Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

In the north of Ecuador, the municipality of Buenos Aires is peacefully resisting an Australian mining company that wants to mine gold and copper in its mountains.

The residents are calling on the authorities to guarantee their human rights and to respect their decision against mining.

In northern Ecuador, in the Urcuquí district of Imbabura province, the discovery of gold has caused a frenzy.
Thousands of prospectors have invaded the area without any authorization.

They destroy the peaceful life of the inhabitants and, through the use of highly toxic mercury and cyanide, seriously damage agriculture and poison streams and rivers.

Now the greed for the shiny metal has apparently also seized politics, authorities and companies: gold and copper are supposed to be mined in a large-scale opencast mine – supposedly legally.

The community has been affected by a new invasion since April 19, 2021.

esidents complain that the HANRINE company, a subsidiary of the Australian company Hancock Prospecting, entered the community with a column of trucks.

The staff would intimidate the residents and claim to have all the permits necessary for mining.

The residents of the municipality of Buenos Aires reject mining (© Bonaerenses Unidos Protectores del Ecosistema – BUPROE)

Ecuadorian human rights organizations warn that the mining company HANRINE does not have a permit. In addition, according to the state audit office, the concession was awarded to the company when the mining cadastre was closed.

Regardless of whether it is illegal or supposedly legal mining, the residents of Buenos Aires are determined not to allow gold and copper mines.

So far, they have prevented the convoy from passing through with a peaceful protest (see video).

Please support their urgent letter to the Ecuadorian authorities and the mining company.

They should know that the world is watching and that they must respect the decision of the church.

The world looks at what is happening in Ecuador.

https://www.regenwald.org/petitionen/1237/ecuador-stoppt-die-gewalt-im-bergbau

And I mean… “We will defend the rivers, the streams, the mountains, the animals and everything that exists in our community in any case,” the residents reaffirm their peaceful protest.

Since 2017, they have repeatedly spoken out against mining.

With the corporations came one catastrophe after another for the local people: a criminal network had emerged around the illegal mines in which a number of crimes were committed – such as murder, forced prostitution, human trafficking, money laundering and smuggling, around 10,000 armed members and criminal groups are mining for gold in the region, according to official information.

In addition to the destruction of the environment and livelihoods, there is violence, lawlessness, alcoholism and prostitution.

The now planned so-called legal mining, the industrial mining of gold and copper in large-scale opencast mining, will make the problems even worse, people fear. The Hanrine company has concessions covering an area of ​​around 23,000 hectares.

54,000 tons of soil are to be moved every day, in Tundayme almost 30,000 tons of toxic waste are left behind every day.
The mega-project is expected to produce around one million tons of copper and 500,000 ounces (a good 14 tons) of gold by 2036.

Please sign the petition, maybe we can alleviate part of this human and natural disaster

My best regards to all, Venus

Filed under: GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional |