The approval of the Mining Act has peaked the interest of investors interested in the exploration and exploitation of minerals, which could contribute up to $3.5 billion.
Laprensa.hn reports that "Santos Gabino Carvajal, president of the National Association of Metal Mining in Honduras (Anamimh), said that in the last seven years Honduras has not received a single dollar in mining investment, despite its great potential, and that all investments planned in the country were diverted to Nicaragua and Colombia. "
The industry, as a way of reducing the price of iron, is asking the Congress to pass rules restricting exports of scrap metal.
A press release by the Salvadoran Association of Industrialists (ASI) reads:
LAW ON SCRAP
The Salvadoran Industrial Association has asked the Legislature to expedite the approval to amendments to Articles 1, 2 and 6 of Decree 456, which regards the restriction of exports of waste and scrap ferrous and nonferrous metals.
The Tikal mining company will appeal for reinstatement after the revocation of three licenses for the exploration of iron on the Pacific coast of Guatemala.
The announcement was made by Enrique Fernández Toledo, advisor and legal representative to the subsidiary company of Mayan Iron Corporation.
The Minister of Energy and Mines (MEM), Alfredo Pokus, announced in a press conference on 29 June that the project will not exceed its exploration phase.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), has closed the project due to non-compliance of requirements by Tikal Minerals Company.
Minister Alfredo Pokus announced at a press conference that the project will not move past its exploration phase and the company involved has no claim options.
"Previously the Ministry of Environment had rejected the Environmental Impact Assessment, a requirement for the start of operations.", reported Prensalibre.com
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has rejected all iron mining projects in the Pacific coast, for being environmentally unfriendly.
Luis Zurita Tablada, Deputy Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, currently in charge of the ministerial office, sent a letter to Eduardo Villatoro, a conspicuous opponent of such mining, noting that to date the Ministry has not issued any environmental permit to exploit the iron in the Pacific Coast of Guatemala.
The regulatory agency did not approve the Environmental Impact Study submitted by the company Tikal Minerals, a subsidiary of Maya Iron Corporation.
According to legal proceedings transcript 2010-537, The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) states that the proposed project "Central Porvenir" (LEXR 037-2009) was not approved.
Enrique Toledo from Tikal Minerals noted that there have been several attempts to get the study approved.
The tax will be slashed from 14% to 5%, according to a decree signed by the government.
The Costa Rican government is also studying lowering import duty on cement and zinc sheet metal laminates.
The announcement was warmly received by the Construction Chamber as a way to stimulate the sector.
"In the coming days, the Ministry for Trade (Comex in Spanish) will communicate this change to the Central American governments and the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) in order to comply with the conditions stated in the region's customs and duties regulations," reports an article by Leticia Vindas for Elfinancierocr.com.
Starting the first half of January, an increase between 5 and 7% is being discussed.
Oscar Armando Calon, director of the Honduran Chamber of Construction Industry (CHICO), noted that they are analyzing the new price in light of increases in raw materials worldwide.
"The construction industry has been hit hard by rising raw materials so according to communication from distributors, the increase will be between five to seven percent; this will impact the industry even more, while it still does not recover from last year´s deficit," he told Latribuna.hn.
G4G Resources and Iron Sands Americas will conduct a sample study in an area of 300 square km on the Guatemalan coast.
G4G explained that the study will help forecast the potential commercial value of iron extracted from the coasts.
Basil Botha, CEO of G4G, said: "We hope the extraction operation in these iron sands is easy. The sand will be dredged, processed and are water removed and then loaded onto ships and sent to Asia”.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines extended in six months the license to G4G Resources to explore the iron sands on the pacific shores.
The Ministry of Mines and Energy had granted in April a license to explore an area of 2,492 square kilometers.
Elperiodico.com.gt reports Brasil Botha, CEO of G4G Resources, as saying "... after an evaluation the presence of iron on the beaches of Guatemala was determined, located in an excellent position to meet the rapid growth of iron and steel markets. In terms of comparison, iron beaches in Guatemala are similar to the existing world-class deposits in New Zealand who have supplied steel producers since the seventies."
G4G Resources Limited has already surveyed a 68 kilometer area close to the Port of San José.
In a press release, the company explained that the exploration was conducted along the coastline and in the seafloor, following parallel lines from the coastline.
The extracted material was sent for analysis to several laboratories, mainly those located in Vancouver, Canada. Basil Botha, president and CEO, believes the results are “encouraging”.
A group of Chinese businesses has stated its interest in extracting non-precious metals such as iron, lead and zinc.
Santos Gabino Carbajal, president of Honduran metal mining association Anamimh, explained that the Chinese delegation has held meetings with Honduran businesses that own mining concessions with a view to negotiating joint ventures.
He added that the investors plan to return in October with concrete economic proposals.
Tikal Minerals, G4G and Iron Sands have confirmed that preliminary studies indicate that the exploitation of iron sands is feasible.
Tikal Minerals, which has three exploration licenses, commented that it may be possible to obtain an annual average of 10 million tons of iron, located 10 meters below ground. It is estimated that up to 12% of world iron deposits may be located on Guatemalan soil.
In May 2010 the local price of iron was up 9.3% and cement 8.4%, relative to May 2009.
An article by Fernando Quiñonez for Sigloxxi.com reports comments and opinions from members of the Guatemalan Construction and Industry Chambers regarding the price rises.
The increases, together with a lack of measures to stimulate the economy, has led the industrial sector to postpone factory expansion plans, comments the executive director of the Chamber of Industry (CIG), Javier Zepeda.