After a community consultation was ordered as a requirement for the resumption of operations of the San Rafael Mine in Guatemala, the authorities invited nine institutions to participate in the first meeting of the pre-consultation roundtable.
Derived from a protective action filed by the environmental organization Calas, the Constitutional Court (CC) ordered in September 2018, to carry out through the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), a community consultation in the area of operations of the mine, in El Escobal, in the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores, department of Santa Rosa.
Although in Guatemala the right to operate the El Escobal mine was granted in law, the project has been suspended for two years, making future investments in the country unviable.
The disadvantages for Minera San Rafael's operations date back to 2017, when in May of that year the Guatemalan Center for Legal, Environmental and Social Action (Calas) filed a protective action, arguing that the Ministry of Energy and Mines had not conducted the necessary community consultations before authorizing the licenses.
Representatives of the El Tambor mine, located in San José del Golfo and San Pedro Ayampuc, filed a $300 million lawsuit against the State of Guatemala.
The arbitration lawsuit was filed by the Americans Daniel W. Kappes, Kappes, Cassidy & Associates, which was registered by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) last December 11th.
Industrialists are demanding that the Constitutional Court rule on the request for legal protection that was granted in favor of an environmental group and which is keeping the mine's operations in a state of paralysis.
The project has been paralyzed since an environmental organization filed an request for legal protection against the mine, arguing that the Ministry of Energy and Mines did not carry out the necessary community consultations before authorizing the licenses.
After seven months of suspended operations, the company that operates the Escobal mine in Guatemala has announced that it is making 250 workers redundant.
Minera San Rafael will have to cease operations after its two operating licenses were suspended as a result of a writ of protection granted by the Supreme Court of Justice to an environmental group.
Prensalibre.com reports that "...The licenses for El Escobal, approved in 2013, and Juan Bosco, in 2012, are suspended and as a consequence, the San Rafael mine must stop its operations.The extraction plants whose licenses are now invalid are located in Mataquescuintla, Jalapa, and Nueva Santa Rosa, Casillas, and San Rafael Las Flores, Santa Rosa."
Goldcorp has announced that the process of closing the gold mine has already started and will be completed within four to five months.
The company that owns the mine in San Marcos started the vegetation recovery process in 2012, when it finished open air exploitations, and is now completing the process of recovery in the underground area, which it expects to finish this year.
The Supreme Court has rescinded in a "definitive" manner the permit for operating the mine La Puya, which had been awarded to the company Progreso VII Derivadas.
Putting a legal end to the controversy which arose three months ago, the Supreme Court decided to suspend the permit permanently, after differences of opinion arose between the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Court over legal criteria.
The Mining Exploitation Project Niquegua Montufar II, run by Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel, and the one called Tajmulco II, by Montana Exploradora de Guatemala, have been suspended by the government.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Energy and Mines indicates that "...Adhering to the appeal granted by the First Chamber of the Court of Appeals of the Civil and Commercial Branch constituted in the Court of Appeal, the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), notified Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN), of the suspension of its authorization license for operating the mining exploitation project Niquegua Montufar II. "
On August 16 and 17 industry representatives from around the globe will be taking part in business conferences and lectures on the role of mineral resources and the impact of the activity on the economy.
The II International Mining Congress is being organized by the Mining Chamber of Nicaragua and will be held on August 16 and 17 in Managua.
The conference will include business conferences, panels and lectures on the economic and social impact of mining on communities; the role of metallic and non-metallic mineral resources in developing countries and environmental challenges in modern mining.