Sinaloa
Northwestern Mineral Ventures (Toronto): Durango
Oromex Resources (Vancouver): Durango
Orko Silver Corp. (Vancouver): Durango
Pacific Comox Resources (Toronto): Sonora
Palmarejo Silver and Gold (Longueuil): Chihuahua
Pan American Silver (Vancouver): Sonora
Pinnacle Mines Ltd. (Vancouver): Mexico State, Oaxaca
Quaterra (Vancouver): Durango, Zacatecas
Rome Resources Ltd. (Vancouver): Sonora
Ross River Minerals (Vancouver): Sinaloa
Roxwell Gold Mines (Vancouver): Sinaloa
Santoy Resources Ltd. (Vancouver): Sinaloa
Scorpio Mining Corporation (Vancouver): Sinaloa
Silver Crest Mines (Vancouver): Sonora
Silver Standard Resources (Vancouver): Durango, Mexico
Soho Resources Group (Vancouver): Durango
Sonora Gold Corp (Vancouver): Sonora
Sparton Resources (Toronto): Sinaloa, Sonora
Starcore International Ventures (Vancouver): Puebla
Stingray Resources (Toronto): Chihuahua
Southern Silver Exploration (Vancouver): Jalisco, Chihuahua
Stroud Resources (Toronto): Chihuahua
Teck Cominco Ltd. (Vancouver): Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas
Terra Novo Gold Corp. (Vancouver): Michoacan
Tumi Resources (Vancouver): Chihuahua, Sonora
Tyler Resources (Calgary): Chihuahua
UC Resources (Vancouver): Durango, Nayarit
Valdez Gold (Toronto): Chihuahua
War Eagle Mining Company (Vancouver): Chihuahua
West Timmins Mining Corp. (Vancouver): Sinaloa, Chihuahua
Zaruma Resources Inc. (Toronto): Sonora
NOTES:
1. To watch the video of the eviction of the communities near El Estor, you can
download it from the Rights Action website in MOV format (158 Mb):
http://www.rightsaction.org/video/elestor/eviction.mov
or watch it from Internet at YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v0K1XzNPTcMA
or in Google Videos:
http://video.google.es/videoplay?docid-1237089109280705311
Written with the help of: Antoine Libert Amico
--
The Center for Economic and Political Investigations of Community Action
(Civil Association)CIEPAC A.C.,
is a member of the Movement for Democracy and Life (MDV) of Chiapas,
the Mexican Network of Action Against Free Trade (RMALC) www.rmalc.org.mx,
Convergence of Movements of the Peoples of the Americas (COMPA ),
Network for Peace in Chiapas, Week for Biological and Cultural Diversity
<http://www.laneta.apc.org/biodiversidad>,
the International Forum "The People Before Globalization",
Alternatives to the PPP
and of the Mexican Alliance for Self-Determination (AMAP) that is the
Mexican network against the Puebla Panama Plan.
CIEPAC is a member of the Board of Directors of the Center for Economic
Justice
<http://www.econjustice.net/> and the Ecumenical
Program on Central America and the Caribbean (EPICA) http://www.epica.org.
Note: If you use this information, cite the source and our email address.
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