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The second week of November, the team of engineers from UUSC and members of COPAE visited communities to present the cracked-houses report.
In San Miguel approximately 300 people met in the church’s meeting room. Members of different communities that surround the mine who suffer from the cracks in their homes gave their testimonies.
One habitant of San Miguel began to question a group of women who had given their testimony arguing that what they said were lies and that because they had sold their lands to the mining company they should now deal with the consequences. Although there was a heated moment, the call to calm by the leaders was heard and the individual chose to step down. In the end, it was clear that the resistance movement to mining is peaceful and must not fall to the provocations of people who only want to create chaos and problems in San Miguel.
Robert Robinson, the leader of the engineering team presented the report in English; Alejandro, of COPAE, translated it to Spanish and Ricardo, from the San Miguel parish, translated it to Maya Mam.
Nov 01 2007, by Miningwatch Canada
Communities dealing with the impact from mining activities (whether at the claim-staking, exploration, development, operating, closure, or restoration/rehabilitation stage) find themselves confronted by a legal entity they may not understand, making demands that are contrary to the desires of the community, and giving reason for its behaviour that they do not know how to counteract.
This booklet is an attempt to understand the nature of this legal entity – what drives it and maintains it, where its strengths and vulnerabilities lie – and to provide some tools to persuade the entity to act in a manner that sees the best interests of the community as part of its self-interest.
We invite you to read more
Nov 23 2009, by Miningwatch Canada
In anticipation of the annual Mining Day on the Hill lobbying frenzy, MiningWatch Canada would like to provide you with an alternative perspective on several important issues. The mining industry is one of the most policy-privileged industries in Canada.
This is despite the fact that at home and around the world, the industry has generated massive environmental impacts, created social conflicts, and infringed on Aboriginal rights and title.
This brief outlines our concerns regarding: the need to hold Canadian companies to account for their international operations; the industry's privileged tax regime; the importance of environmental assessment; and the need to reverse the trend of dumping toxic mine wastes into our precious aquatic ecosystems.
Goldcorp devours territory of San Marcos
by Sam Verhaert*
Gold is not eaten. These days, it is devoured. One troy ounce of the precious metal rose to $1,195 (US), a historic record. In times of global financial crisis, the entire world is sick with gold fever. Mining companies like Goldcorp win at the cost of communities in San Marcos.
In the last few months, gold bars and gold coins are being sold like Christmas tamales. The dollar fell, the financial crisis dragged on, but gold didn't not lose its position. It is the principal refuge of nervious investors, and banks around the world are insuring their future in storing the metal.
According to the World Gold Council, the stored gold reserve is nearly 30,000 tons. In 2008, the (identifiable) investment covered 31% of the total gold demand, 57% was used for jewelry and 12% was for industrial and dental use. In other words, nearly one-third of the gold that was extracted wasn’t used. It is guarded in safes. The community members who live above the gold do not have a safe, much less gold inside.
The Oak is COPAE's electronic newsletter. It informs about the impacts of chemical metal mining in San Marcos and Guatemala, and the resistence of the communities against it. You can download the Oaks in pdf. We are working to actualise our archives.
If you want to receive the Oak monthly, write us an email at copae.sanmarcos/a/gmail.com.
El Roble Vigoroso #30 - April 10
El Roble Vigoroso #29 - March 10
El Roble Vigoroso #25 - September 09
The engineers of UUSC, who concluded the Marlin mine is the most probable cause for the damaged houses near the open pit, elaborated a satellite map with Google Earth. The map shows the open pit, the exact locations of the damaged houses and control villages, and a lot more.
In case you don't have Google Earth on your computer, we invite you to install the free software. To see the area around the mine you will have to open the document 'Goldcorp Marlin Mine and Cracked Houses' (.kml, 112 kb). You can check and uncheck the different layers who show detailed images of:
• The Marlin mine
• Inspected houses
On Tuesday, October 27, 71 communities in Cunén, El Quiché, announced their opposition to mining exploitation in their territory. A delegation from the Consejo de los Pueblos de San Marcos Counsel of Peoples in San Marcos) and from COPAE attended the event as observers. The participation of the population was massive and the community consult was very well organized.
Around five o’clock in the morning, some 200 observers arrived in the park in Cunén, where they received some last minute instructions. There were approximately 20 international observers, the people from the Counsel of the Peoples of the West (Consejo de los Pueblos del Occidente) and observers from various municipalities in El Quiché. The Desde las cinco de la mañana, unos 200 observadores llegaron al parque de Cunén, donde se nos dieron las últimas instrucciones. Había presencia de unos 20 observadores internacionales, de gente ligada al Consejo de los Pueblos del Occidente y de observadores de varios municipios de Quiché. They were assigned to the 71 communities to be visited and left for the consults in nine trucks.
The Frente de Defensa Miguelense (FREDEMI) invited COPAE on the 22nd of October, in an international exchange about mining with delegates from different countries. We made a little fotoreport. You can download it in pdf (8,4 MB).
invitó a la COPAE el 22 de octubre, a un intercambio con delegados de diferentes países sobre el tema de la minería. Comentamos las imágenes de esa actividad. Pueden descargar el documento en pdf (7,8 MB).
The articles are in spanish.
News (In Spanish)
Congress members suggest making community consults about mining binding
http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2009/octubre/23/351247.html
The Congressional Transparency Commission submitted today its conclusions from the public hearings, held in September, to understand details about the cement project in San Juan Sacatepéquez and the issue of mining in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, San Marcos, which stand out as important community consults being binding.
Legislative commission submits report about mining
http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2009/octubre/24/351163.html
The document called attention about the weak supervision of the state towards any extractive activity and to the inability of companies and the government to inform communities of mining, the principal source of conflict in relation to mining issues.
El Salvador and Guatemala will study mining impacts on Cerro Blanco
“I know that I will be assassinated, but more people like me will follow me.” These are the words by which some people will remember Victor Galvez. He was a community leader who carried his struggle to the limit; he gave his life for his ideals and his people. Today, in all of Latin America millions of people continue struggling for their lives and defending their territory. In all these process there`s a human value that, in spite of the circumstances, is still valid, this is called solidarity.
Solidarity lives among countries and communities. Representatives of Latin American, African and Asian countries participated in an exchange in San Miguel Ixtahuacán to understand more about the mining situation in Guatemala and share their own experiences.
On 27 October, it was solidarity among municipalities that allowed for the 40th community consult in Guatemala to take place in Cunén, El Quiché. We shared the vision of the Consejo de los Pueblos de San Marcos (Counsel of Peoples of San Marcos) that attended the community consult as observers in Cunén.
The following is the abstract of the thesis Koen Breemersch, Economy student at Antwerp University (Belgium) wrote. You can download the document in spanish.
Mining is often seen as a possibility for a country to develop itself and reduce poverty. Because of a lack of the necessary institutions at the national level, this, however, is not always the case and mining can be the bearer of several socio-economic problems at the national, as well as at the local level. It is argued that the GDP has a few shortcomings which prevent it from being a sufficient tool for the evaluation of mining projects.
Moreover, the national fiscal regime that undergoes changes in order to attract the investments from multinationals, often grants too many advantages to the companies at the cost of its own revenues.
At the local level the economy suffers consequences from the presence of the mining company. This is due to a lack of direct and indirect employment that is created and the rising prices of local goods. The taxes paid by the mining company, which are collected by the local government, are not used in a well thought out manner, as the local governments often lack a clear investment policy. The mining company mostly seems to invest in infrastructure that is heavily needed in the region surrounding the mine.
On May 23, six people, among them two Norwegians, entered the village of Chanchicupe in the municipality Tajumulco to carry out a feasibility study regarding the hydroelectric project Tres Ríos. The people rose up to defend their territory and did not stop marching until the study members signed an agreement declaring that they would never return. Christin Sandberg, correspondent of Swiss-Latin American Solidarity (SAL) reflects about what happened.
Renewable Energy Invest AS is a Norwegian investment company that, in May of the previous year, arrived in Guatemala to carry out a feasibility study of the hydroelectric project Tres Ríos in the municipality of Tajumulco, San Marcos. It’s mission was in part financed by the Norwegian authorities, and it’s objective was to analyze the possibilities that existed for future investments.
They had hardly stepped out of their vehicle when the population put an end to their work. However, the resistance had begun much earlier. In April 2007, the people of Chanchicupe, during an assembly, said “no” to the mega-project that would take 90 percent of the water volume of the Cutzulchima River by piping to the Canuja River and from there would continue by piping it to the Negro River and to a third location with machinery, utilizing the water of the Cabuz River. The dam would affect also more than 20 water sources in its path.
The communication team of the Pastoral Comision Peace and Ecology (COPAE) is proud to present its new logo. Fernando Martínez, responsable of the team: "The green cross represents the Catholic Church, since COPAE is part of the Diócesis of San Marcos. The green 'O' represents the Mother Earth we are trying to take care of."
Comments are welcome on copae.sanmarcos@gmail.com.
Besides, we 've just finished a presentation leaflet (pdf, in spanish) of the work we do, our mission and vision.
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free says John 8:32. COPAE has been visiting communities to inform them about the findings of the monthly water monitoring project that is being done in rivers near the Marlin mine. Later the company launched an aggressive campaign to mislead people from the region, telling them that the water is not contaminated.
On September 22, 23, and 24 the Congressional Transparency Commission held hearings with groups involved in and affected by the mining in San Miguel Ixtahuacan. This time, FREDEMI, COPAE and other organizations participated in the hearings to make the truth known.
Another part of knowing the truth is understanding how judges operate in the country. Before the partiality of the judge in the first instance of San Marcos in favor of the Montana company, the communities concentrated in the park in San Marcos in support of five community members (who are unjustly accused of various crimes) for asking that the judge stop working in the case.
Tajumulco and San Pablo presented a Declaration of Opposition against the Environmental Impact Study (done to support the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Sala River) because of the damage that would be caused to the environment and because the affected communities were not consulted. This can be seen in the Environmental Impact Study presented to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources.
Also so that you might know the truth, Monsignor Alvaro Ramazzini and Father Erik Gruloos have written letters. Msr. Ramazzini clarified a situation concerning a personal letter that he sent to the manager of Montana. In it, he recognized that a water study done by an NGO in the city in 2006 was not scientific. Nonetheless, the company dedicated itself to sharing this letter with the communities in 2007. Then, in 2008, just after COPAE had presented its annual report about the monthly water monitoring it had done in the rivers surrounding the Marlin mine. It appears that the idea of the company is to confuse the people, making them believe that Msr. Ramazzini affirmed that there is no water contamination and that COPAE’s study is invalid.
In his own name, Father Erik Gruloos sent a public letter to the company in which he responds to the unfounded accusations that the company has made (from the Goldcorp Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility to the local workers in the Marlin mine) that incite violence and lead to groups of campesinos armed with rocks, sticks and pistols.
From September 23-25, hearings were held in the Congress of the Republic. The Commission of Transparency of the Congress had to investigate the process of authorizing the licenses awarded to the cement plant in San Juan Sacatepequez and similar companies, such as the Marlin Mining Project in San Miguel Ixtahuacan, San Marcos. COPAE was present and drew these conclusions from the activity.
"It was proved and confirmed that the Guatemalan State through MARN has not capacity neither technically nor financially to monitor the Marlin Mine activities in San Miguel Ixtahuacan"
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