The case goes back to 2002, when the government of former President Francisco Flores (1999-2004) awarded the first exploration permits to the Canadian company Pacific Rim Mining. Although in 2008 then President Antonio Saca (2004-2009) refused to authorize the start of operations, it was not until the following year that President Mauricio Funes (2009-2014) permanently rejected the permits for the company to start exploitation activities.
Funes based his decision on a potential cyanide contamination, the compound used in the extraction of gold, and the risk of the water resources being affected. The mining company intended to use an average of 2 MT of cyanide and some 900,000 liters of water on a daily basis. It is estimated that there are 9.4 million ounces of silver and 1.3 million ounces of high-grade gold in the deposit.
No comments:
Post a Comment