The author telling the stories behind Latin America’s mining industry

Philosopher, translator, and vehement writer Tom Gatehouse wrote The Heart of Our Earth: Community Resistance to Mining in Latin America.

Through his work, Gatehouse, who is based in Bristol, tells the story of frontline communities and how the mining industry has affected them in the Andean Cordillera and Amazon Rainforest.

But how does a Bristolian end up with this huge compilation of knowledge about Latin America and its social and environmental changes?

Gatehouse has a family history with Latin America hence his deep curiosity and interest in this particular geographical spot.

“My father was in Chile during the Popular Unity period in the early 1970s and had to leave the country following the 1973 military coup after being arrested and detained,” he explained.

Gatehouse recounts that his father worked for the Chile Solidarity Campaign helping to raise international awareness about Pinochet’s dictatorial regime.

“I have been aware of this story since I was very young. My older brother also lived in Chile in the late 1990s and we went to visit him,” he said.

“I will never forget this trip: the craft market at Cerro Santa Lucía in Santiago; the view of the Andes from the top of Cerro San Cristóbal; body surfing in the Pacific at Quintay; swimming in the Lago Osorno beneath the snow-capped volcano,” Gatehouse added.

The mining industry and its environmental impacts 

According to Gatehouse, one of the “fatal flaws” of the current transition towards a low-carbon economy is that it depends mostly on metals and minerals, most of which are found on Latin American soil.

“Latin America was at the epicentre of the global mining boom in the 1990s and early 2000s and has suffered some appalling social and environmental consequences as a result,” Gatehouse explained.

“These impacts will only spread further and become even more acute if future extraction proceeds on the scale that some are predicting.

“Latin American communities and ecosystems should not be sacrificed in order to solve a problem to which their historical contribution is negligible.”

Even though the mining boom has passed, its impacts linger.

Gatehouse: “The environmental impacts of gold mining are calamitous and likely to get worse, as rising prices drive the industry into ever more sensitive areas, including the Amazon Rainforest. In a context of climate emergency, this is something which should concern us all.”

The unexpected lessons for the Global North 

The author is highly critical of electric vehicles (EVs) since witnessing first-hand the struggle of Chilean communities with the effects of lithium mining, an essential component of EVs’ batteries.

“There seems to be this assumption among some policymakers that we can just replace petrol vehicles with EVs and everything will be fine. Not only is this untrue, given the resources that would be required, but it’s also not even realistic,” he criticised.

But what do EVs have to do with Bristol? Gatehouse believes that even if these kinds of cars represent progress from the petrol ones, the need for urban mobility is increasingly evident.

“When it comes to Bristol, I’ve been really surprised and disappointed by the poor urban mobility: there are far too many cars on the road, the public transport is sub-standard, and walking and cycling have been marginalised.”

Gatehouse said: “Everyone suffers as a result, drivers included. While greater use of EVs here would help bring down air pollution and carbon emissions, it would do little or nothing to improve urban mobility.”

Reimagining what urban mobility looks like would not only benefit people in Bristol but also the frontline communities in Chile and Argentina who are seeing their water resources being depleted due to mining activities.

Gatehouse concluded: “I believe we need to think much more carefully about our consumption, particularly in the Global North. Where do the resources we consume come from?

“What effect has their extraction had on the communities and ecosystems where they were found? Are there ways we can mitigate these impacts? Who has benefited from extraction, and who has suffered?

“Do we really need these resources, and if so, are there any less damaging ways in which they could be obtained? These are the sorts of questions we urgently need to be asking ourselves.”

This piece of independent journalism is supported by NatWest and the Bristol24/7 public and business membership

Main photo: Alex Dukal

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