Human rights and the extractive resource industry

For ProDesc, the right to development for rural communities is vital for the construction of a just and equal society. Therefore, we consider that both national and international companies should comply with national regulations and the highest standards of human rights protection. Companies should compensate communities for damages to the land. Land is the only heritage of these farming communities and it has come under great risk because of the abuses of the extractive mining industry in México.

Ejido la Sierrita de Galeana: Land Defense against the Canadian Mining Company Excellon

ProDesc has worked with the shared landowners of the community “La Sierrita de Galeana” in the state of Durango since July of 2007. We have provided legal support and consultation for their organizing efforts in the struggle to defend their lands from the devastation of the Canadian mining company Excellon Resources Inc.

The Community

The ejido (common landholding common in Mexico) of la Sierrita de Galeana is located in the municipality of Tlahualilo Durango. It consists of an area of 6,436 hectares. The ejido is composed of 127 shared landowners with 2,691 of the hectares designated as common use land. There is also an area designated for the “Agriculture and Industrial Entity of the Woman” and another sector reserved for the community school.

The large part of the population of La Sierrita are women, children, and the elderly. Due to the lack of work opportunities and the high level of poverty in the region, the men of working age have migrated to nearby cities such as Gómez Palacio or Ciudad Juárez and to the United States.

Community children have limited and insufficient access to education. The schoolhouse only consists of one room for three levels of Kindergarten, one room for six grades of elementary school, and a third room for the three high school classes through a “tele-high school.”

The inhabitants of la Sierrita have to pay weekly for imported water because there is no potable water, nor drainage. The community also lacks medical facilities, which means they must travel to the neighboring community, “Nombre de dios” for medical care. If they have an emergency, they must travel to the city of Gómez Palacio, Durango.

The Mine

The mining company Excellon de México, S.A. de C.V. is a subsidiary of Excellon Resources, Inc. of Canada. Currently, this company has a mine in the municipality of Mapimi, Durango. Excellon México first came to explore the region in 2000 and its mines were referenced on their website as the Platosa/Saltillera properties, 40 km north of Torreón. It is important to point out that the Platosa/Saltillera operations are Excellon Canada’s only mine. Excellon Canada has a market value of $193 million Strategies USD (based on June 6, 2007). At the end of fiscal year 2006, the company had $26.3 million USD in assets, $ 23.6 million USD in liabilities, and $2.7 million USD in profits. Theire operations in fiscal year 2006 saw sales of $23.5 million USD.

Background

On May 2, 2004 the General Assembly of the Ejido approved the rental of four hectares of common use land for $300,000 pesos M.N. per hectare for a period of 30 years ($1,200,000 pesos M.N. in total) to Excellon México. Nonetheless, without the willingness of the General Assembly, in a meeting on May 26, 2004 in Gómez Palacio, DGO, ex-representatives of the Ejido commission signed a contract for the rental of twenty-six hectares to Excellon for 30 years for $1,200,000 pesos M.N.; the price of the four hectares authorized by the Assembly.

On February 14, 2007, the attorneys for the mining company contacted the current Assembly commissioners to let them know that the company is interested in “buying” another 2700 hectares but offering to pay for only 1100 hectares at $25,000 pesos per hectare. The landowners have decided to defend their land and enter in a negotiation process regarding the use and exploitation of their lands by the mine, and to avoid any threats of expropriation of the land if they do not sell. They also hope to be able to continue living in a dignified manner on their land.

La Sierrita 2007/2008

The use of the 27 hectares has damaged the land in several ways. Excellon’s exploratory convoy has destroyed the land by creating large holes, deforestation of the mountainsides, and the destruction of maguey cacti, which are used to make mezcal, bags, wells, and clubs for the use of the landowners. The drill grease makes plants and grasses nearby dry out, altering the nature of the soil and the ecosystem of the Ejido.

Contaminated water escapes from the exploration tunnels. This water creates a pool on parts of the Ejido of about one meter 20 centimeters in depth which furthers deteriorates flora and fauna which is also an important food supply for the community.

We worked with the community to create a strategic plan through the end of 2007 and invited representatives of Excellon de México to start a dialogue regarding a just and equal relationship between the mining company and the landowners of la Sierrita. After several failed negotiations and social action by the community, the vice-president of the mining company came to Durango to negotiate. A just contract was reached which includes the following points:

• A lease agreement for 1100 hectares of surface rights forup to 30 years for MX $5,000 pesos per hectare per year with annual renewals.
• A community development fund with an initial payment of MX $3,000,000 pesos and MX $500,000 pesos per year thereafter up to 30 years. The development fund will be managed by the community for such projects such as a drainage and running water system.
• The community will sell the original 27 hectares on which Excellon currently conducts mining activities.
• Excellon promises to provide concessions for transportation of materials and the cafeteria as part of the mining operations.
• Excellon promises to provide hiring preference to La Sierrita community members
• Excellon will provide scholarships for children in the community for both basic and higher education.
• Excellon will construct a water treatment plant for the water extracted from the mine so that it may be used for agricultural use.

Cuetzalan del Progreso: Environmental Damage due to the exploration of the Canadian mining company Luismin

In August of 2007, a group of small landowners contacted ProDesc for legal advice regarding the defense of their lands and the protection of the environment affected by the mining company Luismin. In September, members of ProDesc visited the community of Cuetzálan del Progreso, Guerrero, with the hope of evaluating the damages made by the mine and starting an organizing effort with the community. In October, a group of 40 landowners agreed to form a “Committee of Citizens for the defense of the land.”

ProDesc continues to advise the “Committee of Citizens for the defense of the land” so that they can achieve a just arrangement with the mine and guarantee the protection of their economic, social, and cultural rights.

Background

Starting in 2003, the mining company Luismin S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of the Canadian transnational Gold Corp entered the land of forty small landowners of the municipality of Cuetzálan del Progreso in Guerrero in order to start exploration activities. They intended to do so without authorization of any of the landowners and caused environmental damages to both the land and the region.

Cuetzálan del Progreso is a community in northern Guerrero: the name comes from the Náhuatl Quetzalla language and means “water that flows from the land of the Quetzales.” The municipality of Cuetzálan is located to the northwest of Chilpancingo. It consists of 449.8 square kilometers.

The main natural resources in this region are its flora and fauna, which consist of a variety of species. The region also has many rivers, streams, and lakes. Furthermore, the soil in the municipality is very fertile for agriculture and ranching. 49,980 hectares of the region is forested and 21% of this land is used for agricultural activity.

Recent Events in Cuetzálan del Progreso

In 2007 a group of approximately 40 small landowners formed the “Committee of Citizens” which has documented the damages incurred by exploration activities. They ask the following from the company:

• Payment for harm done to their land
• Back Rental of the lands for the exploration work they have done without consent.
• Reforestation
• Employment for the inhabitants of Cuetzálan del Progreso

They also ask the following secondary requests of the company:

• Maintenance of a potable water system for the municipality
• Maintenance of a health clinic with basic medications.

The Carrizalillo Ejido defends their right to development against the transnational mining company Goldcorp, Inc.

For the last ten years Carrizalillo has witnessed mining companies invade its lands to begin exploration operations. Mining companies such as La Pareña S.A. de C.V., New Mont and Peñoles S.A. de C.V came through Carrizalillo’s agrarian center, ultimately yielding their concession rights to Luismin, now owned by the Canadian-based multinational Goldcorp, Inc.

The Carrizalillo ejido is in the municipality of Eduardo Neri in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. It is made up of 1400 hectares of land, of which more than 1000 are in Goldcorp, Inc.’s control. Goldcorp manipulated the rural conscience of the community land-owners through its many false promises to the community: that they would be partners, improved living conditions due to increased employment, better housing, and that within a short time the money they would earn would allow them to purchase property in Guerrero’s capital, Chilpancingo.

The Carrizalillo community is historically famous for their expertise in mezcal production and corn cultivation that provided food security for its population. The mining companies’ exploitation of the land destroyed their productive agricultural activities and the company began employing the community’s labor instead as workers for its company.

