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.
The Guild of Extractive Industries would accept the increased royalties as agreed at the start of the Pérez Molina administration.
An article in Prensalibre.com reports that Mario Orellana, president of the Union of Extractive Industries, said "... The initiative proposed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) is embodied in the agreement that we voluntarily accepted at the start of this government.
El Salvador and Costa Rica say NO. Panama and Nicaragua say YES. Guatemala and Honduras are expected to decide soon.
Gold and copper prices are on the rise, and investors are eager to put money in extraction projects all over Central America.
But the governments of Central America have different opinions over this industry. While these projects are welcomed and authorized In Panama and Nicaragua, informal and formal moratoriums to the activity are being decreed in Costa Rica and El Salvador, stopping mining concessions under pressure from environmentalist groups. Meanwhile, in Guatemala and Honduras new projects are awaiting rules and regulations that will likely toughen environmental regulations for the mining industry.
First part of the study "Contribution of the Mining Industry to Guatemala's Development 2009', by CIEN.
This study was developed by Sigfrido Lée and María Isabel Bonilla de Anzueto, researchers at CIEN (Center for Economic Investigations). It is the first of a series of studies analyzing the benefits and costs of the mining industry in Guatemala.
The first and current edition provides a description of the current state of the Mining Industry in Guatemala. It attempts to present facts and incite national discussion, in order to make mining an integral part of the country's development. It never attempts to suggest that a balance between economic development, society and environment has been reached, but, in order to have a reasonable social dialogue, the topic must be demystified, and tackled objectively.