Protesters back El Salvador for denying gold mining permit
Protesters back El Salvador for denying gold mining permit
By Stella Dawson
Tue Sep 16, 2014 8:57am BST
WASHINGTON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Protesters rallied on Monday to demand that a World Bank tribunal reject an international mining company’s claim for $300 million (185 million pounds) from El Salvador over denial of a gold mining license.
El Salvador refused to issue OceanaGold Corp an extraction permit in 2006. Activists say that the company failed to get permission to mine from a sufficient number of the landowners in the northern province of Cabanas, or to obtain title to the land, and that it had not met basic environmental safeguards.
The tiny Central American country is rich in silver and gold, but mining has polluted water supplies, and residents say cyanide and arsenic are poisoning their children. The mining projects have led to civil unrest and five deaths in the area.
“OceanaGold is trying to push the project undemocratically. It makes promises of jobs in an impoverished area, building schools, it is trying to divide the people without following the proper procedures,” said Sofia Vergara, a community leader at Oxfam America, one of the organisers of the protest.
The protesters, some from El Salvador, waived signs that read saying “Water is worth more than gold” and “Water is a human right”.
More:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/09/16/uk-el-salvador-gold-protest-idUKKBN0HB0OJ20140916?rpc=401
