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.
The temporary suspension of the exploitation right license of the Fénix mining company, operated by Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel, in the department of Izabal, is reported.
After a group of neighbors claimed before the Supreme Court of Justice that for the mining project concerned, the community consultation process was not exhausted, in February of this year an injunction was granted in favor of the plaintiffs, but the company's operations were not suspended.
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.
Amid blockades by local residents, the company that operates the Escobal mine in Guatemala is trying to normalize its activities, after having obtained a legal guarantee to do so.
The Constitutional Court has confirmed the decision of the Supreme Court of Justice, which last June suspended the operating licenses of the Escobal mine, run by Minera San Rafael.
In its resolution, the Constitutional Court argued that"... when the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) authorized the operations, it denied the existence of the Xinca group and did not consult them about the work they would do."
The contribution of mining activities to GDP has reduced in recent years, and recent cases of suspension of operating permits are not helping to improve the sector's image.
In 2012 the contribution of mining activities represented 2.8% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but this proportion has been decreasing in recent years, falling to 1.1% of GDP in 2015.On top of this are the recent cases of suspension of exploration permits, which have generated uncertainty among the sector's entrepreneurs.
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."
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.
Conflicts over environmental protection and excessive bureaucracy in the process of granting concessions are the factors that limit the great mining potential in the region.
The mining sector in Central America represents great potential for investment and business, however, it has so far contributed only 0.75% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), averaged from the six countries in the region, between 2008 and 2012.
The increase in sales of lead abroad has been attributed to the shipments that have begun from the Escobal mine, belonging to Canada's Tahoe Resources.
Lead exports increased by $141 million between January and May this year compared to the same period last year, according to the Central Bank of Guatemala.
Fernando Castellanos, Head of the Mining Department of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, told Prensalibre.com that "...
Following the lifting of a moratorium on exploration and mining licenses, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has announced a review of all environmental impact studies.
The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) analyzed 354 environmental impact studies, whose licenses were suspended after finding that there were shortcomings.
At the start of every new government there is an attempt made to attract investors for new drilling and explorations, without results to date.
Despite the efforts of recent governments, in the last decade, domestic production of crude oil has fallen by 55%, going from 24, 671 barrels in the first two months of 2002 to 10,899 barrels in the same period this year.
The lead candidate in the polls for president, Otto Perez Molina, has said that the percentage paid by mining companies to the State should be between 7 and 10%.
The rate currently being charged by the country as royalties for the extraction of gold, nickel and silver is 1%, the lowest in Latin America.
"Guatemala's mining industry has become a hot political issue in the Central American nation ahead of the presidential elections on 11 September, in which Pérez Molina ranks highest in the polls", reported Reuters.com.