Uncertainty in communities of Asuncion Mita due to the imminent reopening of the Cerro Blanco mine in Guatemala
- Details
- Category: Cerro Blanco
- Published: Friday, 03 May 2019 11:56
* Edgardo Ayala - Contrapunto
Despite of a two year mining prohibition, the ghost of mining does not fade away for communities in El Salvador that are exposed to crossborder contamination that may cause irreversible environmental damage to their limited water resources.
ASUNCIÓN MITA, Guatemala. Although everything indicates that Canadian Bluestone Resources consortium has oiled up its powerful technical and financial machinery to restart operations at the Cerro Blanco mine, there is still a veil of secrecy and silence in the surrounding communities located near the megaproject.
Worker guards the entrance of the Cerro Blanco mine in Asuncion Mita, Guatemala. Photo: Karla Rodas"We have heard rumors, there are three people linked to the mine who come to the community, but they say no, they are lies (the rumors about restarting of operations), they say the mine is going to close, and it is currently under maintenance" , explained Viviana Palma, a young teacher, resident of the village of Trapiche Vargas, jurisdiction of Asunción Mita, in the eastern department of Jutiapa, Guatemala.
The Cerro Blanco mine is located in the vicinity of Asunción Mita, a city of about 50,000 inhabitants, located 160 km southeast of the Guatemalan capital, and about 10 kilometers from the border with El Salvador.
This closeness with El Salvador led environmental groups from both countries to oppose the project since it was established in the area, in 2005, due to the possible negative impacts that would occur not only in Guatemalan towns, but also in El Salvador, as contamination reaches the Guija lake, in the department of Metapan, El Salvador.
And from there the remnants of the process, heavy metals and other pollutants, would reach the Lempa River, which sig sags throughout the country and is the main source of water for 60% of the population of Greater San Salvador.
The veil of silence.
"The rumors come through information from the local parish. A Canadian sister warned us that it has become known that the stubborn mining company wants to continue drilling and everything they do" added Palma, 27 years old.
"My mother was the daughter of miners and when I told her everything that happened here (in El Salvador) she told me that when her father finished working (in a mining project) the area was left deserted and the damaged, and the impacts are similar in any country of the world" said Teresa Garcia, a religious of the Assumption, who has worked for 31 years with the community in San José Las Flores, Chalatenango.
Vice President Salvador Sanchez Ceren was emphatic in his statement that he will advocate for the suspension of all mining activity in the Trifinio Reserve area, alluding to the Cerro Blanco mining project located in Asuncion Mita, Guatemala , 18 kilometers away from Metapan.
