EU Increases Approved Yards Addressing Current Constraint on Ship Recycling

EU expanded its list adding three new scrapyards and renewing three more to help address capacity constraints (file photo)

PUBLISHED JUL 28, 2023 9:45 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Pressure continues to mount to address the lack of facilities approved by the European Union to address end-of-life ships. There is a growing concern that companies operating within the EU already face significant constraints on recycling capacity with will only get worse as the industry transitions away from older fossil fuel vessels to address emerging emissions standards. 

Analysts highlight that roughly 15,000 ships with a deadweight capacity of over 600 million tonnes are already in line for dismantling over the next decade. While that number will likely increase due to tough decarbonization regulations, Europe lacks the capacity to recycle end-of-life vessels. The challenge is further compounded by the fact that a majority of the yards currently approved have length and draft constraints, meaning it will be difficult for them to handle the larger ships expected to head for recycling in the future.

Responding to some of the concerns, the European Commission has adopted the 11th edition of the European List of ship recycling facilities. They added three new yards, Anadolu Gemi Söküm, BMS Gemi Geri Dönü?üm, and Kiliçlar Geri Dönü?ümlü Maddeler, all in Turkey to the recognized facilities. Three other yards, San Giorgio del Porto in Italy whose authorization had expired on June 6, 2023, and Denmark’s Modern American Recycling Services Europe and Fayard whose authorization was set to expire on August 23, 2023 and November 7, 2023, also had their licenses renewed.

The latest revision increased the number of yards approved to dismantle vessels under strict safety, health, and environmental conditions established by the EU to 48. The revised list includes 38 yards in Europe (EU, Norway, and UK), nine yards in Turkey, and one yard in the U.S., each of which has the mandate to dismantle end-of-life ships.

“As part of the implementation of the EU Ship Recycling Regulation, the Commission will continue and increase the monitoring of compliance of the yards on the European List with the conditions set out in EU legislation, including, when necessary, through unannounced inspections,” the regulators said in announcing the release of the revised list.

Europe, whose shipowners possess around 40 percent of the world fleet, has intensified the crackdown on member states' flagged ships being dismantled outside the approved yards. Specifically, they are targeting yards in Southeast Asia where recycling is performed under conditions that do not meet the EU’s standards for protecting workers’ health and the environment.

Data from the NGO Shipbreaking Platform shows that a total of 443 ocean-going commercial ships and floating offshore units were sold to the scrapyards in 2022. Of these, 292 of the largest tankers, bulkers, floating platforms, cargo and passenger ships ended up on the beaches of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, amounting to more than 80 percent of the gross tonnage dismantled globally.

The NGO reports that in 2022 at least 10 workers lost their lives when breaking vessels on the beach of Chattogram, Bangladesh with another 33 severely injured. Another three deaths were documented in India with three injuries occurring in Pakistan. They highlight that some of the accidents took place onboard vessels formerly owned by well-known shipping companies including Berge Bulk, Sinokor, and Winson Oil.

The enactment of the tough EU Ship Recycling Regulations in 2018 has been instrumental in drastically cutting down the number of EU-flagged vessels being dismantled in southeast Asia. The NGO reports that Greece is the main EU member still sending end-of-life ships to the Asian beaches. Yards in Alang, India for example have also been working to improve their standing in order to gain EU certification.

The European list of approved yards is regularly updated to add further compliant facilities or to remove facilities that have ceased to comply with a number of strict safety and environmental requirements. Ship recycling facilities located in other countries and seeking to recycle ships flying a flag of a member state, can only be included in the list following thorough evaluation and checks on their compliance with the regulations.

Also looming over the shipbreaking industry is the pending newly-ratified Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships. After years of lobbying, Liberia and Bangladesh ratified the global standard which will now enter into effect in 2025. It could help to see the Southeast Asian facilities gain broader acceptance but others worry it will only provide a justification for shipowners to continue to use yards that have lower standards for environmental and safety issues.

ECOCIDE

Towing begins of cargo ship ablaze off Dutch coast

This handout photograph taken on July 28, 2023 from the Coast Guard plane and released on July 29, 2023 by the Dutch coastguards, shows a Multrasalvor 4 rescue vessel sailing next to a fire aboard the Panamanian-registered car carrier ship Fremantle Highway. — Picture by Handout / Netherlands Coastguards / AFP

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Monday, 31 Jul 2023 7:59 AM MYT

THE HAGUE, July 31 — Towing began yesterday of a cargo ship packed with electric cars that went up in flames off the Dutch coast following delays due to weather conditions, authorities said, racing to prevent an ecological disaster.

