Mining Free Haiti
Ayiti Kanpe Min (Mining Free Haiti) is the product of nearly ten years of collaboration between the Global Justice Clinic at NYU School of Law (GJC) and Kolektif Jistis Min (Justice Mining Collective, KJM)—a coalition of Haitian civil society organizations and community activists. KJM and GJC have worked to provide Haitian communities with information about the mining industry, their legal rights, obligations of mining companies, and the risks posed by mining to Haitian communities.
To date, most discussions about mining have occurred behind closed doors. The purpose of this website is to make information more accessible, and to highlight the opposition and resistance from communities in Haiti to date.
Our environment is already the most vulnerable in Latin America, and we suffer from earthquakes, hurricanes and floods every year...Mineral exploitation is a potential disaster – it threatens our health, our water, our land, and the rest of the environment.”
– Open Letter from Haitian Organizations in Morne Pele
Mining in Haiti
There are no active metal mines in Haiti yet. However, since the 2010 earthquake, Haitian government officials have named mining as a key sector for the country’s economy. Between 2006 and 2013, two Canadian and two U.S. companies reportedly invested $30 million to explore for gold, copper, and other metals. Since 2013, mining activity has been on hold. This is due to political and community opposition and because companies are waiting on the revised mining law to pass prior to commence operations. However, Haitian authorities and foreign actors continue to name mining as a key economic sector.
Human Rights
Mining poses a significant risk to the rights of Haitian people. Company exploration activities have already caused human rights violations. Any mining activity in Haiti will occur in a context already characterized by widespread rights abuses, particularly deprivations of economic and social rights and denials of the rights to information and political participation.
Environmental Risks
Haiti is arguably the most environmentally degraded country in the hemisphere. Centuries of exploitation, debt, and the failure to prepare for and respond to natural disasters make Haiti uniquely vulnerable to environmental harms. Metal mining is one of the most damaging industries to the environment. Even in the United States, where metal mining is tightly regulated, mining contributes more toxins than any other industry.
Corruption and Governance Risks
Corruption is a serious problem in Haiti, and has motivated massive protests in the past 5 years. Transparency International ranks Haiti as the second most corrupt country in the Americas. The divide between the rich and the poor in Haiti is extreme, and the poor majority struggles to hold the government accountable. Extractive industries are one of the industries most often affected by corruption.
Myth of Economic Benefits
The experiences of poor but resource-rich countries around the world provide a stark reminder that translating natural resources into public wealth is a very risky business — one that often fails. Given the unique vulnerabilities Haiti faces, mining could deal the country’s environment and economy a blow from which it would never recover.
Community Opposition
Over the past several years, organizations in the communities under permit for mining in Haiti and allied civil society organizations–including groups fighting for labor rights, environmental rights, the rights of peasants, and women’s rights–have coalesced around the demand NO MINING IN HAITI. Dlo gen plis valè pase lò – water is more valuable than gold – and Wi ak lavi, non ak eksplwatasyon min – yes to life, no to mining – are popular refrains.
July 2024 Update: Proposed Mine on the Haitian-Dominican Border
The Global Justice Clinic, Action pour la Reforestation et la Défense de l’Environnement (AREDE), and Centro Montalvo, a Dominican Jesuit organization based in Dajabón, sounded the alarm about potential water contamination, exacerbating risk of drought, and harm to Dominican and Haitian communities posed by a proposed mine in Restoración, in the Dajabón province on the DR-Haiti border. In a letter to Unigold Inc., the Canadian permit-holding mining company, the groups’ demands included: (1) Unigold recognizes Haitian communities as “affected” by the mine and commits to including them in stakeholder engagement; (2) Unigold discloses baseline data and commits to providing meaningful opportunities for community comment on the pending Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA); (3) Unigold shares its plan to mitigate environmental harm, including due to their use of cyanide and acid mine drainage; and (4) Unigold recognizes that a rigorous consultation process includes the right for communities to reject the proposed project.
It is not known when the Dominican government may issue an exploitation permit to Unigold. The company anticipated receipt in 2023. To learn more, find the letter in full in English, Kreyòl, and Spanish.
Haiti in Context
The acute political, social, economic and environmental challenges facing Haiti have been fueled by over two centuries of racism and foreign intervention. Haiti claimed its independence in 1804, the only country in the world born of a successful revolution of enslaved people. For decades after independence, the country was diplomatically and economically punished by the U.S. and Europe for its audacity in rejecting slavery and the fear that it would inspire other slave revolts.
The 21st century has been similarly defined by destructive foreign intervention and natural–and man-made–disasters. In 2018, Haitian people rose up in unprecedented numbers to protest, demanding accountability for government corruption and gang violence, respect for human rights, and to have basic needs met. In early 2021, a coalition of civil society organizations and political parties created the Commission for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis (“Commission”). The Commission, a public entity, continues to build consensus and propose a path forward in the wake of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. The political, social, and economic conditions in Haiti continue to deteriorate: gang activity and kidnapping is on the rise, and the path forward is unclear.
Newmont in Context
A number of foreign mining companies have held exploration and exploitation permits in Haiti since 2006. The most well known is Newmont, the largest gold mining company in the world. Between 2006 and 2009, the government of Haiti granted Newmont–at times with its former joint venture partner, Eurasian Minerals (now EMX Royalty Corp) –51 permits to explore for gold in Haiti. Newmont conducted exploration activities in Haiti until 2014, when they put their projects on care and maintenance status.
Newmont is not the only mining company with permits in Haiti. Since 2006, mining companies from Canada, the United States, Haiti, and Australia have held permits for gold and other minerals in Haiti. Public information suggests two American companies in addition to Newmont retain permits in Haiti: Resources Générale Corporation (formerly “VCS Mining”) and SONO Global Holdings, Inc. There are at least two Haitian companies that hold permits: Caribbean General Trading (CGT) and Société Minière du Norde-Este (SOMINE). The Canadian company EMX Royalty Corp (formerly “Eurasian Minerals”; EMX) terminated its joint venture with Newmont, yet EMX retains a very small percentage royalty interest.
