Beware the Gold Diggers of Canada

Mother warned you to watch out for the gold diggers. They're all "me," and they'll break your heart.

Now Oxfam is joining the cry and helping the Western Shoshone people of Nevada protest the mining activities of Barrick Gold on Shoshone lands without consent. Barrick is expanding into Mount Tenabo and Horse Canyon, areas considered sacred to the Shoshone. Even though the Shoshone have repeatedly protested these incursions and the UN stated last year that no companies should mine these Native American tribal lands without the Shoshone's permission, Barrick has continued its operations.

The Western Shoshone people have invited Barrick officials to discuss the matter, but the company has refused. Even worse, Barrick has continued its activities, bringing in drilling rigs and erecting a locked fence preventing access to certain areas. If you think that stinks, click here.

Barrick Gold has come under fire for dubious environmental and human rights practices on four continents. Its most controversial recent project in South America, the Pascua Lama gold mine, straddles the border between Chile and Argentina in the Andes Mountains in Chile's Region III. The project been harshly criticized by environmentalists worldwide who oppose the company's determination to destroy the glaciers sitting above the metal deposits.