Movement of the smouldering Fremantle Highway — with nearly 500 electric vehicles on board — began in the last afternoon, early five days after the blaze began, the national water management agency Rijkswaterstaat said.

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The ship is slowly being towed some 16 kilometres north of the islands Schiermonnikoog and Ameland, a few dozen kilometres from its last official position.

Saturday’s attempt to salvage the ship was postponed due to high winds that engulfed the rescuing tug in smoke, posing health and safety risks for the crew.

“There was considerably less smoke on the cargo ship this afternoon,” the government agency said, adding the vessel’s stability was constantly being monitored following concerns of it sinking.

The tow could take up to 14 hours depending on weather conditions, smoke and the tide.

The cause of the fire that broke out late Tuesday remains unclear, although the vessel’s owner has said one of the electric vehicles on board may have been the source.

The Fremantle Highway was located in the Wadden Sea at the time of the blaze, raising concerns about the impact of pollutants on the waters and nearby archipelago of ecologically sensitive islands.

One sailor died after he and 22 others were rescued from the burning ship that had forced some crew members to jump overboard. 

— AFP

Dutch Salvors Begin Tow of Fire-Ravaged Car Carrier

PUBLISHED JUL 30, 2023 6:13 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

On Sunday afternoon, the fire aboard the stricken car carrier Fremantle Highway finally subsided enough that the burned-out vessel ceased smoking, allowing salvors to begin a towing operation to bring the hulk to a safe location for damage control and inspection. 

The salvage team established a secure tow connection to the vessel's stern on Friday, linking up to the tug Fairplay 30. On Sunday, taking advantage of reduced smoke, salvors made up a tow line to a second tug. The car carrier is now under way with both tugs pulling at about three knots, accompanied by the Kustwacht response vessel Guardian and the pollution control vessel Arca.  

 

 

 

Salvors wait for the smoke to die out, July 30 (top) and finally begin the tow (bottom) (Kustwacht)

 

Once the vessel has been towed to the new temporary location, the tugs will remain connected for control and position-keeping. A periodic airborne watch will monitor for any possible pollution. So far, no releases of oil have been observed. 

As soon as the situation aboard the ship allows for a safe tow into port, Dutch maritime authorities would like to bring it alongside a pier to complete salvage operations. The relocation in progress on Sunday is an interim step in the process.

The operation would have started on Saturday, but the wind direction and the continued smoke from the vessel prevented it. The orientation of the tow would have put the tugs in the path of the smoke, increasing risk to the health and safety of the tug crews. The same southwest wind continued Sunday; it was only the eventual cessation of the smoke that allowed the team to proceed.

Based on photos provided by the first responders, the Fremantle Highway has taken on a slight list to starboard. The patterns of paint burn-off cover most of the port side and half of the starboard side, indicating that the fire swept through most of the ship's car decks above the main deck level, from bow to stern. Photos taken Saturday show heavy smoke pouring from the aft-most upper decks, but the paint largely intact; by Sunday afternoon, the paint in this location was gone, indicating that the fire continued to burn at high temperature as late as Saturday night. 

Smoke pours from the stern of the Fremantle Highway, July 29 (Kustwacht)

A thorough evaluation of the extent of the damage will have to await a boarding and inspection of the vessel. 

The cause of the fire is not yet known for certain, but the presence of electric vehicles has sparked a minor controversy. Initial reports indicated that there were 25 electric cars aboard out of 2,857 total; in an updated report Friday, K Line clarified that there were 498 electric vehicles aboard out of 3,783 total. 

Owner Shoei Kisen Kaisha told the Dutch broadcaster NOS that “there is a good chance that the fire started with electric cars.”

Efforts Underway to Begin Towing Burning Fremantle Highway Car Carrier

Fire has continued to come down in intensity making it possible to begin to tow the hulk (Dutch Coast Guard photos)

PUBLISHED JUL 28, 2023 7:24 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

With the intensity of the fire aboard the car carrier Fremantle Highway continuing to dissipate, Dutch authorities announced late today that they are preparing to reposition the ship in the first of a series of steps that they anticipate will ultimately bring the wreck to a still to be determined port. As they were reporting progress with the fire aboard the ship, a new controversy is developing over the number of electric vehicles and total number of cars aboard the ship, leading to further speculation that EVs are a major contributing factor to the fire that has now burned for four days.

