Solaris Resources Stock Drops To an All Time Low After Releasing Misleading Statement About Indigenous Support of Warintza Project

July 17, 2024 | Statement

Amazon Watch

For more information, contact:

Mary Mijares at [email protected] or +1.510.965.3861 (English)

Nathaly Yépez at [email protected] ‎or +593.99.877.1922 (Spanish)

Today, Solaris Resources Inc. share prices dropped to an all time low, falling as low as C$3.52 (US$2.57) per share. The company owns the highly contested copper mining Warintza project located in southeastern Ecuador in the Amazon basin. Solaris has faced significant setbacks in recent months, including ongoing scrutiny from the Indigenous Pueblo Shuar Arutam (PSHA), other principal Indigenous organizations at a regional and national level, Canadian regulatory bodies, and investors.

This drop comes days after principal Indigenous organizations in southeast Ecuadorian Amazon, which include the PSHA, NASHE, and FICSH, which is made up of the Inter-federational Commitee of the Shuar-Achuar and the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE), yet again released a public statement reaffirming their rejection of destruction caused by mining in their territories.

In the beginning of the month, Solaris Resources published another misleading press release, which again claims that it has the necessary social license to operate the mine with the support of only two out of a total of 47 communities that comprise PSHA. Solaris’ statement overlooks the final conclusion from the International Labour Organization (ILO) in March 2024, which states that the PSHA were not properly consulted for the project, thus undermining their rights as guaranteed in ILO Convention 169 and as enshrined in Ecuador’s constitution. The release also cites an outdated “cooperation agreement” with the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers (FICSH), quoting former president, David Tankamash. However, FICSH and its new President, Domingo Ankuash, have publicly come out in support of the PSHA in opposition to the company and project, making Solaris’ claims of additional community support false and misleading.

Josefina Tunki, the former president of PSHA and vice president of the Territories of Life, TICCA:

“We have worked hard during so many years of struggle to make known at national and international level the truth of what is happening with the company Lowell–Solaris on our lands, so in 2021 we did not hesitate to denounce [the company] to the ILO about the violations of our rights.”

Jaime Palomino, president of PSHA issued the following statement:

“We are not surprised that the Solaris-Lowell company has problems with its investments, because all it has caused in our organization and territories are conflicts, even using the image of our own Shuar brothers to make it appear that everything is fine. The company has deceived us about what is really happening. But the company’s disinformation has not discouraged us from continuing to defend our position and our rights.”

Raphael Hoetmer, Western Amazon Program Director of Amazon Watch issued the following statement:

“The company’s rosy and clear-cut description of its Warintza model is quickly falling apart in the eyes of investors and shareholders who have been fed inaccurate information for years. The share price plummeting to rock-bottom today is a testament to that.”

Background

PSHA is the legal representative body of 47 communities with collective land title and ancestral possession of 232,500 hectares of territory in the Cordillera del Cóndor region of Ecuador’s Amazon, and site of Solaris’ flagship Warintza copper-gold project. PSHA has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the project for over two decades. The government has failed to consult them as required by the Ecuadorian constitution and international Indigenous rights obligations, nor has their consent for the project been obtained.

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2024-08-02

Can Mining Override Agrarian Reform and Food Sovereignty in the Amazon?

Campaign Update

Brazil’s Institute of Agrarian and Colonization Reform refuses to repeal a Bolsonaro-era rule authorizing mining and other industrial projects on protected lands in the Amazon

August 1, 2024 | Gabriela Sarmet | Campaign Update

“INCRA: We don’t want to be mining slaves. We want to plant in our land!”

On July 22, Amazon Watch, Brazilian civil society organizations, and social movements united in defense of territorial rights published a Technical Note (essentially an investigative report) entitled “Rights and Priorities: Can Mining Override Agrarian Reform?” analyzing and denouncing Executive Ordinance 112/2021 (IN 112).

Executive Ordinance 112 was passed during the Bolsonaro administration in 2021 by Brazil’s Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA). The ordinance established new rules for the use of settlement areas by mining, energy, and infrastructure projects. Despite years of scrutiny and media outcry, IN 112 continues to pose risks to environmental protection and to violate the territorial rights of local communities by facilitating the allocation of rural settlement areas – which should be destined to food production, food sovereignty, and environmental defense – to mining companies and other industrial projects.

