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Articles by Jan Morrill
The Long Journey to Hold Canadian Mining Accountable
By Jan Morrill, Earthworks and Diana Martin, MiningWatch Canada This month representatives of communities living in the shadows of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine and their allies traveled almost 30,000 kilometres around the world to draw attention to the impacts of its mining on their homes and families. They are calling for action to protect their health, safety, and to defend the rights of their communities. This shouldn’t have to be the case.
Sigma’s Dirty mining won’t save our climate
In a brazenly out-of-touch move, Sigma Lithium rung the closing Nasdaq bell yesterday during NY Climate week in “recognition of their environmental and social leadership in critical minerals industrialization and mining.” The ceremonial bell-ringing took place as Indigenous and Afro-Descendant communities say the company is turning their lands into a sacrifice zone for the energy transition.
US Customs Blocks Copper Imports Over Allegations of Slave Labor
On June 16, 2026, US Customs and Border Protection citing “use of forced labor in their production,” effectively blocked imports of copper mined by Serbia Zijin Copper D.O.O, a mine operating in Serbia but largely owned by China-based Zijn. The mining company has a history of labor abuses. The Zijin copper mine complex is located in the Eastern part of Serbia, in the City of Bor, home to about 28,000 Serbians. Production has skyrocketed in recent years.
Communities in the Dominican Republic Call for Environmental Accountability on World Environment Day
As the world observes World Environment Day 2026, global attention is increasingly focused on the urgent need for climate action and environmental protection. This year’s theme, “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future,” highlights that climate action is not only about reducing carbon emissions, but also rethinking the systems that shape economies, industries, and the relationship between people and the planet.
Con motivo del Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente, las comunidades de la República Dominicana reclaman responsabilidad ambiental
Mientras el mundo celebra el Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente de 2026, la atención global se centra cada vez más en la urgente necesidad de tomar medidas contra el cambio climático y la protección del medio ambiente. El tema de este año, “Inspirado por la Naturaleza. Por el Clima.
Climate Change and Increased Risk from Vale’s Mines
Leia este post em português. Communities impacted by mining in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais and their allies in civil society raising the alarm about the risks posed by climate change to Brazilian mining giant Vale’s operations. Climate change is leading to more frequent heavy rainfall in Brazil. That rainfall is putting additional stress on the storage facilities that Vale uses to manage toxic mine waste. The concerns have also risen to the level of the company’s investors.
Workers Pay the Price for Dangerous Tailings Dams
A recent failure at a mine waste facility in Mexico highlights how dangerous mine waste, or tailings, can be for workers and the importance of protecting workers’ rights and safety at mines around the globe. Mining creates huge amounts of toxic waste that remains permanently in the environment. Storing that waste safely is important for nearby communities and the environment — and for the workers who work in and around tailings facilities.
A Sacrifice Zone in the Push for Copper: Experiences from Bor, Serbia
Srpska verzija se nalazi ispod The city of Bor, Serbia, lies directly in the shadow of copper and gold mining. The majority of the massive mining operation is owned by Zijin, a Chinese-owned company. The mine has expanded operations significantly in recent years. Residents are experiencing negative health impacts likely linked to air pollution from the mines. Reduced Air Quality Has Health Impacts The impacts of high levels of extraction and smelting are felt across the region.
The World’s Deadliest Industry Needs More Than a PR Strategy
Since 2012, more people have been killed opposing mining than any other industry, according to a new Global Witness report published in September. Many land and environmental defenders – in particular, those from Indigenous communities – risk their livelihoods, homes, wellbeing and even their lives when they stand in the way of extractive industry projects.
Must-Watch: John Oliver's Exposé on Deep-Sea Mining
Earthworks contributed to John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight segment last Sunday. Oliver examined the critical issue of deep-sea mining.