“Rijkswaterstaat and the salvage companies have now started preparations for towing the freighter to an area further east than its current position,” the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water announced shortly before midnight on July 28. They have been working closely with the Dutch Coast Guard and the private salvage company hired by the owners of the car carrier since the fire was reported shortly before midnight on July 25.

The timing of the movement of the hulk will depend on several factors, including the level of smoke coming from the ship and weather conditions. The goal is to bring the ship from its current position approximately 14 miles north of Terschelling to a new position approximately 10 miles north of Schiermonnikoog. It will be a move of about 35 miles to the east that they anticipate will take between 12 and 14 hours to complete.

 

 

Rijkswaterstaat consulting with the salvage team believes the move is possible because the Fremantle Highway while showing a list is stable and there are no signs of damage below the waterline. They believe the vessel is not in danger of heeling over at this time, but as a precaution, their oil recovery ship Arca continues to stand by and will accompany the tow.

Once the vessel has been repositioned, they will consider further steps. The goal is to continue to move it from the new temporary position and they expect it will soon be possible to tow the ship to a port.

These developments came as they reported that while the fire is still burning aboard the Fremantle Highway it continues to dissipate. Measurements of the temperature on board the ship showed that it dropped sharply during the day and the level of smoke continues to decline. They reported similar findings yesterday after stopping the cooling efforts. They have however said that they were waiting for the fire to burn itself out.

As the intensity of the fire dissipated today, the salvage team was able to briefly place four of its members aboard the vessel. They were taken to the Fremantle Highway aboard the Multrasalvor 4 and only remains aboard for a short period. While they were aboard, they were able to secure a stronger towline strung the Coast Guard reports from the top of the ship and now attached to the Fairplay 30. The earlier line they had previously said was only capable of being used to hold the vessel in position and was strung from a connection lower on the hull.

The new strong connection will aid in the next phase of the efforts. They are currently using it to hold the vessel in position outside the busy shipping lanes. However, it will also be able to support the planned towing operation.

 

 

The authorities continue to caution that the origin of the fire is unknown, but today a spokesperson for the vessel’s charter operator K Line of Japan revised earlier reports about the number of vehicles aboard the ship. The Coast Guard using the available manifests said at the beginning of the incident it believed there were 2,857 cars of which only 25 were electric vehicles.

Both Reuters and Associated Press are quoting a spokesperson for K Line, Pat Adamson, saying the accurate number is 3,783 vehicles. They are saying the number includes 498 battery-electric vehicles. 

Previously, both Mercedes and BMW confirmed that they had vehicles aboard the vessel. It is unknown what quantity of vehicles or if they were gasoline or electric. The ship was reportedly carrying both new vehicles and secondhand cars. The AIS signal shows that it was bound for Port Suez while K Line said the destination was to have been Singapore. 

A fire is still burning on board a car-carrying cargo ship near a sensitive Dutch bird habitat

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/07/ecocide-fire-is-still-burning-on-board.html

 

Canada Leads North Pacific Mission Against Illegal Fishing

Annual mission seeks to stop illegal fishing in the North Pacific (file photo)

PUBLISHED JUL 28, 2023 9:07 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

An annual mission to the North Pacific Ocean is now underway designed to tackle the hazard of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing that is believed to be contributing to a massive decline in fish stocks and destroying marine ecosystems. During the four-month Indo-Pacific voyage, which is part of Operation North Pacific Guard (ONPG), an annual international law enforcement operation that targets illegal fishing on the high seas, the officers will also collect scientific data to enhance understanding of the high seas environment, including the migration range of species of interest including Pacific salmon.

The mission, which for the first time is led by Canada and includes officers from the U.S Coast Guard, will encompass an area of approximately 11 million square miles to conduct patrols, including high seas boardings and inspection operations, to ensure compliance with regulations and to detect illegal and unreported catch. This comes as Canada is raising a red flag that increasing IUU fishing activities are posing a significant risk to salmon populations in the North Pacific Ocean. They highlight the drastic decline in recent years of the salmon population while recognizing that warming ocean temperatures are also a major threat to the species. Scientists project that going by the current rate of overfishing, salmon survival will decline by as much as 90 percent over the next 40 years.

