{"id":761,"date":"2013-03-11T17:41:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-11T17:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pachamamitaecu-org-720647.hostingersite.com\/2013\/03\/11\/ejemplo-australiano-de-mineria-a-cielo-abierto-para-ecuador-los-pequenos-detalles-que-no-nos-dicen\/"},"modified":"2023-03-02T06:22:40","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T06:22:40","slug":"ejemplo-australiano-de-mineria-a-cielo-abierto-para-ecuador-los-pequenos-detalles-que-no-nos-dicen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pachamamitaecu.org\/en\/2013\/03\/11\/australian-example-of-open-pit-mining-for-ecuador-the-little-details-they-dont-tell-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian example of open-pit mining for Ecuador. The \u201clittle\u201d details they don\u2019t tell us."},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n
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Top image, Panantza (Morona Santiago)
area that President Correa announces could be
the 2nd largest copper mine in the world,
and below the activities of the current 1st mine
largest in the world in Chuiquicamata (Chile)<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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We hear more and more frequently from the sectors sponsoring and interested in open-pit mega-mining in sensitive areas of Ecuador talking about how "these projects would be carried out by multinationals in the sector, experts in "sustainable mining", "good mining" and "responsible mining".<\/span>

<\/span> Some of the examples they give to try to win over public opinion in this regard are the cases of Australia, Canada (insisting on this case despite the fact that their mining companies have had conflicts in their country and throughout the world), Norway and Chile.<\/span><\/div>\n

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On this occasion we will carry out a brief analysis of the Australian case and we will see how true and complete the official information provided to us is:<\/span><\/div>\n

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Australia contributes 1.5 % of global greenhouse gas emissions, less than the US, China, Russia, India and Japan, but is one of the most polluting nations on the planet in per capita terms.<\/span><\/div>\n

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It turns out that the "engineering and technological solutions" (which are never explained) in Australia have obviously not been enough, since the southern country imposed a tax of 17.3 euros for each ton of carbon dioxide emitted on July 1, 2012 on the nearly 500 most polluting companies, which are mainly in the electrical, mining and energy sectors, since they emit over 25,000 tons of CO2 into the air per year.<\/span>

<\/span> We understand then that the Australian example does not stand up to a minimum of analysis, just like the Canadian example that the same pro-mining group tries to promote without the evidence being able to overcome the analysis.<\/span><\/div>\n

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Coal (which the Ecuadorian government mentions in its sponsoring campaign as one of Australia's pillars of "development") is indeed currently a point of dependency in Australia, since almost 80 % of that coal is used to generate electricity. What they "forgot" to mention is that Australia plans to close most of its coal-fired power plants by 2020, promote investments in the development of clean energy and the development of technologies that are less harmful to the environment. 1<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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\u201cAustralia\u2019s mining sector is now facing additional costs that it doesn\u2019t face elsewhere,\u201d said David Peever, director of the mining company Rio Tinto Australia, months ago. (Rio Tinto is one of the companies that will have to pay for being included in the \u201cselect\u201d group of the 500 most polluting in Australia. 2<\/span><\/a> However, we see that the same little speech about \u201csustainable mining\u201d and referring to this \u201cexemplary\u201d Australian mining company is used in Chile to convince public opinion: \u201cAs a Regional Government we are supporting mining, but sustainably, with respect for the environment.\u201d 3<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n

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The chapter on the "exemplary" Australian mining has its finishing touch (since we are talking about that mineral) with a small review of the problems that according to the Observatory of Mining Conflicts for Latin America<\/a>, Australian mining companies have in our countries, among them are cited cases such as:<\/span><\/div>\n