The Approach
Mirage of El Dorado is a continuation of my first documentary, Make Money, Salut bonsoir! where I denounced the devastating impact of Noranda mines in the community of Murdochville in the Gaspé.
Make Money, Salut bonsoir! reveals the complicity between Noranda mines, the political authorities, and surprisingly, the workers' union. Back in 1990, when a press release issued by the head of Noranda's environment protection department is sent to the union, the Workers' Compensation Board and the company physician recommending that the purchase of potentially dangerous copper from abroad should be halted, everyone ignores the warning. In 2002, the workers learn that the copper coming in by the ton to Noranda's Gaspe smelter has a Berylium content 250 times the legally allowed industry limit!
By lifting the silence around the fate of the people battling incurable respiratory diseases and other issues linked to environmental contamination, I understood the enormous power wielded by the mining companies. The backbone of the documentary becomes the struggle of several former workers at the mine who try to obtain compensation from those responsible, with Noranda at the top of the list.
The closing of the Murdochville smelter in April 2002 was linked to the mining company's international repositioning strategy to transfer its operations south. Shortly after, Noranda announced it was investing $170 million to expand Altonorte in northern Chili. Work was completed at the beginning of 2003. That was when I got the idea of extending my own critical look at Canadian mining companies to the southern hemisphere. While I was preparing the documentary, cards were being shuffled in the mining industry world-wide and Noranda merged with Falconbridge and was subsequently bought by Xstrata in August 2006.