Protecting Niger’s Desert Salt Pans

The Bilma community has mined the salt pans in the massive Ténéré desert region in northern Niger for centuries. But the threat of the ever-encroaching desert has become a real concern as locals here struggle to cope with a decline in salt prices.

Displaced by Gold Mining in Colombia

"I was displaced here by mining a month ago. Illegal miners forced me out of my municipality. No, don't write down where I'm from, let alone my name," said a 40-year-old black man frightened for his safety. IPS agreed to say only that he is from Colombia’s southern Pacific coast region.

Mining and Logging Companies “Leaving Chile without Water”

More than 100 environmental, social and indigenous organisations protested Monday in the Chilean capital to demand that the state regain control over the management of water, which was privatised by the dictatorship in 1981.

Activist Shareholders Slam Brazilian Mining Giant

Representatives of social movements and communities affected by Brazilian mining company Vale's operations have bought shares in the company, to make their voices heard.

Women Miners Blast Through Barriers in Chile

Women are playing an increasingly important role in Chile’s mining industry, where little more than a decade ago they were not even allowed in the mines because of prejudice and superstitions.

Prolonging the Life of the World’s Biggest Copper Mine

El Teniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine, has already been in operation since 1905, but the state-owned National Copper Corporation of Chile (CODELCO) wants to keep it running for another 50 years.

Mining Investment Won’t Switch from Chile to Peru

The Chilean government has warned of the potential flight of mining and energy investments to Peru because of court rulings that have paralysed large-scale mining projects in the north of the country. But this fear is unfounded, at least in the short term.

Group Warns of “Natural Resources Giveaway” in Latin America

Researchers have unveiled new data warning that governments in Latin America are infringing on the rights of their indigenous populations in a bid to fuel development through the extraction of natural resources.

Civil Society Seeks to Influence Mexican Mining Law Reform

Two separate bills to reform Mexico’s mining laws, one from the government and the other from academics and NGOs, agree on the urgent need for major changes in the rules governing the industry.

China Maps Out Venezuela’s Valuable Mining Resources

An agreement signed by the government of Venezuela and the Chinese state-owned company Citic Group for prospecting and mapping the country's mining reserves is being challenged by both the opposition and experts who argue that it will leave valuable natural resources dangerously exposed.

Open Pit Miners Strike in Colombia

Two weeks into an indefinite strike called by workers at Cerrejón, one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world, the company has agreed to sit down again and negotiate with Colombia's National Union of Coal Industry Workers (Sintracarbón).

India Undercuts Tribal Rights

Over a decade ago, the Dongria Kondh tribe – tucked away in the Niyamgiri hills, a mountain range in the eastern Indian state of Orissa – found itself under attack.

‘No Blue Skies Opportunities’ in South African Mining

A calamitous year in mining has left many wondering whether it should still have a part in South Africa’s future. Illegal strikes, including one that left 47 people dead near Marikana in the northwest of the country, soaring costs and depressed world commodity markets have left the industry in its worst crisis in years.

Deaf Ear Turned to Local Opposition to Mines in Guatemala

As the mining industry booms in Guatemala, local communities are increasingly opposed to the operations of the mainly foreign companies because of the potential negative effects on the environment and on their villages.

Outgoing Mexican President’s Environmental Legacy Questioned

"A Canadian firm wants to extract minerals in our area; it will harm the environment and use up water needed by the community," complained Hipólito García, who lives in Tetlama, 110 kilometres south of the Mexican capital. Similar complaints are echoed around the country.

Mining Saps a Thirsty Desert

The Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in the southern Gobi desert in Mongolia has become a symbol of a looming crisis: a limited water supply that could be exhausted within a decade, seriously threatening the lives and livelihoods of the local population.

Caught Between Quarries and Sea Erosion

After more than a century of fighting sea erosion by massively dumping granite boulders along the beaches of southern  Kerala state, environmentalists and administrators are beginning to see that this has been a costly and ineffective solution.

Major Extractives Firms No Longer Ignoring Community Consent

New research from Oxfam, an international aid agency, finds that some of the largest multinational oil and mining companies are increasingly incorporating principles of community consent into their day-to-day operations.

Water for Phosphate, Not People

Gafsa region in the south of Tunisia was once an oasis; today the phosphate industry has plunged it into a water crisis.

Justice a Long Way Off for Dead Miners

The South African Police Service members who were involved in a bloodbath with striking workers at the Marikana mine in North West Province could face murder charges, sources close to the investigation told IPS.

U.S. Passes New Rules Regulating Conflict Minerals

After a 16-month delay, a U.S. government regulator charged with investment oversight has voted on rules that will now govern U.S.-listed companies operating in the extractive industry as well as those that use minerals whose sale may fuel violence in other countries, particularly in central Africa.