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.)
OAS Human Rights Commission Urges Suspension of Mining Activity at Goldcorp’s Marlin Mine in Guatemala
As evidence mounts of human rights violations and health impacts at Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in the western highlands of Guatemala, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an independent body of the Organization of American States (OAS), has called on the government of Guatemala to suspend mining activity at the Marlin mine and take steps to protect the health of the surrounding indigenous communities.
See http://www.miningwatch.ca/en/oas-human-rights-commission-urges-suspension-mining-activity-goldcorps-marlin-mine-guatemala.
Goldcorp fights off calls for indigenous consent
Goldcorp has been under fire at its company AGM, where it rejected a shareholder resolution calling for it to implement free, prior and informed consent at its projects. The resolution was primarily focused on the company’s controversial Marlin mine in Guatemala. The company was forced to publish an “independent” human rights impact assessment. Despite much criticism of the independence of the assessment it has still returned a damning report. In time for the meeting, environmental health scientists found that a sample of villagers living near the Marlin mine have higher levels of potentially toxic heavy metals in their bodies.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10120.
A motherlode of debate: should the church sell its stock in controversial mining firms, or press for change from within?
An open-pit mine is never a pretty sight. But in contrast to the lush green hills that surround it, the Marlin Mine in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, Guatemala, looks like five square kilometres of dusty moonscape. The Marlin Mine produces more than $300 million a year in silver and gold for its parent company, Vancouver-based Goldcorp Inc. For investors, low royalties and cheap labour make the mine a thing of financial beauty. However, some of the company’s shareholders – including The United Church of Canada’s pension plan – are now weighing the attractiveness of Goldcorp’s proven profitability against human rights and environmental issues at the Marlin Mine. Some church leaders argue the plan should sell all its shares in the company. Others say it’s easier to exert pressure for change on a company like Goldcorp if you remain invested in it.
See http://www.ucobserver.org/justice/2010/05/mining_firms/.