Minas Gerais Water Contamination Apparent but the Source Is Still Unknown
A versão em português pode ser encontrada abaixo On April 29, 2024 residents of three towns along the Rio das Velhas in the Southwestern state of Minas Gerais, Brazil noticed the river had changed to a reddish brown color and there was suspended material in the water. Upon further investigation, residents and local organizations identified the Luzia dos Santos stream, which eventually flows into the Rio das Velhas, as the source of the contaminated water.
Barrick Gold’s Lack of Transparency Disappoints but Doesn’t Surprise
This piece was co-authored by Viviana Herrera of MiningWatch Canada Disponible en español a continuación Representatives of communities impacted by Barrick Gold’s operations in Argentina, along with their allies in the U.S. and Canada, were taken aback by the company’s actions to restrict participation in its 2024 Annual General Shareholder Meeting on April 30th.
A Postmortem on UNEA-6
As the energy transition accelerates global demand for minerals and metals, the United Nations Environment Programme and the Member States represented at UNEA met last week to address the potential risks and harms posed by mining. Regrettably, the outcomes failed to take the essential steps to address risks posed by mining and lost much of the policy momentum UNEP had built in the lead up to UNEA-6, to the disappointment of many stakeholder and rights holders groups.
Brazilian Judge Orders Mining Companies to Pay for Suffering Caused by Tailings Dam Failure
On January 25th the Brazilian Federal Court ordered mining company Samarco, along with its parent companies, Vale and BHP, to pay $9.7B in compensation for “moral damages” caused by the 2015 failure of their tailings dam in the town of Mariana. The Mariana tailings dam failure was called the worst ecological disaster Brazil had ever seen.
Mine in the Dominican Republic Pushes to Expand, Communities Push Back Original
Last month, I visited the Dominican Republic for a second time to support civil society and mining impacted communities’s efforts for transparency, accountability and remedy for the harms caused by irresponsible mining practices. The DR is home to the sixth largest gold mine in the world, the Pueblo Viejo mine, a joint venture between Canadian mining-giant Barrick Gold and U.S.-based Newmont.
Taking the Fight for Mining Justice to the UN
From September 5-9, Earthworks was joined by community partners, Indigenous Leaders, and ally organizations in Geneva, Switzerland for the Global Intergovernmental Consultation on Environmental sustainability of Minerals and Metals Management. The global consultation was the culmination of a series of regional intergovernmental consultations held in the five UN regions.
Timeline of Events at the QMM Mine in Madagascar
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Communities Call for Respect, Barrick Responds with Aggression
Coauthors: Jan Morrill, Earthworks Catherine Coumans, MiningWatch Canada From Alaska to Papua New Guinea, communities were paying close attention to Barrick Gold’s annual shareholders meeting on May 2 in Toronto. The meeting came after seven communities affected by Barrick mines launched a Global Week of Action calling out the gap between Barrick’s supposed human rights commitments and its track record on the ground.
Surviving Next to One of the World’s Largest Gold Mines
Experiences from a recent trip to the Dominican Republic In November of 2022, I traveled to the Dominican Republic, with representatives from MiningWatch Canada and the NYU Global Justice Clinic to learn more about the impacts of Barrick Gold’s Pueblo Viejo mine on local communities, as well as to understand how communities are advocating for remedy for the environmental and human rights abuses committed by the company.
Water contamination at Barrick’s Veladero mine threatens health and human rights
Communities in northwestern Argentina have been forced to drink bottled water since 2015 and it’s because of a Canadian gold mine. There have been at least five toxic spills in the last seven years of operations at the Veladero mine—located in the province of San Juan, near the community of San José de Jáchal.
MINING SAFETY OP-ED: To prevent dam tailings disasters, heed the call from frontline workers and communities
MINING SAFETY OP-ED In 2022, 162 frontline communities, indigenous peoples, labour unions, environmental and human rights organisations, academics and scientists from 32 countries endorsed ‘Safety First: Guidelines for Responsible Mine Tailings Management’. It lays out 17 guidelines to eliminate the riskiest tailings management practices and hold mining companies accountable. Most importantly, it prioritises community consent and oversight for all phases of tailings operations.
