More on the Marlin Gold Mine from Mario Godinez

Mario Godinez is the head of the Association for the Promotion and Development of the Community (CEIBA), the Friends of the Earth member group in Guatemala.

Numerous mining concessions that have been given out recently in Guatemala, almost entirely on indigenous lands. The Marlin mine is the first gold mine to be constructed since the end of the Guatemalan civil war, and it is owned and operated by a Canadian-owned company, Glamis Gold. The mining concession was given with minimal consultation of indigenous communities, despite the fact that part of the peace accords to the civil war granted indigenous communities increased rights and ownership over their lands and the manner in which those lands are developed. In Mario’s words:

“The oil industry and open-pit gold mining have increased poverty in the country. One of the biggest problems is that they are violating indigenous rights. The companies, in order to enter the country and the communities, are killing the leaders who oppose the projects. CEIBA works on development issues, and we work with these indigenous leaders, and so it affects the way we work on development. Our campaign began when the government started the repression of indigenous peoples.”

Mario is also worried because of the negative impacts of similar mining operations in Honduras:

“This company that has started in Guatemala, Glamis, already has a project in Honduras. In Honduras, they have displaced communities up to three times in a row. Environmental problems from the mining company have gone on for several years. When Hurricane Mitch came at the end of the 1990s, the rivers flooded all of the territory of Honduras, and the arsenic and mercury and all of the minerals that they use for the extraction of gold poisoned all of the rivers and lakes of Honduras. So we’re afraid this will happen in Guatemala now that the company is beginning to exploit the gold. For example, they’ll use over 100,000 liters of water an hour, and they’ll need this water to produce the gold in communities that lack clean drinking water. And the zone where the project is located is in a water reserve for the country. Another problem is one of land: to produce each gram of gold they’ll have to move a ton of earth. And, finally, this concession was granted totally behind the backs of the local population, and now they are planning a camp for outside workers that will have more people than the community”

This mining project is financed by the World Bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation. While the company is financing much of the investment itself, the World Bank, in its position as an international, multilateral development bank, provides credibility to the company, but did not adequately consult the people that the project will affect:

“The government, the company, the World Bank didn’t ask the people if they wanted a project or not, they didn’t tell them how much gold was there, they didn’t ask if they wanted to be involved in the project – they just imposed it. The World Bank is funding this project with US $45 million. The corporation is bringing in about $150 million. If we compare this, the money being brought in by the Bank is minimal, but it supplies the company with political credibility. I think, fundamentally, the Bank is financing projects that are killing people. And so the first thing that we must ask for is that these projects be stopped. This is a civil right. And the other thing that I think could help a lot as well is to support the forces and organizations that are involved in the campaign on this side of the ocean.”