“This year the mining law in Honduras will go through a process of legislation reform,” explained Purificacion Hernandez, the Coordinator of the Mining Program at ASONOG, an organization that MCC has worked with in Sta. Rosa de Copan, Honduras. “This is a critical time for civil society to speak up: we want to draft and pass a completely new law, not just reform the old one.”
Although we do not hear as much about Canadian mining in Honduras as we do from some other countries, there are over 14 Canadian mining companies or their subsidiaries operating in Honduras according to ASONOG data. Since 1999, concessions have been granted to foreign companies for more than 40% of the national territory, one of the highest in Central America.
In the MCC video produced last year, Purificacion Hernandez and others from Honduras spoke about the environmental, social, and human health problems associated with mining in Honduras http://ottawa.mcc.org/stories/videos/la-mina.
Environmental Damage
Honduras’s current mining law favors the interests of the mining companies over the protection of the environment, human rights and long-term community well-being.
For example, independent environmental studies of mining impact are not allowed. Studies of environmental impact are financed by the mining company and conducted by DEFOMIN (the Department for the Encouragement of Mining). All claims of environmental violations must be addressed to DEFOMIN, an agency with the conflicting functions of both regulating and promoting mining in Honduras.
Two major cyanide spills and many smaller ones have contaminated Honduran rivers according to community-based organizations. In 2003 a spill of 500 gallons of waste water with cyanide entered the River Lara in western Honduras from the MINOSA mine, a subsidiary of what is now Aura Mineral of Vancouver. In 2009, another cyanide spill of 150 gallons occurred in the same river killing thousands of fish and contaminating the drinking water for the region. Neither of these spills have been appropriately dealt with by government authorities.
Human Rights Violations
Repression of individuals and communities that oppose mining has increased in the past two years. While Canadian mining companies may not be directly involved in human rights violations and murders, the mining operations are creating deadly social divisions and conflict in these communities, and ultimately benefit from the government’s lack of strong environmental protection policies and respect for human rights.
Yesterday morning, July 5, 2011, Carlos Danilo Amador, a teacher and representatives of the Regional Environmental Committee of the Valle de Siria, north of Tegucigalpa, along with several other members of the Committee were detained for opposing logging and mining expansion in the region. This is in the area of the San Martin Mine, operated by Entre Mares, a subsidiary of Goldcorp, a Canadian-based company.
In nieghbouring El Salvador, there has been a mining moratorium for several years, as the government considers the impacts. Yet, last month, a university student, Juan Francisco Durán Ayala active in protesting the Pacific Rim mine, another Vancouver-based company, was killed June 4, 2011, the fourth death in two years that local organizations believe are linked to mine opposition.
Elements of a New Honduran Mining Law
Civil society organizations in Honduras have formed two coalitions to advocacy for a new mining law that better protects the environment, and human health and well-beings. The Alianza Cívica por la Democracia, lead by Bishop Luís Santos, and the Red Nacional de Comunidades Afectados por la Minera are both working for these changes.
One of their key proposals is that the use of cyanide be prohibited, similar to the new law passed recently in Costa Rica and being considered in Europe. There is a Latin American campaign lead by the Observatorio de Conflicts Mineros de América Latina that aims to accomplish this throughout the continent.
Another demand is that there be a prohibition on open pit mining, similar to the new Costa Rican law.
Costa Rica and El Salvador have instituted moratoriums on gold mining because of concerns about the environmental impacts.
In fact, 19 municipalities in Honduras have already passed local laws that declare themselves to be territories free of mining. While these municipal statements are not binding nationally, they are an indication of the wishes of these communities.
Another key element of the new law would be improvements in the local and national economic benefits from mining. Currently the royalty rate is an extremely low 1%.
“We need to pressure the government to approve a new mining law, but to do that we need to continue to raise awareness among Hondurans about the damage of the existing operations and laws, as well as the alternatives for healthier, more equitable economic development,” says Hernandez.
More information:
ASONOG Website
Case study on Mine with cyanide spills
http://ottawa.mcc.org/miningjustice/casestudies/sanandresCyanide spills in Honduras
http://thesharefoundation.blogspot.com/2009/04/cyanide-spills-into-river-at-mining.html
Salvadorean mining activist killed June, 2011
http://www.miningwatch.ca/news/murder-el-salvador-calls-canadian-mining-interests-question
The Cyanide Prohibition Campaign
Thanks for the info. I had never seen the videos from MCC Canada either…very helpful.
Let’s pray that they are able to make changes in the law here in Honduras!