Members of the anti-mining group Asamblea de Tinogasta, in the province of Catamarca, returned to their roadblock yesterday to find various items missing or burned.

The roadblock, which has been in place since 29th January, obstructs the main road leading to Bajo la Alumbrera, Argentina’s first and biggest open-pit mine. Opened in 1994, Alumbrera is a copper and gold mine controlled by the Swiss company Xstrata Copper and Canadian groups Goldcorp Inc. and Yamana Gold.

The vandalism occurred yesterday at midday while protesters were away in town. Assembly member Dario Moreno, who was beaten and arrested with two other protesters in a clash with police on 12th May, believes Tinogasta mayor Hugo Avila is behind the order to dismantle the camp.

“We had gone to do some shopping and in half an hour the Municipality’s white truck arrived, driven by a kid that we know, who we even called to say that we would denounce what they had done”, Moreno told local sources.

“He [the driver] told me that [Miguel] Cassin had ordered it, the Secretary of Public Works, and that he had an order from Avila to burn everything we had here, and whatever they couldn’t burn, to take away in the truck”, he said.

Tinogasta is one of many Andean towns currently at the center of the debate on “mega-mining” in Argentina. Residents worry that the controversial method of extraction can have devastating effects on the environment, such as contaminating local sources of drinking water.

Minera Alumbrera, the consortium of mining companies led by Xstrata, has denied causing any pollution or health problems in the area.

Items taken from the roadblock include goods, pots, blankets, tents, a cellphone, and a radio.

“This is a robbery,” Moreno said, “and it is also a question of politics, a persecution that we’ve been subjected to for a long time.”

Police are currently investigating the incident, and members of the Asamblea de Tinogasta have returned to the site to rebuild what was destroyed.

The Venezuelan Government announced yesterday that they are investigating allegations that illegal miners massacred dozens living in a Yanomami tribe near the border of Brazil.

The indigenous community of Irotatheri was reportedly attacked last month in the southern Venezuelan Amazon. Although the number of people slain is still unknown, survivors of the massacre and people from nearby villages claim at least 80 people were murdered.

Luis Shatiwe Ahiwei, leader of the Horonami Yanomami Organization, told the New Zealand Herald that visitors from a nearby village found charred bodies and the community’s shabono torched, the shabono is a circular hut where generally dozens of people live.

Due to the community’s remote location it took days for those who discovered the bodies to report the incident to the nearest settlement.

According to the Yanomami organization only three survivors have been accounted for. Ahiwei said the survivors told him they had been out hunting when the hut was set on fire. He said they heard gunshots, explosions and the sound of a helicopter, which is sometimes used by illegal miners to fly in supplies.

The attack prompted indigenous activist groups to call on the Venezuelan government to investigate and to work with Brazil in order to control the movement of miners in the area.

The Yanomami remain one of the largest isolated indigenous groups in the Amazon with an estimated population of 30,000 living in both Venezuela and Brazil. They have maintained their own language as well as traditions such as face paint and wooden facial ornaments.

In recent years the soaring price of gold throughout world markets has created an increase in illegal gold miners that encroach on the Yanomami’s land.

“For three years we have been denouncing the situation,” said Ahiwei to Survival. “There are lots of gold miners working illegally in the forest.”

Numerous Yanomami activists pointed to an attack in 1993 where Brazilian miners killed 16 people, and in 2010 when four people in the indigenous community were killed due to water contaminated by mining.

“This is another appalling tragedy for the Yanomami — heaping crime upon crime,” said Stephen Corry, director of Survival to CNN. “All Amazonian governments must stop the rampant illegal mining, logging and settlement in indigenous territories.”

Twelve former Cuban officials, including some high-ranking government employees, have been jailed for corruption in their involvement with a nickel mining company.

According to the Communist Party newspaper Granma, the defendants committed their crimes under an expansion project at Moa nickel mine’s Pedro Soto Alba processing plant.

The prison terms range from four to 12 years.

The dozen defendants worked for the ministry of basic industry, state-run nickel producing company Cubaniquel, and Empresa Moa Nickel SA.

Alfredo Zayas, who led Cubaniquel and served as a deputy minister from 2004 to 2007, was given the longest sentence of 12 years. Former deputy minister Ricardo Gonzalez, who chaired the board of directors, was sentenced to ten years. Antonio Orizon de los Reyes, deputy minister from 1980 to 1999 and who was on the project’s committee, was given the next longest term of eight-years. The remaining defendants were jailed between four and seven years.

The convicted were found guilty by a court in Holguin of corruption during the awarding of contracts and implementation of the project to expand the Moa nickel and cobalt mine. Moa is jointly owned by Cuban and Canadian mining company Sherritt International Corp.

The court took into account “the gravity of these acts and their harmful consequences in one of the strategic activities for the nation’s economy and the conduct of the accused, characterized by the loss of ethical values and deception,” the bulletin read.

Nickel production is one of Cuba’s main sources of foreign income. In April a senior government official said the mineral accounted for 30 per cent of exports in 2011. According to the Canadian Press, with this figure nickel revenues would be put at US$1.8bn for the year based on overall export figures.

President Raúl Castro has repeatedly spoken out about corruption since his inauguration in 2008. He has said that corruption posses the most serious threat to his country’s socialist system.

Brazil- Police are targeting illegal gold mining in the Yonamami indigenous reserve, close by the Brazil’s Venezuelan border.

Brazilian police have arrested at least 26 people involved in the illegal gold mining taking place in the region. Gold, mining equipment, and several aircraft were also seized in the area.

The Yanomami had been speaking out against invading miners for some time now, but police had yet to act until this recent series of arrests.

Brazilian police announced that the miners were causing grave environmental damage and identified five criminal groups involved. These actions are the result of a year-long investigation in Roraima state, according to the Federal Police.

The environmental impact was worsened by the use of highly-toxic mercury to separate gold from the river silt, the clandestine nature of the mining contributing to the use of more detrimental practices.

The reserve is home to around 20,000 Yanomami, who live in isolation over an enormous area – spanning nearly 100,000 square km.

The soaring price of gold on world markets has driven a surge in unlicensed gold-mining into many parts of the Amazon, threatening its delicate ecosystem and the many indigenous groups claiming residence there.

The General Confederation of Workers (CGTP) in Peru is marching today in solidarity with the anti-mining movement in Cajamarca. The CGTP has called a “national day of struggle” and is demanding the removal of Prime Minister Oscar Valdés.

Mario Huamán, secretary general of the CGTP, has said marches will take place in the capital, Lima as well as in ten other locations across the north and south of Peru.

“We will not be striking,” Huamán said. “This is a set of activities by teachers unions, construction workers, rural workers, young people women and leftist organisations.”

He added that the marches were in solidarity with “the struggles of the people of Cajamarca in rejecting the Congo mining project planned by the Newmont company from the United States.”

The march coincides with the second day of demonstrations taking place in Cajarmarca organised by the Frente de Defense. The North Andean region and its people will suffer from the project, according to the group.

Earlier this month Cajamarca was declared under a state of emergency following a police crackdown in which five people died and 21 people were injured.

“Valdés is to blame for all the social upheaval happening in the country. It is due to the repressive policies he has applied in order to bring economic benefits to the hands of a privileged few,” Haumán said.

The union will also ask Peruvian president Ollanta Humala to “find solutions to the unresolved issues; layoffs, rising costs of living and public safety.”

Yesterday, Humala announced his intention to set up a working group with representatives opposed to the mine in Cajamarca. The group will be mediated by two religious representatives from the Catholic Church, Bishop Miguel Cabrejos and Father Gastón Garatea.This announcement follows a meeting held by Humala with two groups protesting the mine.

Protests began in 2011 against the North American mining company, Newmont, which plans to dry four lakes in the high regions of Cajamarca to extract copper and gold. Last May, Cajamarcans declared a protest with no defined end point.

The death toll has risen to five as tension escalates over the Conga mining project in Peru. On Friday, Jose Sanchez Huaman, a 29-year old farmer from Cajamarca, was reported to have died after receiving a bullet to his head from police in Celendín, where dozens of protesters have been attempting to take over the municipal government.

The regional president of Cajamarca, Gregorio Santos, confirmed the report and expressed his outrage via Twitter. On the social network, he declared those killed during the protests to be victims of President Ollanta Humala and his dictatorship in the capital.

Many of the 1.4 million people living in the mountainous and tropical state of Cajamarca have been rebelling for more than a month against the controversial gold-mining project that is expected to cause massive ecological damage to the water supply in the region.

Newmont, a US mining corporation, was recently granted approval by the Peruvian government to start the project after agreeing to take additional measures to preserve the environment.

Currently, the state of Cajamarca, which includes the provinces of Celendín and Hualgayoc, are in states of emergency and under military control.

The government of Peru today declared a state of emergency in three northern provinces after three people were killed and at least 21 injured in demonstrations yesterday against the Minas Conga project.

Today marks the 35th day protesters have been striking against the Conga project, which they argue could contaminate and destroy regional water supplies. The protests have been led by regional president Gregorio Santos, an outspoken critic of the mining project.

The state of emergency was declared in the provinces of Cajamarca, Hualgayoc and Celendín. All three provinces are located in the Cajamarca region.

Thousands of protestors participated in yesterday’s demonstrations, which devolved into violent clashes between protestors and the police, who were also supported by members of the army.

Approximately forty members of the Peruvian National Workers Confederation (CNTP) broke through the main doors of the city and provincial government centres in Celedín. Mauro Arteaga, the mayor of Celedín, recently declared himself in favor of the Conga project.

Once inside, demonstrators allegedly burned papers and furniture. Protestors also caused damage to the guardhouse, and lit a motorcycle on fire.

In response, police fired shots into the air and released tear gas. As the conflict escalated, protestors threw fireworks.

Three male protestors were killed, including a 17-year-old minor. Two of the victims were shot in the head, while the minor suffered blunt force trauma.

At least two police officers and two members of the army were injured. The Minister of the Interior confirmed that the two policemen were shot by protestors.

At least 15 people have been arrested in response to yesterday’s violence.

The state of emergency declared today will last for thirty days. Under emergency rule, certain constitutional rights – such as the right to assemble – are restricted.

Minister of Justice Juan Jiménez stated, “We are entering a violent process that must be stopped, which is why a state of emergency has been declared in the provinces of Cajamarca, Celendín and Hualgayoc, so that order and peace can be restored in these jurisdictions”.

Still, Jiménez stated, “the government maintains an attitude of dialogue”.

Congressman Mesías Guervera, however, warned today that the state of emergency may “further infuriate the people of Cajamarca”, and that the measure only serves to furhter militarize the region and eliminate space for dialogue.

The US$4.8bn Conga project – currently the biggest investment in Peru – is directed by Minera Yanacocha, which in turn is majority held US company Newmont Mining Co.

Nearly all work at the mine has been stalled since November of 2011 due to ongoing regional unrest about the project. Last December, a state of emergency was also declared in the Cajamarca province when protests over the Conga project escalated into violence that also ended in deaths.

The Conga project requires that four lakes in the region be dried out in order to extract gold and copper.

The company is required to construct four reservoirs of water and fill them with the water from the lakes. Yanacocha has promised the Peruvian government that it will guarantee the water supply to Cajamarca, but citizens of the region remain distrustful that they will fulfill their obligations complete with the requirements.

They also hold that the reservoirs would not be an adequate substitute for the lakes in fulfilling the agricultural needs of the region.

After a seven-month pause in the project, Humala gave permission last week for the project to move forward after Newmont agreed to stricter environmental protections.

The federal government endorses the project; President Ollanta Humala has stated that the project would generate significant jobs and tax revenue.

In response to the decision to move forward with the project, regional president Santos threatened that the demonstrations would become radicalized.

Humala has come under criticism for the way that his government has dealt with protests over mining projects in the country.

At least fifteen people have died in protests since he took office a little less than a year ago. What’s more, opponents have critiqued his use of emergency rule in reaction to protests; in addition to the two states of emergency that have been called in Cajamarca since he took office, a state of emergency was also declared in May in the province of Espinar when protests over a cooper mine in that region also lead to two deaths.

Today, Santos accused the government of having managed yesterday’s conflict “irresponsibly” and called for the state of emergency to be lifted.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has given the green light to a controversial mining project in Cajamarca today. The Congo goldmine project, run by Newmont has faced mass opposition due to potential health and environmental risks. However, today the president announced that Newmont has agreed to stricter environmental measures and that the project will go ahead.

Local community and opposition groups continue to stage protests against the development, maintaining that the mine will have a devastating impact on the local community.

“We had already made plans for Newmont and we welcome the fact that Newmont agrees with our proposals,” said Humala following a night of protests which left six people wounded and seven civilians under arrest.

Newmont has agreed to measures which they claim will increase the water supply to the region. The president of Yanacocha, the company managing the Congo scheme under Newmont today said “before constructing the mine, we will construct artificial reservoirs and lakes which will quadruple the volume of water”.

The US$4.8bn project will be Peru’s biggest mining investment ever and Newmont claims it would produce between 580,000 and 680,000 ounces of gold annually as well as guaranteeing year round water supplies. However, environmental and community groups claim that the benefits of Peru’s mining boom have passed them by.

One of the most vociferous campaigners against the project has been Wilfredo Saavedra, president of the Frente de Defensa Ambiental de Cajamarca. He has reacted furiously to Humala’s decision and earlier in the week derided attempts by the regional president of Cajamarca, Gregorio Santos, to negotiate on the scheme.

Saavedra is joined by community groups who feel they have suffered at the hands of Peru’s mining industry. Local business owners have been on strike this week calling for recognition of the devastating impact the plans have had on local businesses, some of which have had all reservations cancelled this year due to the proposals.

Peru is the sixth largest producer of gold and second largest producer of copper. However, poverty remains a constant issue and many feel the benefits of the country’s natural resources have been dealt disproportionately across the country.

EL SALVADOR – Canadian mining company, Pacific Rim Mining Corporation has been allowed to proceed under El Salvador’s investment law but not under the provisions of the Central America Free Trade Agreement according to a World Bank panel ruling.

Pacific Rim initially filed a case against the government of El Salvador in 2009. The Canadian company was denied mining permits after activists from the country persuaded the government to bar the company from operating there.

National Roundtable on Metallic Mining of El Salvador (La Mesa) persuaded the Salvadoran government to halt gold extraction by denying mining permits to Pacific Rim, US-based Commerce Group, and Sebastian Gold Mines. They bolstered the cases by illustrating the lack of environmental impact assessments and poor environmental records.

La Mesa is a large organization of community groups and human rights NGOs working to prevent gold extraction in El Salvador.

In response Pacific Rim used rules from the ‘free trade’ agreement between the US and six other countries in the region. In 2010 the Canadian company won the first stage of proceedings on these grounds.

The mining companies pursued the case at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) demanding US$100 million each in damages on the grounds declared in the investment chapter of the Central America-Dominican Republic -US Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) that came into effect in 2005.

According to La Mesa representative Vidalina Morales, “Pacific Rim has assailed our country, breaching environmental requirements, undermining laws, provoking environmental damage, economic losses, social conflict and corruption, and it should be judged for that. But the roles have been inverted, and it is the company that sues the country and the perpetrator who sues the victim.”

The ICSID will make a binding decision on whether El Salvador unfairly failed to license the mine proposed by the Pacific Rim Mining Corporation or had the sovereign right to reject it after the company had already made investments.

Loncopué in Neuquén has become the first town in Argentina to hold a binding referendum on mega-mining projects after it voted against an open-pit project.

Asamblea de Vecinos de Loncopué (AVAL) confirmed to the press that 84.5% of the assembly voted against the development of open-pit mine extractive enterprises.

In 2008 the Neuquén Mining Coporation (Cormine) and Chinese mining company Enterprise Mining SA agreed to start a copper mining project near the town. The project has since been stalled by protests led by the Mellao Morales Mapuche community and town members who came together against the mega-miners.

The vote, originally scheduled for last year, took place after a change in municipal authority. It was arranged to assess public support or opposition to the project.

Supporters of the mining project said they will start legal processes to oppose the vote.

“The city council has no power to enact this ordinance on a binding referendum. Next week we we will present an action before the Supreme Court, because it is absolutely unconstitutional,” said State Attorney Raúl Gaitán, who argued that there is a conflict of powers.

Environmental organisations criticised these pro-mining groups for trying to sabotage the voting process and discredit the referendum by claiming it’s unconstitutional. The organisations state these are false claims used to confuse the community.

The town, whose main industries are tourism and cattle farming, is in the northwest of the Loncopué province has around seven thousand inhabitants. Many had gathered in the main town square to hear the result, celebrating when announcements declared an opposition to the mega-mining companies.