This morning we (Voices staff) received an invitation for an important event next Tuesday evening (October 30th) concerning the Cerro Blanco Mine in Guatemala and the environmental implications for El Salvador. The event is sponsored by the Salvadoran Consulate, the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights in El Salavdor, and CISPES.
The Cerro Blanco mine, which is owned and operated by Goldcorp –a Canadian mining company –, is in the Guatemalan province of Jutiapa. Environmentalists and local communities are concerned that mining activities will contaminate Lake Guija, which spans the border between El Salvador and Guatemala. Salvadoran environmentalist David Pereira explained a couple years ago that “toxic waste water from the mine will flow into the 45 square kilometers of Lake Guija, and on into the Lempa River, the main river basin in El Salvador.” Fears are substantiated by a study produced by Dina Larios, professor of geochemistry and hydrology at Ohio University, that contains serious warnings about wastewater from the mine.
Here’s some information on the event:
“Implications of the Cerro Blanco mine on the El Salvador/Guatemala Border Area”
Report presented by the Ombudsman for Human Rights and the Center for Investigation of Commerce and Investment to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington DC
Date: Tuesday, October 30
Time: 6:00 pm
Place: Salvadoran Consulate
2332 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington DC 2007
RSVP: camelgar@rree.gob.sv or (301) 437-7698
We don’t hear as much about mining in El Salvador these days, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a huge issue. As long as there is gold, silver, and other minerals of value there will be people trying to extract them.
So if you’re in DC on Tuesday, please try to attend.
Voices on the Border 