Millions left at risk by US-backed Canadian mine in Guatemala
3 Min Read
The mining company claims this project will bring more jobs and opportunities to the local residents; however, not all residents see it that way.
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The Cerro Blanco mining project located in Asunción Mita, Jutiapa (Prensa Libre/AFP)
The border town of Asunción Mita between Guatemala and El Salvador has become an endangered town amid a mining project by Canadian corporation Bluestone Resources, which could simultaneously be advantageous to the US, Truthout reported.
According to the news organization, the town of 40,000 people is known to be vulnerable to climate disasters.
Back in January, the outgoing Guatemalan government allowed the mining of the Cerro Blanco open-pit gold mine run by Bluestone, which anticipates to produce over 300,000 ounces of gold annually.
Bluestone claims this project will bring more jobs and opportunities to the local residents. However, not all residents see it that way.
Local Yony Barrera said, “Yeah, they say they’ll bring development and jobs,” adding, “And we’re a poor country. We need work, but sustainable, responsible work. Not jobs that bring destruction. You have to look at the cost of that development.”
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“The impact of this mine would be immense,” he continued as he noted that it's not only the environment at stake “but also the lives of so many thousands of people. It’s sad. It’s sad that the ambitions of a few are worth more than the well-being of millions of people.”
Almost 88% of the town's population that participated in a town consultation process two years ago voted against the project in a referendum held at the request of the local municipality and attended by organizations like the local Catholic church and environmental organization Madre Selva.
In a statement at the time, Guatemala’s Ministry of Energy and Mines argued that the municipal government didn’t have the authority to hold the referendum.
Then a 2022 sustainability report citing Bluestone said that when the mine becomes functional, it would generate over 400 direct jobs and thousands in indirect employment. It also added that it would generate payments to the Guatemalan government “of approximately USD $300 million.”
In a shocking twist in March, the Guatemalan outlet Prensa Comunitaria revealed that the US embassy in 2023 lobbied the Guatemalan government of former President Alejandro Giammattei to support the mine.
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The embassy wrote to then-Environment Minister Gersón Barrios Garrido that the Cerro Blanco mine was backed with “substantial capital from investors of origin from the United States of America.”
“For the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala it is very important to continue promoting the attraction of American capital investment in Guatemala, so we consider it important to continue working hand in hand with Guatemalan authorities to generate new job opportunities for Guatemalans, and to develop rural areas of the country,” said the letter written on June 6, 2023. The letter specifically mentioned Cerro Blanco.
Illegal gold mining increased to an all-time high on #Brazil's largest Indigenous reservation last year, according to a new report that included disturbing accounts of miners abusing women and girls, including extorting sex.#Indigenous pic.twitter.com/JgFUT2mpo5
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 14, 2022