To pressure the federal government to repeal IN 112 and to enable effective civil society participation on the topic, Amazon Watch allied with a coalition of researchers, civil society organizations, and social movements to prepare the Technical Note pointing to the legal, technical, and political shortcomings of the current regulation.

“Rights and Priorities: Can Mining Override Agrarian Reform?” was organized by Amazon Watch, the Brazilian Association of Agrarian Reform (ABRA), the Regional Association of Agroecological Producers (ARPA), the Collective for Environmental Inequality Research, Economics, and Politics, the Committee in Defense of Territories against Mining (CDTM), Alternative Technology Center of the Guaporé Valley – CTA; FASE – Solidariedade e Educação; the Federation of Residents’ Associations of the Agroextractivist Settlement Project of Gleba Lago Grande (FEAGLE), Movement for Popular Sovereignty in Mining (MAM), Landless Workers’ Movement (MST), Center for Politics, Economics, Mining, Environment, and Society (PoEMAS), Brazilian Network for Environmental Justice (RBJA), and International Rivers.

The Technical Note was launched on the first day of the seminar, “Land Policy and Struggles for Land and Territory,” which was held from July 22 to 24 in Brasília. Amazon Watch Brazil Campaign Advisor Gabriela Sarmet participated in the event and worked together with allies and partners to pressure the Brazilian government by holding advocacy meetings with the INCRA president and advisors and the General Secretary of the Presidency. Unfortunately, INCRA did not meet with our coalition. Instead, the institution merely indicated that there would be a public seminar and consultation to discuss the contentious policy, which will include various stakeholders, including mining corporations. This is unacceptable and deeply troubling, especially considering the current government’s commitment to sincere dialogue with civil society.

Our demands are not unreasonable. We are simply emphasizing the dangers of allowing mining to override the constitutional duty of the Brazilian government to ensure agrarian reform, social justice, and environmental protection. Agrarian reform is a policy of reparation for people who have been historically deprived of access to land due to a racist and elitist colonial past.

Considering President Lula’s primary commitment to fighting hunger, it is urgent for the government to revisit the Bolsonaro-era policy, suspend it immediately, and promote a comprehensive debate with civil society. We must develop alternative regulations that do not jeopardize agrarian reform rights and food production, nor threaten food sovereignty or Amazon protection in favor of mining interests.

Repeal of the ordinance is particularly urgent given that this policy is being exploited widely in the Amazon region, including by the Canadian mining company Belo Sun Mining Corporation to enable the notorious Volta Grande mega-mine on the banks of the Xingu River.

Despite this setback with INCRA, our coalition had a productive meeting with the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic and the new Mining Dialogue Table, a recently established body within the federal government. This entity, akin to a ministry, has committed to facilitating an open and honest dialogue between civil society and INCRA, as well as other influential bodies. This is a positive step toward ensuring that the right to agrarian reform and food sovereignty in Brazil is not undermined by mining interests.

The risks of IN 112

IN 112 poses significant risks to rural settlements in Brazil, particularly those in the Amazon region. Unlike existing procedures that address conflicts of interest over land use, IN 112 permits the coexistence of mining, infrastructure, and energy projects with lands designated for family farming. This is despite substantial evidence showing the negative impacts of such large economic projects on these agricultural areas.

IN 112 lacks clear procedures or criteria for INCRA to determine when these projects are incompatible with agrarian reform settlements. It does not specify whether INCRA should reject the project or relocate the settlement in such cases. Instead, the policy effectively streamlines the approval process, limiting INCRA’s role to calculating damages and compensations for settlers and the state.

The analysis presented in our Technical Note further reveals that while IN 112 claims that its compensations, indemnities, and conditions aim to harmonize industrial projects with settlement continuity, some of these very same conditions contradict the National Agrarian Reform Plan. These include the possibility of resettling or relocating affected families.

Another major concern is the lack of mechanisms to ensure the consultation and participation of rural settlers in INCRA’s approval process. Apart from hearings during the licensing process, there are no provisions for convening, listening to, or notifying settlers. The norm also fails to mention free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), as mandated by International Labour Organization Convention 169, posing significant concerns, which is especially crucial for communities with traditional ties to environmentally sensitive areas like the Amazon rainforest.

According to data from the National Mining Agency, as of January 2022 there were 20,000 active mining requests affecting land reform settlements . Among the 8,372 settlements nationwide, 3,309 (39%) are subject to mining requests,

We recommend that INCRA immediately suspend IN 112 and replace it with a policy that better regulates the historical uneven relationship between large private enterprises and small farmers in rural settlements. This new policy should respect the rights of these rural settlers, address the growing demand for food production, and strengthen Brazil’s agrarian reform policy, and it must do so in a way that recognizes the role that small farmers, riverine people, and rural settlements have in the protection of the environment and the Amazon rainforest and other biomes.

President Lula and its new administration, upon taking office, made clear commitments to socio-environmental causes, and we must urge them to follow through on these promises. As a continuation of our coalition work, we’ll be closely following the development and discussions to repeal IN 112.

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2024-08-30

Ecuador Starts Dismantling Yasuní National Park Oil Block Two Days Before Court Deadline

News

August 29, 2024 | Steven Grattan | Associated Press

Ecuador’s government says it has started dismantling infrastructure on a controversial oil drilling block in Yasuní National Park, just as Friday’s court-imposed deadline for completion looms.

The Ministry for Energy and Mines said in a statement Wednesday evening that it shut one of 247 wells in the 43-ITT block – the Ishpingo B-56 well.

It’s been a year since the historic referendum to halt oil drilling in the national park in the country’s Amazon, but the Waorani Indigenous people who live there and rights groups say nothing has been done.

The government last week asked the constitutional court for an extension of five years and five months for the state-run oil company Petroecuador to cease operations and get out.

“I have come to verify that the decision of last year’s referendum, where the citizens voted in favor of the closure of this field, is being complied with,” said head of the ministry, Antonio Goncalves, in the statement. “To comply with the closure of the ITT is not an easy job, it requires special and technical planning.”

The Ecuadorian government does not get to set its own timeline and has shown little political will to close operations, said Kevin Koenig, climate and energy director for the nonprofit Amazon Watch, in response to the government statement.

“The government is bound by its obligations to the constitutional court, which gave it a year to close 227 wells. … The fact that they closed one yesterday does not mean that they are complying with the court order,” Koenig said in a call from Yasuní National Park.

“They’re not meeting their judicial obligation to the court, they’re not fulfilling the mandate of the Ecuadorian people, and they’re not respecting the rights of the Waorani,” he said.

Yasuní National Park is one of most biodiverse regions on the planet. Besides the Waorani, it’s home to two of the world’s last Indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation, the Taromenane and the Tagaeri people, according to the nonprofit Amazon Frontlines.

Ending oil drilling at the 43-ITT oil block could cost $1.3 billion, according to government estimates.

Oil accounts for nearly one-third of Ecuador’s GDP, and its economy is struggling to meet its domestic debt obligations.

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2024-08-01

Rainforest Reckoning: Almost a Year After the Historic Yasuní Vote, Ecuador Has Done Very Little to Decommission Drilling

Blog Post

The country's Indigenous peoples and environmental movement are mobilizing to hold the government to account

August 1, 2024 | Kevin Koenig | Eye on the Amazon

August 20 will mark a year since Ecuadorians headed to the polls and voted to keep over 700 million barrels of crude oil permanently in the ground in Yasuní National Park. The country’s Constitutional Court gave the government and state-run Petroecuador just one year to end oil activities, close all wells and roads, dismantle existing infrastructure, and remediate and restore the area. While it was always considered daunting to complete this process within that time frame, they are nowhere close to meeting the deadline, putting the region’s isolated Indigenous peoples and the country’s democracy at great peril.

The 2023 vote was heralded as the first time that any county chose to leave significant oil reserves in the ground and retire producing wells by popular referendum, with over 60% voting in favor.

Known as the Ishpingo, Tiputini, and Tambococha (ITT) oil fields, they are located inside Yasuní National Park, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that is widely considered to be the most biodiverse place on the planet. Its unique position along the equator also allows it an outstanding level of biodiversity, containing more than 120 reptile species, 596 species of birds, 200 mammal species, and nearly 500 species of fish. One single hectare of Yasuní forest contains at least 100,000 insect species.

It is also the ancestral territory of the Waorani Indigenous people and the Tagaeri and Taromenane, two clans living in voluntary isolation. Continued drilling here is an existential threat to these peoples, and it raises the risk of biodiversity loss and climate instability as forests are felled in pursuit of fossil fuel extraction incompatible with the Paris climate agreement to keep warming from reaching 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The popular referendum was a hard-won victory that sent a clear signal on where the world needs to go and posed a challenge to wealthier nations: if a net oil exporter like Ecuador that relies on oil revenues for a significant percentage of its GDP could keep its largest reserve in the ground to protect the climate, biodiversity, and Indigenous rights, then why couldn’t countries in the global north like the U.S., Canada, or Norway?

But the precedent-setting nature of the vote is in jeopardy if the government refuses to implement it, and it raises doubts about direct participatory democracy if the expressed will of voters isn’t respected. Both the government of President Daniel Noboa and Petroecuador have sought to delay implementation and subvert the plebiscite’s requirements, dragging their feet at every turn and using the country’s security crisis as a convenient excuse to keep the oil flowing.

To date, the only concrete action by the Noboa administration was an executive decree on May 8 – some nine months after the vote – establishing the formation of a committee that will oversee the implementation of the referendum and decommissioning of the oil concession. The committee is only composed of representatives from government agencies, and it does not include the participation of the Waorani or other local communities, nor any plan or timeline by which the process would proceed or be completed – something the actor Mark Ruffalo brought to President Noboa’s attention in a high-profile social media battle.

But in a mix of ill will and incompetence, Petroecuador petitioned the court to extend the time period to close the oil fields, but filed it several days past the deadline. The court quickly denied the petition and reiterated that the company was bound by the original decision, which ordered that “all activity related to the extraction of oil in the ITT be removed in a progressive and orderly manner, in a term no greater than one year from the notification of official [election] results.”

The Indigenous movement and civil society always understood that the most challenging part of protecting Yasuní would come after the vote, compelling the government to implement the mandate of its citizens and shut down drilling, and they are mobilizing to hold it to account.

The Waorani people have declared a state of emergency in their territory and are mobilized to hold Noboa and Petroecuador to account. The Waorani Nation of Ecuador (NAWE) along with the national Indigenous organization CONAIE are organizing major events in Quito on August 20 to mark the anniversary of the referendum and expose the government’s failure to comply with its deadline. NAWE is also convening a multi-day summit on Yasuní in the Ecuadorian Amazon at the end of the month to build collective strategies and power to ensure the Waorani and local communities have a seat at the table in the process to decommission drilling.

The hard work has just begun, so please stand with Ecuador’s Indigenous movement and civil society to protect the climate, Indigenous rights, and biodiversity in Yasuní and ensure that the historic vote to keep fossil fuels permanently in the ground truly is a precedent-setting victory that can be replicated around the world!

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2024-07-23

Solaris Resources’ Stock Price Plummets While Indigenous Resistance Mounts Online and on the Ground

Blog Post

July 23, 2024 | Mary Mijares | Eye on the Amazon

Solaris Resources hit its lowest stock price this week at CAD 3.31 (US $2.41), as Indigenous organizations once again initiated multiple actions to reject its flagship copper-gold Warintza project in Ecuador. This price drop occurs amid increasing distrust by investors that the company’s management can live up to its promises.

The Warintza project, repeatedly touted as a “world class site,” is owned by small-cap investors and management, with almost 40% owned by its board chairman, Canadian billionaire and businessman Richard Warke. Solaris promotes the “implementation” of its “Warintza model” as the standard for cultivating community relationships. However, Solaris has repeatedly failed to disclose strong opposition from the Indigenous Shuar Arutam Peoples (PSHA) since it acquired Lowell Minerals Exploration and its Warintza project in 2018.

At the end of 2021, investor optimism almost hit 17.00 CAD (US $12.35) per share. Since then, stock prices have failed to reach these same highs, and even dropped to all-time lows early this week, influenced by a series of setbacks over recent months. One of these setbacks includes the termination of Solaris’ deal with one of the biggest mining companies in the world, Zijin Mining as it faced regulatory challenges in Canada. This deal would have injected CAD 130 million (US $94.5 million) to be used to further the advancement of the project and may have set the stage for Zijin’s complete acquisition of Warintza.

Solaris’ plans have also contributed to increased tensions and conflicts within Indigenous organizations. Just this week, the police intervened irregularly to evict the current governance council of the Interprovincial Shuar Federation (FICSH) from its headquarters, reportedly without any legal basis to do so.

The FICSH council is presided by historical Shuar leader Domingo Ankuash, who is known for his opposition to extractive projects and was elected to replace a the last president after he made unauthorized agreements with Solaris.

The National Federation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) has denounced the latest events, stating: “We energetically condemn the way in which the Ecuadorian government of Daniel Noboa, in complicity with the Canadian mining company, Solaris, have violated the autonomy, self-determination, and right to free, prior, and informed consent of the Shuar Nation, and of the organizational structure of the FICSH and CONAIE.”

Opposition continues

To make matters worse for the company, Indigenous organizations continue to publicly denounce Solaris and the project, challenging its Warintza model.

At the time of Solaris’ Annual General Meeting in June, a group of organized youth from the Mankiuants community, affected by the Warintza mine, directly took on Solaris using social media to challenge the company’s prevailing narrative that the project is vital for development and that it has the necessary local support. Indigenous youth successfully launched a series of viral social media videos addressing investors, making waves on online platforms like Instagram and Facebook – even reaching niche investor communities. These videos have garnered almost 200 thousand views collectively and corresponded to an immediate drop in company share prices at the time of their release.

In July, the Inter-federational Committee of the Shuar-Achuar Peoples (that unites the principal Indigenous organizations based in the southeastern region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, the PSHA, NASHE, and FICSH) met to discuss plans for mining and oil projects in their territories. The assembly agreed on a scathing statement publicly posted online reaffirming their rejection of destruction caused by mining in their territories. It states:

“We energetically denounce and reject extractive companies that divide our communities through so-called peaceful dialogues with community authorities, as is the case of David Tankamash, the former president of the FICSH, who signed a cooperation agreement with transnational company Solaris in the 2024 Mining Expo in Canada.”

Imminent legal risks to Warintza due to lack of consent

Despite these powerful and creative actions from the ground resisting the project, Solaris continues to propagate misleading information to investors and downplays mounting Indigenous opposition not only from PSHA, but other Indigenous federations as well, against Warintza.

Solaris continues to claim that it has obtained the proper “social license” and has performed proper “consultations” with only two communities, the Warints and Yawi, to legally operate in the area. However, Solaris does not clearly state that the Ecuadorian government, not corporations, has the legal responsibility to carry out these actions, making its claims inaccurate. This was concluded by an expert committee of the International Labour Organization earlier this year:

“Regarding the allegations of the confirmation of a ’strategic alliance’ between the company that holds the concessions and some members of some communities affected with the goal of reactivating the project, the Committee considers that, while it doesn’t prohibit a relationship between companies in the private sector with Indigenous peoples in the context of a project slated for development in their territories, this relationship is not equivalent to a process of consultation in the sense of the Convention, which, as previously mentioned, corresponds to the responsibility of the government and is subject to the requirements outlined in Article 6 of the agreement.”

In fact, the government has failed to consult them as required by the Ecuadorian Constitution and international obligations to uphold Indigenous rights, nor has their consent for the project been obtained. This presents one of the most significant legal risks for the project’s viability and undermines the efficacy of Solaris’ Warintza model.

Opposition by the local Indigenous organizations against the project has a long history. The Warintza project is planned within the territory of the PSHA, which is the legal representative body of 47 communities with collective land title and possession of 232,500 hectares of ancestral territories in the Cordillera del Cóndor region of Ecuador’s Amazon. PSHA has repeatedly expressed its opposition to the project for over two decades.

Indigenous resistance to project is a bad sign for investors

The volatility of Solaris Resources’ stocks is highly sensitive to information in relation to its Warintza project, which by far serves as the company’s most crucial asset and is highly material to the company and investors. Any risks that can directly or indirectly impact the viability of this project – such as intensifying Indigenous opposition, erosion of trust in management, and political volatility in Ecuador – can send negative signals to investors and the broader market, thereby influencing the valuation of stock prices.

Since the acquisition of Warintza, Solaris has yet to fully disclose all risks associated with the mine. To maintain its sustainable reputation in the eyes of investors, lenders, and regulators, Solaris obscures Indigenous opposition against it and actions on a local, national, and international level as means to attract the necessary capital and potential buyers for the advancement of Warintza. The stock going down clearly shows how Indigenous resistance and the doubts about management’s decisions are affecting trust of its investors.

The PSHA, alongside other Indigenous federations, reject this corporate greenwashing and remain steadfast in their opposition against Warintza. In solidarity, Amazon Watch will continue to uplift and amplify demands from the ground to raise awareness about the impacts of large-scale mining on Indigenous territories and get #MiningOutoftheAmazon!

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