Last update:
2014-04-08

Cerro Blanco, Guatemala


Description:

Goldcorp (que tambien opera como Entre Mares) explota el deposito Cerro Blanco, en Jutiapa, con reservas de 1.3 millones de onzas de oro. Goldcorp esta tambien presente en Guatemala en la controvertida mina Marlin.

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Basic Data
Name of conflict:Cerro Blanco, Guatemala
Country:Guatemala
State or province:Jutiapa
Location of conflict:Asuncion Mita
Accuracy of locationHIGH (Local level)
Source of Conflict
Type of conflict. 1st level:Mineral Ores and Building Materials Extraction
Type of conflict. 2nd level:Water access rights and entitlements
Mineral ore exploration
Establishment of reserves/national parks
Specific commodities:Silver
Gold
Project Details and Actors
Project details

mina subterranea vida util 16 anos 1.579.959 onzas de oro 4.486.632 onzas de plata entre 500 y 700 empleos

Project area:174
Level of Investment for the conflictive project150000000
Type of populationSemi-urban
Affected Population:3000000
Start of the conflict:2007
Company names or state enterprises:Compania Minera Entre Mares from Guatemala
Goldcorp Inc from Canada - based in Vancouver
Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available:Madre selva, Centro de Investigaciones sobre la Inversion y Comercio CEICOM (El Salvador), La Mesa Nacional frente a la Minería Metálica (El Salvador)
Conflict & Mobilization
IntensityHIGH (widespread, mass mobilization, violence, arrests, etc...)
Reaction stagePREVENTIVE resistance (precautionary phase)
Groups mobilizing:Farmers
International ejos
Local ejos
Neighbours/citizens/communities
Social movements
Women
Local scientists/professionals
Religious groups
Forms of mobilization:Blockades
Development of a network/collective action
Involvement of national and international NGOs
Media based activism/alternative media
Objections to the EIA
Official complaint letters and petitions
Public campaigns
Street protest/marches
Arguments for the rights of mother nature
Appeals/recourse to economic valuation of the environment
Reclamo oficial de El Salvador
Impacts
Environmental ImpactsPotential: Air pollution, Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Desertification/Drought, Food insecurity (crop damage), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Soil contamination, Soil erosion, Waste overflow, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Large-scale disturbance of hydro and geological systems, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity, Mine tailing spills
Health ImpactsPotential: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…), Other environmental related diseases
Other Health impactsEnfermedad por contaminacion del agua con metales pesados
Socio-economical ImpactsVisible: Militarization and increased police presence, Specific impacts on women, Violations of human rights
Potential: Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors, Displacement, Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Loss of traditional knowledge/practices/cultures, Land dispossession, Loss of landscape/sense of place
Other socio-economic impactsIncrease of political tension across state borders, between Guatemala and El Salvador
Outcome
Project StatusProposed (exploration phase)
Conflict outcome / response:Corruption
Criminalization of activists
Deaths, Assassinations, Murders
Repression
Strengthening of participation
Under negotiation
Violent targeting of activists
Application of existing regulations
The Gold Corp company suspended the project, because of opposition in El Salvador (trns-frontier project) and because of low prices for gold in 2013.
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:Yes
Briefly explain:Project has stopped in 2013. In July 2013, La Mesa Nacional (de El Salvador) frente a la Minería Metálica dijo que la semana pasada la empresa minera Goldcorp Inc., aduciendo un contexto financiero poco favorable para la inversión en minería metálica a nivel global, anunció la suspensión temporal del proyecto transfronterizo Cerro Blanco.
La ONG demandó que en vez de suspensión haya un cierre definitivo de la mina Cerro Blanco, que ha estado en fase de exploración en territorio de Guatemala cercano a El Salvador.
Sources & Materials
References to published books, academic articles, movies or published documentaries

Observatorio de Conflictos Mineros de America Latina OCMAL

Analisis del Estudio de Impacto Ambiental para elProyecto Minero Cerro

Blanco, Asuncion Mita, Jutiapa,Guatemala
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Blanco, Asuncion Mita, Jutiapa,Guatemala
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'Cerro-Blanco'-revela-amenazas-para-el-país-dicen-investigadores.htm
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Other comments:Debido a la ubicacion del yacimiento, en el Trifinio, reserva compartida por
Guatemala, Honduras y El Salvador y debido al riesgo de contaminacion de
aguas en el lago de Guija en El Salvador, este proyecto se ha convertido en un problema
transfronterizo que podria acarrear litigios internacionales al gobierno
de Guatemala. Ha sido suspendido en 2013.
Meta information
Contributor:Patricio Chavez y JMA
Last update18/08/2019
Conflict ID:783
Comments
Legal notice / Aviso legal
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