Rights activists and residents have accused the Canadian owners of Guatemala’s largest gold mine of exploiting local communities. Most worrying, they say, is the use of highly toxic cyanide to separate gold particles from the rock. Some residents claim that dangerous waste from the mine is making their children sick.
Al Jazeera’s David Mercer reports from San Miguel Ixtahuacan.
See video at http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/03/20103919176748560.html.
Goldcorp is a Canadian company but among its 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. For background, see https://londonminingnetwork.org/?s=Goldcorp.