In early 2007, the ejidatarios and community members of Carrizalillo acknowledged that Goldcorp, Inc. had not fulfilled its promises. It became clear that they were not benefiting at all from the company’s presence in their community because not only had Goldcorp failed to honor the payments they had agreed upon, but the community had been left virtually without any land to cultivate corn and agave needed for the production of mezcal.

For the above reasons, and with support from the Centro de Derechos Humanos de la Montaña “Tlachinollan” AC and ProDESC, the community began to organize to demand just and equitable treatment from the mining company.

After the community staged a strike, implying significant monetary losses for Goldcorp, Goldcorp agreed to a dialogue with the ejidatarios. The mining company projected the emission of more than 200,000 ounces of gold in its first year of production for a profit of $9,200,000.

After an eighty-three day strike, on April 1, 2007, Goldcorp and the Ejido del Carrizalillo came to an agreement based on restoring a just and equitable relationship under the following conditions:

1. The parties agreed that the 1000 plus hectares that Goldcorp possessed would be incorporated into an annual lease agreement under which the community members would not lose their heritage. The company had previously manipulated the community into agreeing to sell them their land by threatening them that Goldcrop would simply expropriate the land if the community wouldn’t sell it to them.
2. The parties agreed that the lease amount would be a sum of 13,500 – 14,000 pesos of annual income for the agrarian center.
3. They agreed on a social-project package including commitments by the mining company to:
1. Build a community hospital and provide medical services;
2. To pave the public-access road to the community;
3. To install a potable water system;
4. To build preschool classrooms;
5. To build a computer center and provide computers and corresponding equipment;
6. To build a sewing workshop from which the company will purchase uniforms for its workers;
4. Goldcorp agreed to provide three support packages to ejidatarios:
1. A scholarship package to strengthen education for the community’s youth;
2. A support package for senior citizens through food vouchers;
3. An economic package for persons with disabilities;
5. Parties agreed to a clause stipulating an annual revision of the agreement in which each year representatives from Goldcorp and Carrizalillo will come together to renegotiate the price of the land-lease as well as the social benefits needed for development of the community.

In accordance with the clause for annual revision of the agreement mentioned above, today Goldcrop and Carrizalillo are in a negotiation process to raise the amount of the land lease as well as a social development package including the following components:

1. Given that the mining company occupies 85% of Carrizalillo’s agrarian center, Goldcorp will donate 600 contiguous hectares of land within its lease to the ejido as private property.
2. The above mentioned plot will be used to begin a land restoration process due to the fact that the Carrizalillo ejidatarios have reasonable doubts about the conditions that the 1,000 hectares Goldcorp is leasing will have when it is returned.
3. The community is also requesting that the 600 hectares donated by Goldcorp finance a community development plan through sustainable productive projects.

The social package described evidences the process of self-management that Carrizalillo is beginning to engage in, one that does not engender the agrarian center’s dependence on the mining company.

Opportunities to assist community organizing processes that ProDESC is currently analyzing:

ProDESC recently received a request for support from the Capulalpan de Méndez community in the state of Oaxaca and the Huizopa community in the Maderas Municipality in the state of Chihuahua.

Both of these are cases where communities are asserting their rights to land, territory, and natural resources against Candian mining companies.

Capulalpan de Méndez is a Zapoteca indigenous community located at the bottom of the Juárez mountains in the state of Oaxaca.

ProDESC is currently evaluating the opportunity to declare the unconstitutionality of the mining concessions granted by the Secretary of Economy to the Continium Resources Canadian based company as a violation of the Zapoteco indigenous community of Capulapan’s right to be consulted, guaranteed by Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization.

Previous mining exploitation in Capulapan de Méndez has not generated any development for its Zapoteco indigenous community. In fact, mining activities dried up eleven springs that previously provided water to the community. In this way, an increase in mining activities as proposed by Continium Resources thus produce a real risk of exhausting the community’s entire water supply.