PBI-Guatemala accompanies Maya Ch’orti’ communities in Olopa Chiquimula and San Francisco Quezaltepeque at meetings

Published by Brent Patterson on

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On June 13, PBI-Guatemala posted:

#PBI accompanies the Indigenous Council of Maya Ch’orti’ de Olopa Chiquimula and the Indigenous Community of San Francisco Quezaltepeque at a meeting in the San Francisco Conquistador community, where they updated us on the latest news, which despite the various threats, have been positive:

They have opened spaces with the government addressing three priority issues:

(1) land tenure

(2) the environment: care for the rivers and the fight against logging

(3) the right to free, prior and informed consultation.

We also accompanied them to a community assembly in the Piedra community.

The community of San Francisco, Quezaltepeque is situated about 20 kilometres south-west of Olopa, Chiquimula.

American Minerals S.A.

PBI-Guatemala has previously highlighted: “The communities of Olopa are confronting the company American Minerals S.A., which was granted a 25-year antimony extraction license in 2012, without prior consultation with the communities.”

Photo: On May 9, 2023, PBI-Canada met with Ubaldino García Canan of the Maya Ch’orti Indigenous Council of Olopa.

Minerales Sierra Pacifico S.A. (Gold Group)

PBI-Guatemala has also noted that the Indigenous Community of San Francisco Quezaltepeque is peacefully resisting Minerales Sierra Pacifico S.A. (a subsidiary of Vancouver, Canada-based Gold Group Management Inc.), a company that has five exploration licenses for gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc.

Mila Gold, Motagua Norte (Tulipán, Garnalda, Cirilo I and Cirilo II)

The Gold Group Management Inc. website has noted that with respect to Radius Gold “in February 2024, a maiden drilling campaign commenced at the Mila Gold Discovery, Motagua Norte project in Guatemala” and similarly that Volcanic Gold “commenced a maiden drilling campaign at the Mila Gold Discovery, Motagua Norte project through an Option Agreement with Radius Gold.”

The Extractive Industries Observatory (OIE) has further noted the “Motagua Norte (San Agustín and San Cristóbal Acasaguastlán, El Progreso) [project that] consists of 4 mining exploration requests: Tulipán, Garnalda, Cirilo I and Cirilo II.”

And in October 2023, the Asociación El Observador explained: “Among [the metallic mineral projects] already authorized [by the Ministry of Energy and Mines – MEM] is Cirilo I, located in the foothills of the Sierra de las Minas in the municipality of San Agustín Acasaguastlán, El Progreso. The granting of the license was announced by the Canadian mining group Radius Gold, on September 26, 2023, and is to explore for gold. The license is identified as SEXR-017-10, that is, since 2010 it was requested in the name of Minerales Sierra Pacífico, S.A., one of Radius Gold’s subsidiaries in Guatemala. One of the directors of Minerales Sierra Pacífico is geologist Alfredo Gálvez Sinibaldi, who has a long history of ties with the MEM and well-known mining companies in Guatemala, as well as being a current director of the Guatemalan Association of Natural Resources, Mines and Quarries (GRENAT).”

Radius Gold on the Arevalo government

On May 23, 2024, Radius Gold posted: “A new Minister of the Environment (MARN) was appointed on April 12, 2024 and initial public comments from the new Minister were not positive for mineral exploration and development in the country. Before committing further funds to Guatemala, Volcanic will monitor the two significant precious metal deposits where developments are on hold: the multi-million ounce gold deposit at Cerro Blanco and the large high grade silver-lead-zinc deposit at Escobal. These mines could employ thousands of people, providing jobs to Guatemalans so they can thrive in their own communities.”

Connections

The Gold Group website also highlights: “Led by Simon Ridgway, companies under Gold Group Management have made several significant gold and silver discoveries and completed the successful sale of deposits in North America and Central America, including the Cerro Blanco deposit in Guatemala (Bluestone Resources), Natividad deposit in Nicaragua (Calibre Mining Corp), the San Martin deposit in Honduras (Glamis Gold), and the San Jose deposit in Mexico (Fortuna Silver Mines).”

Video still: Simon Ridgway in June 2023.

The Extractive Industries Observatory (OIE) has also noted: “In Guatemala, since 1996, [Ridgway] has led the exploration of the Progreso VII Derivada mine (La Puya) and the Marlin Mine.”

PBI-Guatemala has posted about the Cerro Blanco mine, accompanies the Peaceful Resistance of La Puya in opposition to the Progreso VII Derivada mine and would be familiar with community opposition to the Marlin mine; the PBI-Honduras accompanied ASODEBICOQ and CEHPRODEC would be familiar with the San Martin mine; and the PBI-Mexico accompanied EDUCA Oaxaca has supported community opposition to Fortuna Silver and its San Jose del Progreso mine.

Gold Group in Canada

Gold Group Management has also noted that another member of its group of companies, Rackla Metals, has gold exploration “projects located in the eastern Yukon and western Northwest Territories, Canada.”

In May 2018, the Whitehorse Daily Star reported: “The [Yukon] territory’s assessment board has recommended approval of a 65-kilometre, all-season road through virgin wilderness to the Rackla Gold Property. Serious concerns have been raised [about the proposed road] by the First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun.”

Accompaniment

PBI-Guatemala accompanies the Indigenous Council of Maya Ch’orti’ de Olopa Chiquimula and the Indigenous Community of San Francisco Quezaltepeque.


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