Members of CPUVO oppose the Trinidad/Cuzcatlán mine for a variety of reasons. Water is a central concern. The area’s supply of potable water is increasingly scarce, and mining operations require vast quantities of water. Townspeople also express concern about contamination of water sources and lands by the toxic chemicals used by the mine to process silver and gold ore—such as cyanide, arsenic and heavy metals.
They have reason to be concerned. The nearby Canadian Continuum mine in Capulálpam de Méndez, seriously disrupted and polluted aquifers there. Local residents report that due to the mining activities, 13 local streams disappeared and community springs were so polluted by the chemicals used to process ore that livestock died from drinking the water. The environmental destruction caused by the Continuum mine was so flagrant that the Mexican Federal Environmental Protection Agency suspended operations.
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