Reuters: Heroin traffickers linked to the abduction and disappearance of 43 students a year ago are battling over millions of dollars paid by Canadian mining giant Goldcorp to a village in Mexico's southern gold belt, leading to a wave of murders.
As a signatory to a Conflict-Free Gold Standard drawn up by the World Gold Council industry group, Goldcorp (G.TO) commits to extracting the precious metal in a manner that "does not fuel unlawful armed conflict or contribute to serious human rights abuses." Read more.
The MexicoBlog of the Americas Program, a fiscally sponsored program of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), is written by Laura Carlsen. I monitor and analyze international press on Mexico, with a focus on security, immigration, human rights and social movements for peace and justice, from a feminist perspective. And sometimes I simply muse.
Showing posts with label gold mining. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gold mining. Show all posts
Apr 8, 2015
$8.5 Million in Gold Reported Stolen from Sinaloa Mine
Americas Program, April 8:
News reports have come out regarding an armed heist of some 900 kilos of gold from a mine in Sinaloa.
All the information in the news articles comes from the company press release, found here.
The company reports that the "gold-bearing concentrate" containing some 7,000 ounces of gold was stolen from its El Gallo 1 mine in the state of Sinaloa. The company states that the mine works two gold deposits and a silver deposit "in the foothills of the Sierra Madre" located in the township of Mocorito on ejido and private lands. It further states that there were no injuries and no material damage and that business continues as usual.
The company, which has its head offices in Toronto, writes that the Mexican authorities are "vigorously investigating" the crime. Mexican authorities have issued no statements so far, a day after the April 7 announcement.
The amount of concentrate carted off and the apparent absence of a clash between company security forces and the robbers raises many questions regarding just how this crime occured. The company reports that the insurance company will be paying damages although "the Company's policy will not be sufficient to cover the entire expected loss."
In 2012 the Federal Attorney General's Office (PGR) reported seven open cases of mine robberies in silver and gold, in the states of Sonora, Durango, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas. Lately Michoacan has seen entire mining areas taken over by organized crime, with direct sales to China according to some sources, including this interview I did with Tania Vazquez some weeks back. Some reports indicate that agreements are made with drug cartels. Previous robberies have been mostly of lingots in transport but the PGR stated that some criminal groups have the capacity to refine gold-laden material.
An outright robbery of a refinery has been relatively rare. It will be interesting to watch for more information as this case continues.
News reports have come out regarding an armed heist of some 900 kilos of gold from a mine in Sinaloa.
All the information in the news articles comes from the company press release, found here.
The company reports that the "gold-bearing concentrate" containing some 7,000 ounces of gold was stolen from its El Gallo 1 mine in the state of Sinaloa. The company states that the mine works two gold deposits and a silver deposit "in the foothills of the Sierra Madre" located in the township of Mocorito on ejido and private lands. It further states that there were no injuries and no material damage and that business continues as usual.
The company, which has its head offices in Toronto, writes that the Mexican authorities are "vigorously investigating" the crime. Mexican authorities have issued no statements so far, a day after the April 7 announcement.
The amount of concentrate carted off and the apparent absence of a clash between company security forces and the robbers raises many questions regarding just how this crime occured. The company reports that the insurance company will be paying damages although "the Company's policy will not be sufficient to cover the entire expected loss."
In 2012 the Federal Attorney General's Office (PGR) reported seven open cases of mine robberies in silver and gold, in the states of Sonora, Durango, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas. Lately Michoacan has seen entire mining areas taken over by organized crime, with direct sales to China according to some sources, including this interview I did with Tania Vazquez some weeks back. Some reports indicate that agreements are made with drug cartels. Previous robberies have been mostly of lingots in transport but the PGR stated that some criminal groups have the capacity to refine gold-laden material.
An outright robbery of a refinery has been relatively rare. It will be interesting to watch for more information as this case continues.
Jul 24, 2013
SANTA MARIA ZACATEPEC STATEMENT
Original Americas Program Translation
Reunited on July 21st and 22nd at the base of the volcanoes - the guardians of our people - men and women from over a hundred organizations, networks, communities and groups from 14 states came together offer our voice to tell you that our country faces a serious danger. The ruling government seeks to serve large multinational corporations and give our country to foreign interests and thus canceling our rights won by our peoples through long and heroic struggles.
More than a third of Mexican territory has been given to foreign mining companies. The federal government currently imposes a series of measures that aim to exploit natural resources and the structural reforms imposed on labor, taxation, energy, agriculture and education, violate the rights of our people, of the workers and our national sovereignty. We protest strongly against the privatization of the energy sector.
We have agreed that, confronted by this serious situation, our priority is to build a unified movement to strengthen the struggles of our peoples because the isolation of resistance movements allows those in power to defeat us. It is essential to move forward in the coordination of the different struggles that take place across the country and therefore we make a call to the different movements to set aside differences and move forward in building a national platform that allows us to confront the serious dangers facing our people and our nation.
Oct 2, 2012
Across Latin America, quest for gold brings riches, conflict
By Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers
MEXICO CITY — Steadily high prices for gold are having a dramatic impact on parts of Latin America, bringing a flood of foreign investment and stirring a gold bug among wildcat miners in the jungles.
Some of Latin America’s poorest nations – Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua – have seen their balance sheets strengthened by gold production, while major producers Peru and Mexico reap billions in foreign exports.
But even as miners unearth deposits of gold, they also open up veins of social discontent. Protests over gold mining have become the coin of the day in areas where villagers complain of water pollution, a lack of jobs and environmental devastation. Read more.
MEXICO CITY — Steadily high prices for gold are having a dramatic impact on parts of Latin America, bringing a flood of foreign investment and stirring a gold bug among wildcat miners in the jungles.
Some of Latin America’s poorest nations – Bolivia, Honduras and Nicaragua – have seen their balance sheets strengthened by gold production, while major producers Peru and Mexico reap billions in foreign exports.
But even as miners unearth deposits of gold, they also open up veins of social discontent. Protests over gold mining have become the coin of the day in areas where villagers complain of water pollution, a lack of jobs and environmental devastation. Read more.
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