Historical Context
Haiti’s history is marked by centuries of resistance against exploitation, invasion, and occupation by foreign countries and companies. Community opposition to mining must be understood against this context. This timeline of Haiti’s history is informed by interviews with Haitian activists, scholars, and members of civil society. Although an incomplete history, this timeline highlights key events in Haiti’s history, particularly Haitian peoples’ struggle against foreign interference and for self-determination.
“There is an anti-extractive spirit in Haiti—from the Taíno people to today.”
- Sabine Lamour
“Spanish Colonization, Taíno Resistance, and Gold in the Soil
Spanish colonizers arrived in Ayiti, a Taíno word meaning “land of high mountains,” in 1492. They enslaved, abused, and killed the indigenous Taíno people. The Spanish enslaved Taíno people to pan and mine for gold, depleting the island’s alluvial gold deposits by 1520. Taíno people resisted Spanish colonization. In the 1520s, more than 3,000 Taíno people fought and won their freedom and control of a region of Ayiti for over a decade. As a consequence of the continued brutality of Spanish colonization, the Taíno people were almost entirely destroyed.”
“First Industrial Metal Mining
In 1944, Reynolds Haitian Mines, Inc. obtained an exclusive monopoly on bauxite and a concession to mine near Miragoâne. Mining began in 1956 and ended in 1982 after the company had extracted most of the bauxite in the area. During its decades of operations, Reynolds Haitian Mines displaced thousands of families and did not provide meaningful benefits to Haitian people. Haiti Grassroots Watch stated that the company built one eight-mile road and employed no more than 300 Haitians, who were not paid a living wage.
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“Canadian Company Mines for Copper
The Société d’Exploitation et de Développement Économique et Naturel (SEDREN), a Canadian-owned company, mined and exported over $83.5 million USD worth of copper from Haiti. According to Haiti Grassroots Watch, the mine employed only about 500 - 600 Haitians, all at minimum wage.
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“Creation of Haiti’s Largest Peasant Movement
Tèt Kole Ti Peyizan Ayisyen, formerly known as Tèt Ansanm, began organizing peasants, beginning their work in Northwest Haiti in the year 1970. Tèt Kole spread its presence across the nation. The decentralized peasant movement had a common agenda of fighting for the interests of the poor majority. They played an important role in ending the Duvalier dictatorships in 1986. To this day, the movement has called for structural change to improve the lives of peasants, accountability for the political killing of peasants, and direct participation of peasants in decision-making and governance.
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“UNDP confirms significant mineral resources in Haiti
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) began to survey Haiti’s gold deposits and created the Institut National de Ressources Minerales (National Institute of Mineral Resource or INAREM) in 1975. The project continued until the 1990s. The UNDP survey discovered significant amounts of copper, gold, and silver.
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“Government of Haiti begins issuing mining exploration permits
Starting in 2006, the Haitian government began granting permits for mining exploration to four foreign companies - Majescor Resources Inc., VCS Mining LLC, Newmont Mining Corporation, and Eurasian Minerals Inc. Although some of these permits have changed hands, Newmont continues to hold the majority of mining exploration permits in Haiti.
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“Canadian and U.S. Companies Invest Tens of Millions in Gold Exploration in Haiti
With little government oversight, Canadian and U.S. companies, Newmont, Majescor, and VCS Mining spent at least US$30 million exploring for gold. The Martelly government promoted mining as necessary for economic growth in Haiti, despite concerns that “it’s the rich who come with their fancy equipment to dig it out. The people who live on top of the ground stay poor, while the rich get even richer.”
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“IFC Invests Millions in Exploration in Haiti
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, invested $10.3 million in Canadian company Eurasian Minerals - which was Newmont’s joint venture partner in Haiti - to support exploration and prospecting in Haiti. The IFC often will support companies to explore for minerals while the World Bank revises a government’s mining law to make them more investor-friendly.
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“Mining Exploitation Permits Are Granted, Violating Haitian Law
The Haitian government granted permits that allow companies to begin to construct mines for gold and copper. The Senate declared that these permits violated the Haitian Constitution because they were granted based on contracts between the government and the company, and they did not meet the requirements of the Constitution. The Haitian Constitution requires that conventions be ratified by the Parliament, and these mining conventions were never ratified.
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“Senate Resolution for a Moratorium on Mining
In February 2013, the Haitian Senate passed a resolution calling for a moratorium on mining due to the danger mining poses to the environment and concerns about the process of granting mining permits. Although the moratorium does not have force of law–it was not ratified–it likely has had a chilling effect on the development of the metal mining sector in Haiti.
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“The World Bank Redrafts Haiti’s Mining Law
A task force of several Haitian government ministries and World Bank experts began rewriting Haiti’s mining law. The lack of transparency surrounding the process prompted advocacy groups to file a complaint to the World Bank’s Inspection Panel in 2015. The Inspection Panel found the concerns to be “serious and legitimate” but ultimately declined to investigate the complaint on technical grounds. Mining companies placed their mining activities on care and maintenance status.
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“Draft Mining Law Submitted to Parliament
The draft mining law was submitted to Parliament in 2017. As of July 2022, there has been no news or movement related to this law since 2017.
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