Canada watchdog says abuse likely occurred at a Dynasty Gold mine in China

In a report, the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) recommended the federal government refuse to provide any future financial support to Dynasty until it implemented recommendations to combat abuse.

Dynasty Gold did not respond to an email query by Reuters.

The report by CORE is a result of an investigation over complaints filed by 28 Canadian organizations who alleged that Dynasty Gold used or benefited from Uyghur forced labour at the Hatu mining operations.

In its final report the watchdog concluded that Dynasty contributed to the use of forced labour through its relationship with its joint venture partners Xinjiang Non-Ferrous Metal and Western Region Gold.

A report by the UN human rights chief in 2022 said that China’s treatment of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority that numbers around 10 million in Xinjiang, in the country’s far west, may constitute crimes against humanity.

Beijing has denied these allegations.

CORE said Dynasty Gold did nothing to identify, assess and mitigate the risk of Uyghur forced labour at the mine, which led to the watchdog to reach its conclusion.

The watchdog has asked Dynasty to make significant financial donations to organizations working to combat Uyghur forced labour, assess its leverage to prevent or mitigate use of forced labour at Hatu mine and determine whether it should exit responsibly from its business relationships in the Xinjiang region.

Dynasty shares were up 3.7%.