On hazardous mine tailings dams, 'safety first' should be the rule (commentary)
A mine tailings dam in Madagascar has failed at least twice this year, sending hazardous wastewater into a lagoon relied on by locals for drinking and subsistence fishing, killing hundreds of fish. Rio Tinto refuses to accept responsibility for the fish or water pollution, and this is not an isolated incident: tailings dams are failing with increasing frequency and severity all over the world.
The Unfolding Disaster in Brazil: a Warning of What’s to Come
Uma tradução em português do professor Marcos Pędłowski da Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense está disponível aqui. Close to four hundred municipalities in the central Brazilian state of Minas Gerais declared a state of emergency after unusually heavy rains hit the region in early January. Widespread flooding submerged houses, blocked roads, and led to dozens of deaths and hundreds of thousands of evacuations.
An Unfolding Disaster in Brazil
Unusually heavy January rains strain dozens of tailings dams in Minas Gerais state, raising risk of collapse. This article originally appeared on Earthworks. Jan Morrill January 25, 2022 Close to four hundred municipalities in the central Brazilian state of Minas Gerais declared a state of emergency after unusually heavy rains hit the region in early January. Widespread flooding submerged houses, blocked roads, and led to dozens of deaths and hundreds of thousands of evacuations.
Credibility Crisis: How The Mining Industry Co-Opted the Global Tailings Review
After the deadly 2019 tailings dam failure in Brumadinho, Brazil that killed 272 people, investors from Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the mining industry, represented by the industry trade group the International Council on Metals and Mining (ICMM), co-convened the Global Tailing Review with the objective “to review current global best practices in the mining industry, and beyond, and based on this information develop an...
History of Mine Waste Failures in Serbia Sheds Light on New Threats
This blog was co-written by Earthworks International Mining Campaigner Jan Morrill and Mirko Nikolić of the Institute for Culture & Society at Linköping University. In May of 2014 Serbia was hit by record rain: three months’ worth of rain, over 200 mm, fell in a single week. The extreme rainfall led to massive flooding and landslides across the country, taking 51 lives, forcing 32,000 people to evacuate and ultimately affecting 1.6 million people across 24 municipalities.
The Ineffability of a Hug
SETTING: This morning, 6:30. Jan is sitting at her computer. Steve walks in with a cup of coffee. STEVE: Are you going to walk this morning? JAN: No, I’m going to work on a blog. STEVE (Happy to know she’s writing): What are you going to write about? JAN: “The Ineffability of a Hug.” STEVE: Ohhh…what are you going to say? JAN (after a slight pause): I don’t want to talk about it, because I’ll cry. That’s why I just want to get it all written in words.
Farewell to the Grumpy Cat Who Loved the Best She Could
Yesterday evening, as I began to prepare dinner, I heard Steve call, “Jan,” kind of soft, kind of panicked. In that one short word, I knew something was wrong. I hurried from the kitchen toward his voice in the hallway, where he held Malika. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “She can’t move her back legs.” “What?” I thought, initially thinking, How can that be? “What do you mean she’s not moving her back legs?” “She can’t move them.
Tailings Spill Exposed at Mexican Mine
Failed cover-up reveals shortcomings of industry self-regulation The Mexican government has ordered mining company Exportaciones de Minerales de Topia (EMISTA) to close a zinc and lead mine in the municipality of Canelas, Durango after the company spilled close to 6,000 cubic meters of mine waste while reportedly operating without the required environmental permits.
China sees 2020’s First Tailings Spill
On Saturday, March 28th, the first reported tailings spill of 2020 contaminated local water sources in Heilongjiang Province, China. The largest molybdenum mine in China, operated by Yichun Luming Mining Co, released 2.53 million cubic meters of tailings into the Yijimi River. Tailings are a mine waste product containing crushed rock, chemicals and water that are usually stored as a slurry behind dams. The recent spill was the result of a leak and the overall structure remains intact.
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