Article
Turning Down a Gold Mine [Guatemala]
...A protester against [Goldcorp’s Marlin Project, owned by Montana Exploradora, part of Goldcorp]…was killed by military police…The World Bank, which supported the Marlin project…claims…the project followed the protocol of…[ILO 169]…[But in a] community…referendum...11 of 13 communities…voted…against [the] mining activities…VP of investor relations at Goldcorp, [stated] that "two rulings by the courts…ruled the referendums to be unconstitutional…” Though the World Bank claims that "since construction of the mine started...migration…to the coast (to work on sugar and coffee plantations) has virtually stopped," the reality…is different… An independent hydrological study…indicates that downriver from the mine, heavy metals are beginning to accumulate…already over the limits prescribed by the World Bank. Flaviano Bianchini, the author of the study, has received continuous threats since its publication, and last week Amnesty International began an international campaign to draw attention to concerns for his safety.