Data by the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission show that commercial salmon catches throughout the North Pacific dropped in 2022 to the second-lowest harvest of this century after reaching all-time highs in 2018. In its annual report that tracks salmon populations and catches as reported by its five member countries, Canada, U.S., Japan, Korea, and Russia, the commission asserts that salmon catches during the year amounted to 710,400 metric tonnes or approximately 353.9 million fish.

The Canadian government reports its Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) is supporting the current mission against IUU whose overall aim is to enhance conservation, protection, and enforcement efforts in high-risk areas for Canada’s Pacific salmon stocks. As part of the PSSI, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has committed more than C$46 million (US$35 million) over the next five years to combat IUU fishing in the North Pacific, including the deployment of a high-seas patrol vessel in the region.

Though there are over 1,200 vessels registered to fish in the high seas beyond the 200 nautical mile jurisdiction of the North Pacific under the North Pacific Fisheries Commission, the waters which span from the Canadian coast to Japan have witnessed a significant increase in IUU activities. Analysts believe that the majority of the activities are being conducted by “dark” fishing fleets often with links to China.

IUU fishing has been estimated to account for roughly 30 percent of all fishing activity globally, amounting to as much as 26 million metric tonnes of fish and costing the global economy over US$18 billion annually.

“Pacific salmon is vital to the food security, cultures, and economies of numerous First Nations, as well as the livelihoods of thousands of workers in rural and coastal communities in British Columbia and Yukon. As fish are not bound by borders, we must take decisive action to safeguard these species. This high seas enforcement operation will assist in the rebuilding efforts we are undertaking domestically,” said Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

During the mission, the Canadian Coast Guard will be contributing experts in navigation and small craft operations with advanced levels of emergency medical training while the U.S. Coast Guard will provide experienced boarding officers.

The annual mission has been instrumental in enforcing the United Nations Ban on High Seas Driftnets and in ensuring compliance with regulations that protect against IUU, which is fast emerging as a global menace not only due to its impacts on stocks and ecosystems but also because of undermining the livelihoods of approximately 40 million legitimate fish harvesters.

In a similar mission last year, Canadian officers uncovered incidents of sharks being caught and kept and garbage pollution. They also encountered many vessels with improper identification markings and several cases of harvesters failing to maintain proper catch records, a key element used to calculate sustainable harvest limits.

Albemarle ends early contract deal with Chile supervisors union

Reuters | July 28, 2023 

(Image courtesy of Albemarle Chile.)

Albemarle, the world’s top lithium producer, said on Friday it had closed an early collective bargaining agreement with its union of supervisors at its three locations in Chile.


“This important agreement establishes the conditions, rights and obligations of both parties, in a collective instrument that replaces the previous one, and that comes into force as of June 19, 2024,” Albemarle said in a statement without elaborating.

In late June, the company reached an early deal with another union representing 345 workers across its three sites that will be effective in December. Lithium is essential in electric vehicle batteries.

Miners routinely seek to seal early contract negotiations to avoid the risk of strikes at their operations.

Albemarle andSantiago-based SQM are the only lithium producers in Chile, whose government is seeking state control over the industry.

State-owned Codelco, the world’s largest copper producer, announced in late May the start of formal negotiations to establish a new public-private partnership with a state majority.

(By Fabián Andrés Cambero and Alexander Villegas; Editing by Richard Chang)

Saudi metals deal to test Canada’s new foreign investor rules

Bloomberg News | July 28, 2023 | 

Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in labrador. (Image courtesy of Vale)

Canada’s vow to curb foreign investment in its critical minerals sector will face its first major test with Saudi Arabia’s deal to buy into some of the country’s largest nickel mines.


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government introduced new rules in October that added a layer of regulatory scrutiny to investments by foreign state-owned entities. Such deals will only be approved “on an exceptional basis” if they’re considered a “net benefit” to the country.

“The government will give enhanced scrutiny to this type of investment,” Canadian industry ministry spokesperson Sean Benmor said in a Friday statement. “The government takes very seriously its responsibility to protect national security and acts decisively when necessary.”

Vale SA announced Thursday that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Saudi Arabian Mining Co. agreed to buy a joint 10% stake in the Brazilian mining company’s base metals unit. Vale operates Canada’s largest nickel mine, Voisey’s Bay in Labrador, and operations in Sudbury, Ontario.

