Eco Oro mining target of international protest

Another West coast Canadian mining company is the target of an international protest.

According to CBC News, Vancouver-based Eco Oro Minerals Corp. is the target of a Colombian protest in Bucaramanga.

Tens of thousands of Columbians were on the streets defending their water supply from the Canadian gold mining operating in the high-altitude, environmentally sensitive area.

Eco Oro is one of about a dozen Canadian companies that have been targeted in as many countries recently.

The advocacy group Mining Watch’s co-ordinator Ramsey Hart told the CBC that Canada is home of most of the junior mining companies in the world. 

He said that there is also no mechanism for holding Canadian mining companies accountable.

Eco Oro says that it is a victim of misunderstanding.

The company insists that it will bring long term sustainability and economic opportunity to the region.

STORY WRITTEN BY: DANIEL J. ROWE