Aura Minerals

Since 2014, Rights Action has supported the Azacualpa community defense struggle, when the U.S.-mining company Aura Minerals (formerly Canadian) began illegally exhuming bodies from the 200-year-old Azacualpa Cemetery (now completely destroyed), to get at the gold underneath. Now, Aura continues their open-pit, cyanide-leaching gold mine operation, further up the mountain ridge through the actual community of Azacualpa.

2001 June 25 - “From Quebec to Copan; Globalization and the Case of San Andres Minas”, by M. Marsh

2007 September 14 - Canadian Mining Company (Yamana Gold) Discharges Cyanide into Lara River

2010 September 10 - “Military Coups, Mining & Canadian Involvement”, by K. Spring

2011 December 12 - Letter to Aura Minerals: Death Threats at your Honduras Mine Site

2014 November 12 - “Canada-based Aura Minerals Ready to Dig up the Dead in Honduras”, by K. Spring

2015 November 24 - Aura Minerals Inc. (Canadian Mining Company) Using Threats and Illegal Detentions to Crush Protests and Expand Gold Mine into 200-year Old Cemetery in Honduras

2016 January 09 - Communique - Azacualpa Environmental Committee

2016 February 12 - Call Aura Minerals - Stop the Illegal & Military-backed Removal of Cemetery in Honduras

2016 June 22 - Action Needed, Say NO to Aura Minerals Digging up the Deat, Destroying Cemeteries, to Mine for Gold

2016 June 30 - Aura Minerals to Proceed to Dig Up Azacualpa Cemetery on July 1st..?

2016 August 31 - “Now, Even the Bones of the Dead Are Not Safe: Help Stop Aura Minerals’ Honduran Mine Expansion”, by E. Smith

2017 March 17 - Update: Aura Minerals Set to Start Destruction of 200 Year Old Cemetery in Honduras

2017 May 05 - Canadian Ambassador & CSR Counsellor Misled Honduras Villagers in Community Environmental Defense Struggle with Toronto-based Aura Minerals

2017 July 13 - Aura Minerals ALERT in Honduras - Public Statement

2017 August 14 - “Cemetery on Top of a Gold Mine that Pits a Honduras Community Against Aura Minerals, One of Canada’s Largest Mining Companies”, BBC Article by J. Pauilier

2017 September 07 - Aura Minerals digging up cadavers in Honduars, to get at more gold - Update

2018 January 04 - “Story Behind the Story: What Aura Minerals didn’t want us to see in Azacualpa”, 4 Minute Film by M. Padlewska

2018 February 14 - “89 Bodies Dug Up by Aura Minerals, Canadian Company in Honduras, To Get at More Gold”, by G. Russell

2018 April 16 - “Holding a club in my hand, I prevented [Aura Minerals] from depositing my father’s remains in another tomb” ~ Floresmira Lopez & the dead v. Aura Minerals & the Honduran Regime

2018 May 15 - Letter to Global Affaits & Cnd Embassy in Honduras

2018 September 02 - No to Aura Minerals Destruction of Azacualpa Cemetery

2018 September 30 - “We demand of Aura/MINOSA and ALL the mining companies, the closure of all operations and their DEPARTURE”, Statement of Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán Catholic Church

2018 October 24 - Resisting Aura Minerals’ cemetery desecration: “If I die defending the remains of my loved ones, please bury me beside them” - Manuelito Rodriguez, Honduran Campesino

2019 March 22 - Statement by ASONOG, “Aura Minerals & Honduran government “criminalizing” 19 Azacualpa community defenders”

2019 March 26 - Aura Minerals blowing up Honduras in partnership with corrupt, repressive regime

2019 March 31 - Aura Minerals/MINOSA and Honduran police fire bullets and tear-gas at Community defenders, set fire to forest around Azacualpa community and cemetery

2019 April 16 - To bury ones dead in Honduras is resistance to U.S. company Aura Minerals’ destructive mining operation

2019 November 27 - Aura Minerals linked to drug trafficking & money laundering in Honduras

2019 December 13 - “Where even the Dead can’t rest”, 6 minute film by Trocaire

2020 June 16 - Azacualpa villagers resist Aura Minerals/MINOSA’s Covid19-spreading mine

2020 June 18 - Aura Minerals linked threats against Azacualpa villager Maria Ermita Rodriguez, in times of Covid19

2020 July 08 - Aura Minerals mining with drug-trafficking linked companies in Honduras, in times of Covid19

2020 August 20 - Aura Minerals blowing up Azacualpa Cemetery hill

2020 August 27 - U.S. company Aura Minerals threatening members of Azacualpa

2021 December 01 - Honduran Supreme Court rules against Aura Minerals (MINOSA) illegal grave digging & destruction of Azacualpa cemetery

2021 March 16 - Aura Minerals/Minosa continues harmful mining operation in Honduras: Threats, Contaminations, Explosions & harms, Lead poisoning

2021 June 04 - Aura Minerals Cyanide Waste Discharges Kill Horses and Fish in Azacualpa, Honduras

2021 July 26 - Azacualpa villagers encampment blocking illegal operation of U.S. mining company Aura Minerals since June 27 - RA asks Environmental Committee questions on situation

2021 September 06 - Criminalization of 35 Azacualpa community members by U.S. mining company Aura Minerals and MINOSA (Honduran subsidiary)

2022 January 17 - Honduran military fires live rounds in support of US company Aura Minerals’ cyanide-leaching, mountain-top removal mine

2022 February 07 - Clandestine theft by Aura Minerals of dead buried in Azacualpa Cemetery, and total destruction of cemetery - video evidence of theft

2022 February 10 - US/Canadian Aura Minerals continues illegal destruction of 200-year-old Azacualpa Cemetery

2022 February 14 - Please write to Aura Minerals to end cemetery desecration - letters sent by G. Mott & H.J. Smaller

2022 February 23 - Alerta! Mining company to carry out blasting in Maya Chortí cemetery in Azacualpa

2022 March 28 - Aura Minerals/MINOSA destroying cemetery of Maya Chortí people, to continue with illegal open-pit cyanide mining operation

2022 July 05 - Death threats linked to US mining company Aura Minerals

2022 August 08 - “We Don’t Even Know Where the Remains of our Loved Ones Are”, NACLA article by A. Lira