It’s not just Ecuador: communities across the continent are fighting the presence of large-scale mines, and in many cases even turning them back.

Starting with a victory: on June 25, the Alexander Gold mining company announced its decision to abandon the $40 million Leon copper mine project in the province of Salta, Argentina, citing uncertainty due to social and political unrest. What happened? Provinicial authorities decided to eliminate royalty exemptions and tax breaks for mining companies — meaning companies like Alexander would actually have to pay for the metals they take.

Alexander wisely realized that this would only be a first step: the government’s decision came in response to a long history of steadily building local opposition to the mine, due to knowledge of the contamination and destruction such mines have visited on other communities. Six provinces in Argentina have already passed outright bans on open-pit metal mines, and mine opponents in Salta are actively mobilizing for a similar ban.

Upon its exit, Alexander had some cheerful words for mine opponents everywhere: “The exit of Alexander Gold will have a domino effect in international markets: Other firms will see what is happening here and begin to leave from Argentina.”

¡Que se vayan todos!

Taking a look at some more distant but still recent history, an article has just been published chronicling how a years-long grassroots struggle prevented the Newmont Mining Company from digging an open-pit gold mine in the Grassy Mountain region of Eastern Oregon. Read it here.

Finally, check out a couple of other recently published resources on metal mining in Central America. First, Oxfam is releasing a new photo publication, “Metal Mining in Central America: Pain and Resistance.” The booklet documents the negative effects of mining, focusing on “the fundamental issues regarding the use and contamination of water sources, deforestation, health, continuous poverty and lack of sustainable development in mining communities, as well as the social conflicts which almost always arise.” Check out a preview here.

Secondly, Upside Down World has published an article about resistance to the activities of the Canadian mining company Goldcorp Inc. in Guatemala and Honduras.