Canada’s approval process would involve a national security review that can take 200 days or more and would then require sign off from Canadian lawmakers including the federal industry minister. Vale’s chief executive officer Eduardo Bartolomeo dismissed the potential for regulatory hiccups in a Friday interview, pointing to Canada’s recent restoration of diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia.

“We are the ones who run the show, they are passive partners,” he said in an interview. “Our principles will rule.”

(By Jacob Lorinc and Mariana Durao)

The mining world turns to Saudi cash for critical metal supply

Bloomberg News | July 30, 2023 | 

Bandar Ibrahim Alkhorayef, Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources.

A $2.6 billion deal announced last week has set the stage for a potentially landmark shift in the metal and mining investment landscape: the arrival of Saudi Arabia as a pivotal player.


The agreement with Vale SA gives the kingdom a 10% slice in one of the world’s crucial suppliers of nickel and copper — essential metals needed to decarbonize. It’s also held other talks, including with Barrick Gold Corp. about investing in a big Pakistan copper mine, according to people familiar with the matter. Speaking privately, executives at top miners said the value of Thursday’s deal made clear that the Saudis are ready to splash cash around.

The move comes as the question of who controls the commodities needed to both sustain and decarbonize the world’s economies has turned into a global flashpoint, jumping to the top of agendas in the US and Europe.

China has for years been the dominant buyer and a key source of funding, as it sought to secure supply for its rapid industrialization. But as tensions with the West have mounted, the mining industry is now facing increased pressure to look elsewhere.

Saudi Arabia is seeking to take minority stakes in global mining assets that will over time help provide access to supplies of strategic minerals. The country also is looking to build a metals-processing industry that could in turn make it more attractive for international miners to exploit its mineral deposits — a central pillar of Saudi efforts to diversify the economy away from oil.

The kingdom has invested heavily into industrial and financial assets and even turned the world of sport upside down by essentially buying the game of professional golf and piling into soccer. However, the Vale deal announced last week is its first major foray into mining. Manara Minerals, a new venture between the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund and state mining company, will get a stake in Vale’s base metals business, giving Saudi Arabia an interest in mines from Indonesia to Canada producing copper, nickel and other industrial metals.

For western producers, the kingdom offers access to deep pools of capital, which are appealing as Chinese funds become less politically palatable, but also as some institutional investors have turned less comfortable with mining over environmental concerns.

Investors from the region — Qatar is already a major backer of Glencore Plc — are now likely to become one of the most important financiers for the capital hungry sector, according to serial mine builder Robert Friedland, who spent the last few years developing one of the world’s biggest copper operations, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with the help of Chinese funds.

“Now, probably, the largest supply of capital to the mining industry will come from the Middle East,” he said in an interview last month.

But Saudi Arabia offers something else beyond cold cash: political backing for companies looking to expand into the Muslim world as deposits in more traditional jurisdictions are depleted.

Canada’s Barrick has been in talks with the Public Investment Fund about a potential stake in its Reko Diq copper project in Pakistan, which is a relatively untouched frontier for the international mining industry, according to people familiar with the matter. Bringing the Saudis on board would not only ease Barrick’s funding burden, but also introduce a partner that has significant political influence in Pakistan, the people said.

Spokespeople for the PIF and Barrick did not comment.

Saudi Arabia’s deep pockets may also present some challenges for the biggest producers who are looking for deals of their own. Keen to get more exposure to copper and nickel, miners have started writing the biggest checks in more than a decade. BHP Group and Rio Tinto Group — the two largest — have just completed multi-billion dollar deals to grow in copper, while Glencore Plc tried to buy Teck Resources Ltd.

For years, the big producers have found themselves repeatedly outbid by Chinese companies when it comes to buying mines. China’s state-owned metal and mining companies have been willing to pay valuations that western firms simply couldn’t match. Saudi Arabia now seems willing to do the same, potentially putting some deals beyond the reach of the industry’s traditional buyers.

Executives at two of the biggest mining companies, which have spent years assessing base metal assets such as those owned by Vale, said privately that they were surprised by the price tag in last week’s deal, which valued the unit at $26 billion (RBC Capital Markets said it was worth about $21 billion.)

Still, unlike Chinese companies, Saudi Arabia is currently more interested in securing stakes — guaranteeing future supply of critical minerals — rather than buying outright and then operating the assets.

