Costa Rica Firm
On No Open Pit
Gold Mining
Costa Rica is
one three
Central American
countries that
have called a
halt to new open
pit mining
projects.
Fearing
environmental
and political
fallout from
mining, Costa
Rican president,
Laura
Chinchilla,
signed the
decree banning
all new open-pit
gold mining
within minutes
of taking office
on May 8, 2010.
Bucking the
trend in Central
America is
Nicaragua and
Panama.
Open pit mining
has become a
controversy in
Costa Rica and
Central America,
sparking
sometimes
violent
protests.
The Chinchilla
order was aimed
at the Crucitas
project, Costa
Rica's only
open-pit gold
mine and owned
by Canada's
Infinito Gold
Ltd.
The project had
been tied up in
courts for two
years and weeks
before the
Chinchilla ban,
Infinito had
received the
green light to
move forward
with the project
by Costa Rica's
Constitutional
court, but
halted days
later by a lower
court order
required the
project to
answer a number
of environmental
concerns brought
up by
environmentalists.
The government
decree put an
end to the
Crucitas
project.
Both Guatemala
and Honduras are
also holding off
on new mining
projects until
new mining
legislation is
passed by
lawmakers in
their respective
countries, laws
that would
tighten
environmental
rules.
Meanwhile, both
Nicaragua and
Panama are
actively seeking
investors.
Panama's
president
Ricardo
Martinelli, who
is pro-business,
said that
untapped copper
reserves cold
generate billion
of dollars for
Panama.
In Nicaragua,
president Daniel
Ortega, is now
open to capital
investment to
help Nicaragua
become a major
gold exporter.
To that end,
last month
Ortega
inaugurated the
B2Gold Corp
mine. |
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