Canadian Mining Companies Are Responsible For Numerous Environmental And Social Injustices

The Mining Act, 1990, has a significant role in protecting Ontario’s vast mineral resources and brings forth a set of policies in which promote responsible mining development and extraction. The provincial government plays an integral role in the provinces mining industry because the Act requires that all mineral claims must be recorded and accepted by the Crown which from then the two parties discuss a lease fee for the mineral rights. After locating a mineral claim in an area deemed open by the Crown, there are two options available for leases, the first being “The holder of a mining claim may elect to apply for a lease of the mining rights only.” (Government of Ontario, 2017), while the second option allows both the surface rights and

Morocco is rich in mineral deposits and the third largest phosphate rock producers. Morocco has vast reserves of phosphate rocks, copper, cobalt, anthracite coal, silver, gold, iron ore, zinc, manganese etc. The quality of water in the areas surrounding mining sites is compromised during and after the mining with harmful agents such as Arsenic (As), Lead (Pb), Zinc(Zn) etc.Due to this water pollution and the fact that water resources are limited, a large number of people and livestock in villages close to the mining sites are affected with serious life threatening diseases. In such areas thirty percent of the wastewater that is untreated is discharged directly into natural water bodies. As an example, the Sebou basin that constitutes

In the research report “Coal Blooded: Putting Profits before People” by the NAACP, they explore devastating health, economic, and environmental effects of coal pollution in low-income communities and communities of color. The NAACP and their allies ranked 378 coal fired power plants nationwide based on their Environmental Justice Performance. They discovered the average income of communities surrounding coal plants are lower than the nationwide average and almost half are people of color. In addition to rankings, they have asserted coal pollution isn’t just an environmental issue, but a civil and human rights issue. “This report will help put a human face on the life and death issue of coal pollution,” stated Executive Director of Indigenous

This kind of factory is doing tasks, which affect the environment. Thus, the maquiladoras must change the form that they clean their machines and work areas such as caterpillar, a world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment: diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines and diesel-electric locomotives. they used politics of environment that its said, “We continually encourage all of Team Caterpillar to challenge waste, eliminate inefficiencies, and work to deepen their understanding of our true impact on the world in which we live.” So, qua Caterpillar the maquiladoras need to have in mind if they want to care for the earth such as using friendly chemicals, recycling their junk, and changing their

In 2014, mining contributed $54 billion to Canada’ gross domestic product. The mining industry has thrived on the concept of globalization. It has been reported that 75% of the world’s mining companies are headquartered in Canada (Dean, 2013) and many have expanded to other countries. Mining is notoriously known for acid mine draining; the pollutant that occurs when water flows through a sulfur-exposed material. Not only is treatment for acid mine drainage expensive, causing taxpayers millions of dollars to clean it; it also contaminates drinking water, kills wildlife, and destroys infrastructure. The Telkwa Coal Mine in Smithers, British Columbia, is especially known for its role in damaging one of the town’s biggest industries; fishing. The coal mine is located near the Skeena River; a river filled with fish. In 1997, the Skeena fishery reported a 12% decrease in salmon population (Zilker, 1998) due to the acid drainage material released by the Telkwa Coal Mine. This was a significant hit considering the Skeena fishery was one of the provinces’ most important sources of income (Zilker, 1998). Due to action taken by protesters, however; mining companies are faced with strict regulations by Environment Canada (Souza, 2013), and the effect of acid mine drainage has lessened over the years. However, bit by bit, globalization is continuously destroying Canada’s environment and negatively

The Brukunga Mine site located 4 km north of Nairne, and 40 km east of Adelaide in the Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia mined iron sulfide minerals such as pyrite and pyrrhotite through open pit methods between the years 1955 and 1972. The mine was opened as a source of sulphur for the production H2SO4 to be used in the production of superphosphate fertiliser in 1955. After the closure of the mine in 1972 fresh sulfidic minerals were left exposed in the floor of the quarry, resulting in exposure to air, water and bacteria which oxidised the minerals and broke them down forming acid drainage. Acid metalliferous drainage (AMD), also known as acid mine drainage, is both an environmental and economic issue which impacts metal, coal and diamond

Canada, which is the headquarters of Barrick Gold Corporation, runs 60 percent of the world’s mining corporations across the globe. Notwithstanding the fact that even though it is the forerunner in this industry, Canada has not taken the lead on mediating or taking responsibility for the behavior of their corporations abroad. The consequence of this carelessness is, Canada has drawn criticisms from around the world, first from the environmental, religious and human rights organizations, and now increasingly from international institutions, such as the United Nations.