Saudi Arabia set down a marker earlier this year when it announced the new firm to invest in mining assets globally, with $3.2 billion for initial investments. The country holds an annual mining conference, which this year featured the CEO of the world’s biggest mining company, BHP’s Mike Henry, as well as the chairman of no. 2 producer Rio Tinto — a major step up from past speakers. CEOs from other top miners are expected to attend next year.

For mining companies looking for funds, the US and Canadian governments’ recent crackdown on Chinese investment in key metals companies has changed the investment landscape. That’s given an opening to Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia to fill the gap.

“Everything’s changed,” said Friedland.

“The American government has an ‘ABC’ policy: Anything But China. So the American government instead goes to rulers in the Middle East and says, “You should be giving the African people an alternative for financing mines in Africa. Recycle some of those petro-dollars.”

(By Thomas Biesheuvel and Jacob Lorinc, with assistance from Mariana Durao, Dinesh Nair, Archie Hunter and Matthew Martin)

Southern Copper getting more optimistic on stalled Peru mine

Bloomberg News | July 28, 2023 | 

Tia Maria mine. (Image courtesy of Southern Copper Corp.)

Southern Copper Corp. is growing more optimistic about being able to build a fiercely contested copper mine in the coastal mountains of Peru as sociopolitical tensions ease.


The company has been trying for years to convince local communities of the merits of the Tia Maria project. A 2019 decision to approve its license unleashed weeks of protests and former President Pedro Castillo singled it out as a non-starter. But the company says it’s been making progress with communities of late.


“Basically we are relatively much more optimistic than we were a year ago,” chief financial officer Raul Jacob told analysts on an earnings call Friday.

Developing the $1.4 billion project would be a major breakthrough in a country where the mining industry’s relations with isolated rural communities often sour. It’s part of Southern’s $15 billion pipeline of projects this decade.

(By James Attwood)

Ecuadorean votes could bar oil output in Amazon reserve, mining near Quito

Reuters | July 31, 2023 

View of El Panecillo in the center of Quito with the Cotopaxi in the background. Stock image.

Ecuadoreans will decide in two August referendums whether oil and mining projects in key regions of the country can continue, weighing Indigenous and environmental concerns against billions in potential lost income.


The South American country could lose about 12% of its 480,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) crude oil output if voters approve shuttering the 43-ITT block in the megadiverse Yasuni nature reserve in the Amazon, while a local referendum in Quito would bar mining in the Choco Andino forest, scuppering six gold concessions.

Environmental activists and communities near the sites say the bans are necessary to protect nature, fight climate change and, in the case of the Yasuni vote, safeguard some Indigenous Waorani people who are voluntarily isolated.

But oil and mining guilds say their industries are needed to shore up Ecuador’s battered economy and that bans would expose the areas to illegal mining and deforestation.

Outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, who moved ahead elections after lawmakers attempted to oust him, has failed to raise oil production or attract more mining investment as violence and social problems have worsened.

A “yes” vote in both referendums could complicate finances for his successor.

“We want to keep our territory safe and healthy. They say when they take crude they bring health, education, but we don’t see anything, there’s no development,” Ene Nenquimo, a national Waorani leader, told Reuters during a visit to Yasuni communities. “The government, from its desk, just sees trees. … But we live here.”

A single hectare (2.5 acres) of the Yasuni has 650 species of trees, more than the whole of North America, as well as hundreds of species of birds, mammals, reptiles and fish, according to the environment ministry.

Voters seem to be leaning toward yes votes in both referendums, said Santiago Pérez, head of pollster Clima Social, who has conducted surveys for his clients.

“I think as the population gets better informed and learns more about Yasuni and the Choco Andino that will favor the yes options,” he said.

State oil company Petroecuador says a “yes” on the Yasuni referendum would cost the country $13.8 billion in income over the next two decades.

Platforms in the ITT have up to 39 wells each to minimize the space they occupy, Petroecuador head Ramon Correa told journalists in mid-July.

“The park has had the best protection practices,” Correa said.

Two other Petroecuador blocks in the area would be unaffected by the vote.
Income versus environment

Former President Rafael Correa authorized the ITT fields after an unsuccessful effort to raise funds from the international community in exchange for barring development.

Despite improving technology and care, oil development in the Yasuni has hurt the environment and is threatening residents, including those who are voluntarily isolated, said Pedro Bermeo of advocacy group Yasunidos, which has been pushing for the referendum for a decade.

