HDI/Continental: Stop Mining Tibet!

Canadian mining company Continental Minerals Inc., a subsidiary of Hunter Dickinson, is leading the effort to mine gold and copper in Tibet. We need your help to stop Continental Minerals Inc. from partnering with the Chinese government in looting Tibet's natural resources. Send a letter now to Continental Minerals's CEO demanding he immediately cease all operations and withdraw from Tibet.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: HDI/Continental Minerals: Stop Mining Tibet!

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am deeply concerned that Continental Minerals is continuing to mine in Tibet while millions of Tibetans suffer gravely under Chinese rule. I urge you to immediately end your operations at the Xietongmen mine site in central Tibet.

The protests that spread across the Tibetan plateau this past spring were a clear expression of the Tibetan people's desire for human rights and freedom. The Chinese government responded to these protests with brute force, sparking a humanitarian crisis in Tibet that continues today. Foreign journalists are still being denied access to Tibet, thousands of Tibetans remain imprisoned or disappeared and Chinese armed forces continue to surround towns and monasteries.

The United Nations Committee on Torture recently found a "deepened climate of fear in Tibet" following the Chinese government's crackdown. Given the campaign of terror Chinese armed forces are carrying out in Tibet, local communities are in no position to freely consent to foreign mining operations on their land, Chinese or Canadian.

It is immoral and unethical for your company to do business with the Chinese government at a time when the Tibetan people are living under an intense military crackdown.

I will continue to monitor this situation closely. As a company that prides itself on being 'socially responsible', I expect that you will do the right thing now by withdrawing your operations in Tibet.

Signed by:

Campaign Launched:
December 09, 2008


Background Information

Canadian mining company Continental Minerals Inc., a subsidiary of Hunter Dickinson Inc is leading the effort to exploit Tibet' gold and copper resources. Following several years of exploratory drilling at Xietongmen mine near the Tibetan capital city Lhasa, Continental is currently awaiting permits and financing to begin the first phases of production. We need your help to stop Continental Minerals Inc. from partnering with the Chinese government in looting Tibet's natural resources.

Send a letter now to Continental Mineral's CEO, David Copeland.

Students for a Free Tibet Canada and the Canada Tibet Committee have repeatedly expressed concerns to Continental's executives over the company's activities in Tibet. Our members have spoken out at Continental's annual meetings, urging the company to withdraw from Tibet immediately. The company has yet to address our concerns.

Learn more about SFT's Stop Mining Tibet campaign. In the coming months, SFT will be intensifying pressure on the company to withdraw from Tibet.

The Chinese government is aggressively promoting mining in Tibet in order to profit off Tibet's mineral wealth with little to no benefits going to the Tibetan people. Resource exploitation is also a means of solidifying control over the region. The unprecedented protests that spread across the Tibetan plateau this past March and April were a clear expression of the Tibetan people's desire for human rights and freedom from Chinese rule. Chinese authorities responded to these protests with brute force, killing hundreds of innocent Tibetans.

Today, Tibet remains under military lockdown with thousands imprisoned or missing. It is immoral for Canadian companies to profit off the Tibetan people's land at a time when Tibetans themselves have no say over how their natural resources will be used. Given the level of repression in Tibet, local Tibetans are in no position to give their free, prior, and informed consent to a mining project at this time. Furthermore, mine operations pose devastating consequences to the Tibetan culture, livelihood and local environment.