“Everything,” says Angélica Choc, “depends on the vital liquid – water.” Choc is a Maya Q’eqchi’ land defender from El Estor in eastern Guatemala. For years, she and other Q’eqchi’ villagers have opposed the development of the nearby Fenix mine, a massive mountain-top nickel complex in El Estor’s Izabal Department. In early May 2024, I joined a delegation visiting several communities that are fighting against Canadian mining projects in Guatemala.

“Everything,” says Angélica Choc, “depends on the vital liquid – water.” Choc is a Maya Q’eqchi’ land defender from El Estor in eastern Guatemala. For years, she and other Q’eqchi’ villagers have opposed the development of the nearby Fenix mine, a massive mountain-top nickel complex in El Estor’s Izabal Department. In early May 2024, I joined a delegation visiting several communities that are fighting against Canadian mining projects in Guatemala.

  • solo@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
    1·
    9 days ago

    Canada’s mining tradition is closely related to colonialism.

    Check out the Canadian encyclopedia, Mining :

    Pre-contact Aboriginal use and trade of Canada’s rich mineral resources included copper, gold, silver and chert. European exploration and colonization of northern North America was partially motivated by the search for valuable minerals. In 1577–8, Martin Frobisher established a mining operation at Baffin Island (…)

    Edit: Just found a super long list of Canadian Mining Assets (CMAs), from all over the world excluding Canada, by Country and Region. This list is from 2021 and 2022 by the Canadian government. They’re everywhere like, scary stuff.