“They told us there wouldn’t be roads, that there wouldn’t be electricity generation, nor flares, and there is a huge impact,” Bermeo said.

Suspension of eventual full production in the ITT block would avoid the emission of 400 tonnes of carbon dioxide, says Yasunidos, though the group did not provide a time frame for the figure.

Petroecuador says there are no flares at the block, that it occupies 0.01% of the reserve’s 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) and that roads are environmentally-friendly.

Meanwhile, opposition to mining is blocking some $1 billion in potential investment for the next two years, says Ecuador’s Chamber of Mining, though a major project by Australia’s SolGold is moving ahead.

Mining was Ecuador’s fourth-largest source of income last year, behind sales of oil, bananas and shrimp, bringing in $2.8 billion.

“It’s not moral that we stop an industry which could create many opportunities over untrue fears,” said Maria Eulalia Silva, the Chamber’s president, adding that barring legal production is unlikely to stop animal trafficking, illegal mining or illicit logging.

But residents say mining will threaten high altitude wetlands, water and animals like the spectacled bear.

“Mining will create water pollution, exploitation of the earth and destruction,” said Morelia Fuentes, a resident of a small agricultural community inside the forest. “We are fighting to have a healthy life.”

(By Alexandra Valencia, Tito Correa, Karen Toro and Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Bolivian Indigenous group declares local emergency to counteract gold mining cooperatives’ actions

Valentina Ruiz Leotaud | July 30, 2023 |

Illegal mining equipment in Bolivia’s Amazon.

 (Image by CPILAP, Facebook.)

The Indigenous Peoples of La Paz Central Group (CPILAP) issued a local state of emergency in the Bolivian department of La Paz following an attempt by gold mining cooperatives to modify the zoning of protected areas in the northern part of the province.


“We are in a state of emergency and all the communities are ready to join efforts and defend our rights, in the face of any outside incursion done either by force or by trying to deceptively manipulate our people to gain access to Madidi and Pilón Laja”, CPILAP’s president, Gonzalo Oliver Terrazas, said in a statement made public through social media.

Madidi is an almost 19,000 square-kilometre national park in the upper Amazon river basin. Ranging from the Andes Mountains to the rainforests of the Tuichi River, it is recognized as the world’s most biologically diverse national park. It is also part of one of the largest protected areas in the world together with the nearby protected areas of Manuripi-Heath and Apolobamba, and the Manu Biosphere Reserve.

Pilón Lajas, on the other hand, is a biosphere reserve and communal land that spans the departments of La Paz and Beni, in the northern part of the country.

This week, gold mining cooperatives threatened the Luis Arce administration with demonstrations if they don’t get an answer by August 21, 2023, related to their request to legally allow resource extraction in certain areas where such activities have been banned.

According to the Federation of Gold Mining Cooperatives of Bolivia, the sector has experienced massive growth and their demands should be tended to.

But in the view of Terrazas, the co-op’s announcement is “deceitful and manipulative,” and ignores the fact that any rezoning is the responsibility of the National Service for Protected Areas (Sernap) and must be carried out in full consensus with the Indigenous peoples who live in those territories.

The community leader, whose group represents 11 Indigenous organizations from seven First Nations, reminded authorities that on November 7, 2022, the government and CPILAP signed an agreement that nullified an attempt to rezone the protected areas in the northern La Paz department. Such an attempt was a deal signed between the Vice Ministry of the Environment, the National Service for Protected Areas, the Authority for the Inspection and Social Control of Forests and Land, and the Federation of Gold Mining Cooperatives of North La Paz.

The new agreement states that “the updating of the zoning of protected areas must be carried out with the participation of the Indigenous peoples and/or nations directly involved with the protected area, considering the sacred right to consultation under the sanction of nullity.”

The seven-point document also stipulates that when there is evidence of non-compliance with environmental regulations, “all illegal mining activities within protected areas, even if they are preconstituted, will be the subject of legal action to stop them and expel them from the protected areas.”

Chile’s Supreme Court awards $1.4 million to 31 of the 33 miners trapped in 2010
Valentina Ruiz Leotaud | July 30, 2023 

The 33 miners posing with President Sebastián Piñera and the First Lady Cecilia Morel in the Presidential Palace in October 2010.

 (Image by the Government of Chile, Flickr.)

Chile’s Supreme Court awarded $1.4 million to 31 of the 33 miners that were trapped for two months, back in 2010, 700 metres below the surface in the San José mine located in the northern Atacama region.


The ruling of the top tribunal’s third courtroom notes that the Chilean State “incurred in a lack of service” as two of its agencies, the National Geology and Mining Service, Sernageomin, and the Labour Directorate, failed to comply with their legal obligation of conducting proper precautionary inspections.

According to the court, had such inspections been conducted, activities at the San José mine would not have been authorized.

On August 5, 2010, the San José gold and copper mine, a small deposit nestled among dusty, desert hills near the city of Copiapó, collapsed. The mine is owned by a company called San Esteban Primera.

No one knew whether the miners were alive or dead until they were able to convey a note to the surface in a probe sent down by authorities on August 22. “We are fine in the shelter, the 33 of us,” said the note, written in red ink.

Thirteen years after the accident, the Court issued the ruling in rejection of an appeal filed by the State Defense Council, which sought to reverse a ruling that ordered the treasury to compensate the rescued miners for moral damages. Thus, the men will receive about $48,000 each. The figure had been set in a resolution of the Santiago Court of Appeal in 2021.

Only two of the miners refused to take part in the legal action. The rest argued that proper monitoring and inspections from Sernageomin and the Labour Directorate would have prevented a number of safety and regulatory breaches by the company and, therefore, the incident that kept them underground for 69 days. The Supreme Court’s ruling, ultimately, upheld this argument.

In its final decision, the tribunal emphasized that Article 2, numeral 8 of Decree-Law No. 3,525, puts Sernageomin in charge of “guaranteeing that mining safety regulations are complied with and applying the respective sanctions to those who violate them; proposing the issuance of standards that tend to improve safety conditions in mining activities in accordance with technical and scientific developments; and requesting information about training programs and courses and sharing relevant information with those who work in extractive industries.”

Serabi Gold shares jump on deal with Brazil indigenous groups
Cecilia Jamasmie | July 31, 2023 |

Coringa mining camp. (Image courtesy of Serabi Gold.)

Shares in Serabi Gold (LON: SRB) (TSX: SBI) jumped in London on Monday after the Brazil-focused gold miner said it had inked an agreement with representatives of indigenous communities confirming their support for the long-term development of the Coringa project.


The stock climbed as much as 21% to 27.9p on the news and it was trading more than 13% higher to 26p towards the end of the trading day in.

“Whilst we still have to complete the indigenous studies and the formal consultation process, there is a willingness from all parties for this to be done as quickly as possible,” Chief Executive Mike Hodgson said.

Permitting a mine in Brazil – in particular for waste storage facilities – has become stricter over the past few years, following two major tailings dam collapses at iron ore mines in the country.

Serabi’s local subsidiary was hit in 2017 with a lawsuit from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, seeking to revoke the operating licence granted by the state environmental agency. The suit was dismissed in April 2018 in a ruling that also denied any right to appeal the decision.

The federal prosecutor insisted in 2020 with new claims, which ended with the judge of the appeal determining that no further licenses or titles should be granted to Serabi in relation to its Coringa project.

The company did not give up, however, and continued advancing an agreement with the representatives of indigenous communities.

“I recognise that the past 18 months have generated some uncertainty regarding Coringa and Serabi’s ability to develop the project and realise its full potential,” CEO Mike Hodgson said in the statement.

“I hope that others share my view that this agreement significantly reduces this uncertainty and provides a strong platform for the company to move forward with confidence,” he added.

The signing communities have agreed not to take actions to suspend the development of the Coringa project in recognition of the long-term direct and indirect local economic benefits. They also agreed that the licences and titles granted to date for the project are valid.

Strategic asset

Coringa, located 200km (125 miles) away from Serabi’s Palito gold mining complex in the country’s north, is expected to double the company’s gold output once at full tilt.

Combined gold production from Palito sits currently at about 40,000 ounces per year. The Coringa project is forecast to yield an average of 38,000 ounces once in production.

The project is located in the Tapajos region, in the state of Para, which is reported to be the world’s third largest alluvial gold field.

Serabi Gold believes that the region is a major, under-explored mineral province as historical data shows that artisanal miners, called “garimpeiros,” have mined about 30 million ounces of gold mostly from alluvial and surface weathered bedrock deposits in the region since the 1970s.