(Asuncion Mita) More than 28,000 Guatemalans from the municipality of Asunción Mita, on the border with El Salvador, are called on Sunday to vote on the gold and silver extraction project of a Canadian mining company, accused by environmentalists of polluting the environment.
Posted at 2:34 p.m.
Six voting centers are open until 5 p.m. (7 p.m. EDT) for this consultation convened by local authorities on the Cerro Blanco mining project, owned by the Bluestone Resources group.
“We have not identified any major irregularities,” said Omar Torres, from environmental collective Mesa Nacional. A dozen organizations observe the vote.
Bluestone Resources bought the Cerro Blanco project from Canadian mining company Goldcorp in 2017 for $18m plus shares valued at around 9.9pc of Bluestone’s capital.
Members of the local Catholic Church and environmental organizations strongly oppose the Cerro Blanco project on the grounds that it risks polluting water and forests in the area.
PHOTO JOHAN ORDONEZ, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Polling station in the municipality of Asuncion Mita, Guatemala, during a community consultation to approve or reject the operation of the Canadian gold and silver mining project
Localities in Guatemala and El Salvador have expressed concern about possible contamination of waters shared by the two countries via the Güija Lagoon and the Lempa River, the main source of water that feeds San Salvador, the Salvadoran capital.
The Lempa River, which originates in Guatemala, serves thousands of Guatemalan and Salvadoran peasants. In addition, dozens of fishermen in the lagoon fear a shortage or disappearance of fish.
The main source of concern is surface mining which requires cyanide to separate precious metals.
The mine’s environmental manager, Fredy García, dismissed such fears, assuring AFP that the company has treatment plants to dispose of toxic waste before discharging liquids into the Ostua River, a tributary of the lagoon. Güija and the Lempa river.