Indigenous Peoples Unite Against Canadian Mining in Palawan http://intercontinentalcry.org/indigenous-peoples-unite-against-mining-in-palawan/

Approval of this FTAA application will allow the Canadian mining firm MBMI and its Philippine Partners to substantially increase exploration activities and to progress toward full-scale nickel operations in the municipalities of Rizal, Bataraza, and Narra. In response to the news--and the ongoing incursion of mining developments in Palawan--more than 500 Indigenous Peoples have arranged to hold a 'Karaban' anti-mining rally on 7 June, 2010

"We are shocked by the recent news circulated through the website of MBMI Resources Inc [A Canadian-based mining company focused on the exploration and development of nickel]" says Artiso Mandawa, National Coordinator of ALDAW (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch). "The mining applications of Narra Nickel Mining and Development, Inc.

(NNMDC), Tesoro Mining and Development, Inc. (TMDI), and McArthur Mining, Inc. (MMI) - approved through a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) - will surely lead to the devastation of precious watersheds, indigenous ancestral territories and productive rice-land. Once again, the rights of our indigenous and farmers communities have been completely bypassed in violation of national and international laws.