A Canadian television director sent a four-person crew to investigate questions about Canadian mining companies operating in eastern and western Guatemala. At the Marlin Mine, operated by GoldCorp, local residents claim the massive mining projects leave little value behind while sucking up their water supply, polluting what’s left of it and leaving them ill. They point to skin rashes on their children and huge cracks in the plaster walls of their homes as proof. GoldCorp officials argue the mine is not the source of these problems.
(Among Goldcorp’s major investors are British-based AXA Investment Managers UK Ltd (US$4.3 million), Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc, and City Natural Resources High Yield Trust PLC, according to the document From Money to Metals ( http://moneytometal.org/index.php/From_Money_to_Metals) by mining researcher Roger Moody.)
Meanwhile, HudBay Minerals is refurbishing a moth-balled nickel smelter and mine. But anger is still raw over forced evictions that took place in 2007 and allegations that women were sexually abused and raped, accusations that are strongly denied by HudBay officials. (In April 2009, following months of internal turmoil at Hudbay, UK-listed Vedanta Resources acquired 9.5% of Hudbay’s equity.)
See http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100415/w5_paradise_lost_100415/20100417.