It’s that time of year again, when the mining sector in Canada gathers to project a fantastical picture of itself to an unsuspecting world. Thats the PDAC convention in Canada.
This is the annual conference of the Prospector’s and Developer Association of Canada, which takes place in Toronto, recently wrapped up on June 15th. The World’s Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Gathering promotes itself as “the premier convention for individuals, governments, businesses, and organizations involved in mineral exploration.”
In obscene words, the conference is used by the business to congratulate itself, strike backdoor agreements with politicians, and try to sway gullible investors and the media into believing that everything is “just great” and growing better with the sector. A lot of made-up “facts” that look fantastic on PowerPoint presentations are paraded alongside certain truths about the countries’ realities in order to sell themselves and entice new mining investment. The end of that.
One such is the government’s description of the Llurimagua mining project, which is a project I am well familiar with and is located in the northwest of the nation. It has been developed since 2011 by the state-owned Chilean Codelco and the national mining firm of Ecuador, Enami.
Due to community opposition and disagreements amongst the partners, the last nearly four years have come to a full halt. Additionally, the environmental impact research was conducted so poorly that they are scrambling to remedy it (still not approved even though it was presented for approval over three and a half years ago).
It is also ironic that thousands of his compatriots were out on the streets of the country protesting the government’s economic policies, including the expansion of the mining and petroleum frontier, one of the ten demands CONAIE, the influential indigenous organization, is striking on, as the government ministry was outlining how safe a bet Ecuador is for mining. Additionally, they are urging the revocation of Decree 151, which supports mining. The nationwide strike, which is currently in its fourth day, shows no signs of abating.
Naturally, the presenters chose to omit a few “facts,” including the fact that a constitutional challenge is still pending in an effort to thwart the Llurimagua project. that one of the most biologically varied and vulnerable forests on earth is home to the mining site. Due to Ecuador’s acknowledgment of the Right of Nature, the cloud forests are home to several species that are in risk of going extinct and any one of them might easily put the project to an end.
More information at: www.decoin.org & www.codelcoecuador.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdrtRYPHMS8