Emergency personnel have recovered the bodies of seven people killed in a Mexican mine explosion on Wednesday in the state of Coalhuila.

“We confirm the recovery of the bodies of the seven trapped miners,” police official Francisco Martinez said in a statement on Wednesday.

“All indications are that the explosion was caused by a pocket of accumulated gas,” Martinez said.

The explosion happened in an El Progreso coal mine in Muzquiz because of a methane gas reaction. The seven people killed were all members of the same family, aged 20 to 39. The miners suffered severe burns and were trapped and crushed by falling rock.

Juan Antonio Ibarra, of the Coahuila emergency services, said the explosion happened some 75m (246ft) underground, according to the BBC news. Emergency crews had to work slowly in well-ventilated conditions to reach the victims because of the potential danger of triggering another explosion.

Methane gas explosions are an all too common occurrence in mines in Coalhuila. In 2006, 65 miners were killed at a mine in Pasta de Conchos. According to Relatives of Pasta Concho, a pressure group formed after the 2006 explosion, 30 people died in 2011 due to mine explosions in Coalhuila. They say 50,000 people work in state mines that are largely unregulated and lack necessary security and safety measures.

Mexico’s labor ministry had enacted access restrictions to the mine in Muzquizm, after inspecting the mine 16 times in 2009 and finding it lacked emergency exits. The Ministry of Labor pledged to continue inspecting across the state for high-risk mines.

 The President of Peru, Ollanta Humala, has replaced ten of his ministers.

Oscar Valdes is replacing Salomon Lerner, who resigned on Saturday, as the cabinet chief.

Lerner quit after the four- month old government declared a state of emergency on December 4^th to suppress protests against Newmount Mining Group. The protests have delayed the installation of the billion dollar project.

Humala favours the $4.8 billion dollar gold and copper mine, which is fiercely opposed by residents of the Cajamarca region.

The shake-up of the cabinet could lead to a harsher stance on the social protests. However, the outcome of whether the mining project goes ahead remains to be seen.

The Peruvian Ministry of Defence has ordered the Armed Forces to remove roadblocks in the south of the department of Puno. The blockage on the Peruvian-Bolivian border is being carried out against mining explosions in this region.

The Peruvian government wants to put an end to the roadblock in the area of Desaguadero. The  residents from the countryside have been protesting for the last two weeks for increased safety measures in the area’s mines. They are also asking for an end to the Santa Ana mining project, which already has authorisation to start.

The demonstrators represented by the Defence of Natural Resources in Southern Peru Front maintain that mining works contaminate the rivers and crops.

The Puno Popular Organisational Front announced that they would join in the indefinite strike taking place in Yunguyo, Chucuito and El Collao.

Until now, the attemps at discussion between countryside residents and authorities have not reached agreements.

The protestors say that the mining industry is polluting lake Titicaca and the Desaguadero river, amongst other zones.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC.

An explosion due to a culmination of methane gas in a coal mine trapped fourteen miners in the town of Sabinas, Coahuila (a Northern state in Mexico). Five died and a minor was left seriously injured.

The Ministry of Work and Social Provision, Javier Lozano Alarcón, confirmed the death of the workers Mario Alberto Anguiano, Leobardo Sánchez and Isaías Valero, as well as Juan Carlos Escobedo and Julio César Reséndiz Dominguez.

Prior to the discovery, the Ministry of Work had said that there was “very little” possibility of finding the workers alive.

Mexican president Felipe Calderón extended his condolences to the victims’ families.

The secretary for Work, Javier Lozano, said on his Twitter account that the fifteen-year-old Luis Fernando Lara Ruiz had been moved to a specialist medical centre in Guadalajara, due to the seriousness of his injuries.

The National Mexican Miners’ Union blamed the Beneficios Internacionales del Norte (Binsa) and his representative, Juan Espinosa Dávila. They underlined the worse security conditions in all the region’s mines.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC.

TThe inhabitants of Valle del Tambo in the southern province of Islay have called a strike in order to protest against the Tía María mining project. In a study on environmental impact the project received 6000 remarks.

Before any more progress in the mining project, the community decided to continue with their methods indefinitely. Before this announcement the Local Education Management Unit (UGEL) ordered a stop to educational activities in Valle del Tambo.

In September 2009, a survey was carried out where 90% of participants were against the installation of the mine.

The inhabitants of Islay consider that around 12,500 hectares of land will be affected by the activity of the Tía María mine, which belongs to the Southern Peru Copper Corporation (CPCC.) Furthermore, the mine will be installed 700m from the Tambo river so there is a large risk of the water supply being contaminated. The water in the basin is used for drinking and irrigation.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC.

As the World Peoples’ Summit on Climate Change and Rights of Mother Earth has been taking place in the city of Tiquipaya since Monday 19th April, an estimate 700 indigenous activists are continuing their occupation of a mining firm in the province of Potosi, south east of Bolivia.

The Qulla people protest against the San Cristobál silver-zinc-lead mine owned by Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation. They accused the Japanese company to contaminate their land and water with mine waste.

The activists have blocked access to a key railway line from the mine.

The National Council of Ayllus and Markas of Qullasuyu (CONAMAQ), that represent the indigenous activists, hope that their voices will be heard during this summit. They have traveled three days to come to attend the World Peoples’ conference.

“We would like those brothers who have contaminated our Mother Earth to acknowledge this situation. And we also would like that their industries adapt to the planet, that they stop this abuse, that they stop polluting our environment and polluting the atmosphere”, Gabino Apata Mamani, the CONAMAQ’s spokesperson, told Democracy Now.

According to Mamani, the mines caused the contamination of the soil and an impact on animals and humans.

The indigenous activists hope to find a support during the summit that will run until Thursday 22nf April. Mother Earth will be celebrated that day.

The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, who refused to sign the Copenhagen climate change deal, called for the gathering to give the poor and the global south an opportunity to respond to the failed climate talks in Denmark.

Several thousand people are expected in Tiquipaya. Among them, indigenous and civil society movements, scientists, activists and government delegations will attend the meeting.

Morales proposed this meeting in the wake of the climate change summit in Copenhagen last December, arguing that the views of developing countries were largely ignored.

Ten were killed and 20 remain missing after a landslide struck a remote Peruvian gold mine camp in the early hours of Monday morning. A two-year-old is reported to be among the dead.

Heavy rain caused rocks and mud to become dislodged, burying and severely damaging around 50 homes. The mine, based in Carabaya province, some 1,300km south-east of the capital, Lima, belongs to the Winchumayo mining company.  

According to the owner, Carlos Martín Roncal, the rescue team, made up of miners from the same camp, are working hard to uncover the missing.

Peruvian news has reported that outside help is on the way but the mine is so hard to reach that it is difficult for teams to arrive at the site. Police in Lima are planning to send a helicopter to help the rescue operation, weather conditions permitting.