|
Costa
Rican
Mining
Chamber
Sues
To
Overturn
Open-Pit
Mining
Ban
The
president
of
the
Costa
Rican
Chamber
of
Mines
has
filed
a
petition
of
unconstitutionality
against
the
country's
current
ban
on
open-pit
metal
mining.
EI
País
reports
Franz
Ulloa,
also
an
executive
of
the
British
gold
mining
company
Ascot
Mining,
filed
the
petition
on
June
11.
In
November
2011
Costa
Rica's
legislature
approved
reforms
to
the
nation's
mining
code,
which
prohibits
open-pit
mining.
Ascot,
which
operates
the
Chassoul
gold
mine
in
San
Ramon,
begins
trading
on
the
European
GXG
Exchange
this
morning.
In a
statement
published
Wednesday,
Ascot's
CEO
David
Jackson
said,
"The
market
has
changed.
In
recognition
of
this
fact
the
company
is
focusing
all
efforts
toward
its
Chassoul
operations,
and
until
robust
and
stabilized
operations
have
been
achieved,
further
projects
will
only
be
considered
in
exceptional
circumstances."
"The
current
environment
for
junior
resource
companies
dictates
that
the
market
is
demanding
production,
and
Ascot
is
in
an
enviable
position
in
that
it
has
a
functioning
gold
mine
with
an
operating
mill,"
he
added.
"Full
attention
will
be
directed
toward
improving
operations
and
to
make
certain
modifications
for
better
recovery
of
gold
and
to
facilitate
the
recovery
of
both
gold
and
silver."
The
company
hopes
to
achieve
its
initial
production
target
of
1,500
ounces
of
gold
per
quarter
later
this
year.
Brokerage
Daniel
Steward
expects
the
company
to
produce
2,737
ounces
for
the
fiscal
year
to
September
from
Chassoul.
It
is
anticipated
production
will
increase
to
4,546
ounces
in
the
full
year
2013
following
underground
development
of
the
Cajeta
vein.
In
his
pleading,
Ulloa
argues
there
is
no
environmental
reason
for
the
open-pit
metal
mining
ban.
He
contends
the
elimination
of
open-pit
metal
mining
will
be
catastrophic
for
Costa
Rica
since
90%
of
all
mined
materials
come
from
open-pit
mining.
Ulloa's
complaint
says
Costa
Rica's
open-pit
mining
ban
is
unfair
and
discriminatory,
creating
uncertainty
for
the
investments
that
foreign
exploration
and
mining
companies
have
made
in
Costa
Rica
to
date,
El
País
reported. |
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