In this paper I argue that lawsuit filed against ChevronTexaco for dumping 18 billion gallons of toxic wastewater, spilling roughly 17 millions gallons of crude oil, and leaving hazardous waste in hundreds of open pits dug out of the forest floor have affected more than the ecosystem of the Ecuadorian Amazon. ChevronTexaco has also completely threatened the Ecuadorian indigenous people’s way of life and was able to delegitimize their claim due to the global capitalist system and lack of epistemic justice. However I also argue in this paper that the indigenous people’s struggle against ChevronTexaco is an exemplification of resistance to the global capitalist system and stands in solidarity with the global justice movement.

| From a social perspective there is far less reticence about adverse environmental impact in Brazil as opposed to the UK for example, and as such Brazil and Petrobras have taken steps to reduce and control adverse effects of their exploration efforts (Petrobras, 2011). The Salt Institute (SI, 2012) indicate that mining for Rock salt does cause known environmental stresses such as fragmentation and also indicates that transportation of the salt can have adverse environmental impact. The SI strongly advocates the use of permits in order to regulate the industry, a view shared by Mol (2010).

This gold mine, Yanacocha, it's considered one of the largest mine in South America. The problem consists the way how to extract or get the gold. The process starts with taking down hills and as the result creates deep pits. Besides to destruct the hills, the chemicals of the explosives go in the streams. Later, when the farmers take their animals to drink water they get sick and sometimes even quickly die. Also, people who live in the region still in poverty. According to the article "The effect of IMF and World Bank programs on poverty", the Bank try to make adjustments to loans but this does not make any difference or have a strong impact reducing poverty in the countries where the project it's implementing. Another issue, people wonders about their health, if the animals are at risk also their families could be. All these issues make people be angry at the company that even don't belong there, like Newmont Mining Corp (an American company) who asked for the loan to do the project. One of those people is Milton Sanchez, a leader of the protest movement said: "The gold they take out of our region is stained with blood". In the other hand, the organization argues it follows regulations to don't harm the environment and people, but

Matters concerning informed consent, whether such notions pertain to the scope of mining or not, is another obvious limiting factor that continues to infringe on the rights of indigenous populations. The Negotiated Justice Model presents a valid means of amelioration with respect to the issues covered so far during this module, however, the economic authority that these billionaire mining corporations have, appear to take precedence over the essential human rights of indigenous populations; in spite of the fact that legislature has attempted to resolve this problem. Like large pharmaceutical companies, through analysis it is quite clear that money is the motivating factor for these mining corporations to posses such authority. Unlike large

Public concerns about worker exploitation and environmental degradation arose with the expansion of outsourcing and production in emerging economies where poverty, abundant labor, and need for job creation provided unprecedented opportunities for large multinational corporation (MNCs) to shift production from high-wage countries to low-wage countries. Starting with isolated complaints from

The problem of AMD is serious at many sites and can happen after mine closure. Quantities and concentrations of AMD depend on site-specific characteristics. Chemical, biological, and physical factors are important for the rate of AMD generation. These factors can be characterized by dumps with high permeability and high oxygen ingress that contribute to higher ARD reaction rates. The dumps that increase sediment loads can cause loss of habitat in the surrounding area. Thus, this leads to higher temperatures and increased oxygen ingress through convection. These factors can also be characterized by low pH values (altered chemical equilibria) and elevated content of heavy metals (toxicity to aquatic organisms and human users) and dissolved salts (salinization problems for agriculture and sensitive users). For countries in more humid areas, high levels of precipitation can aggravate the problem of AMD [2]. Also, bacteria that can accelerate AMD generation due to their ability to oxidize sulphur minerals and increase the rate of sulphur oxidation, which is an important factor in ARD formation [3]. All of these discussed factors can accelerate the production of AMD to a level that can be problematic.

In our days, mining for resources is inevitable. The resources we need are valuable in everyday life. Such resources mined up are coal, copper, gold, silver, and sand. However, mining poses environmental risks that can degrade the quality of soil and water, which can end up effecting us humans if not taken care of and many of the damages are irreversible once they have occurred.

The mining industry has seen an explosive growth from the past few decades. It has played an important role in economic growth, infrastructure development and a raise in the living standard of the whole world. According to the Australian National Accounting System, the mining sector has made contributions of 9.8% GDP growth to the Australian economy between 2008 to 2009 (Australia Bureau of Statistics, 2012). However, the mining industry has caused many environmental issues such as adverse effect to air, land and water quality and continues to affect global environment as a whole. According to the World Health Organization, it evaluated that 25% of worldwide death are directly associated with environmental pollution (Blacksmith Institute, n.d). This essay will outline the environmental issue raised by the mining industry with pinpoint focus on the effects to air, water and land. It will also provide strategies for mining companies to improve the environmental conditions.