In April, President Laura Chinchilla said the Las Crucitas case is closed after a court ruled in favor of nearby communities who were affected by the mining operation.
Sala IV’s ruling on Wednesday is the culmination of a dispute that has lasted several years between the company and environmental groups in Costa Rica, who said the mine would cause serious environmental damage, including destruction of primary forest.
The concession would have allowed the extraction of one million grams of gold in the area, a business estimated at the time at some $2 billion. In 2008, the company obtained a mining license after then-President Oscar Arias (2006-2010) and his environment minister, Roberto Dobles, declared the project of “national interest.”
“We want to emphasize that this [Sala IV ruling] only marks the beginning of our legal efforts at the ICSID,” Soto said. “Our company will not leave the country until we are fully compensated.”
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