Costa Rica
Constitutional
Court Rules To
Reopen Gold Mine
Project
The Costa Rican
Constitutional
Court or Sala IV
ruled on Friday
that a small
Canadian mining
company can
proceed with its
open-pit gold
mine at Crucitas
in San Carlos,
striking down
complaints from
environmental
groups that the
project was
destroying
virgin forest.
The ruling
reversed an
October 2008
order from the
Constitutional
Court to halt
construction on
the mine near
the border with
Nicaragua and
mine owner
Infinito Gold
claimed the
ruling as a
victory.
Environmentalists
had complained
that the miner
was breaking the
law by cutting
down trees in
forests that are
home to such
wildlife as the
endangered great
green macaw and
other precious
birds.
"After reviewing
the official
studies we did
not find that
this mining
project will
negatively
affect the
environment. So
the project will
go ahead,"
Vanlly Cantillo,
a court
spokeswoman
said.
Crucitas will be
Costa Rica's
first major gold
mine with a
capacity to
produce 85,000
ounces of gold
annually. An
investment of up
to $66 million
is required to
start the mine
with an
indicated
resource of 1.2
million ounces
of gold,
according to the
company's
website.
Infinito Gold's
President John
Morgan lauded
the court's
decision and
said the company
was committed to
moving forward
with the
project.
"Now we must
show Costa Rica
that Crucitas
will be a model
of sustainable
mining," Morgan
said in a
statement.
With
approximately
half of its
surface cloaked
in lush forest,
Costa Rica is a
world famous
eco-travel
paradise.
President Oscar
Arias reversed a
moratorium on
open pit mining
after taking
office and
declared the
Crucitas project
of "national
interest,"
angering
environmentalists.
His government
said in a
statement on
Friday it would
stand by the
court's decision
to allow the
mine to reopen.
Laura
Chinchilla, the
country's
president-elect
who will take
office in May,
is a protege of
Arias and is
expected to
follow closely
the policies of
his government. |
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