RE:A bit of spanish reading...
Could not read Spanish. Google translation is below.
Nice to see there is still some hope in El Salvador. Pacific Rim, not OceanaGold started the lawsuit that OceanaGold inherited and lost. OceanaGold wanted to negotiate, but allowed the lawsuit to proceed. They lost on the grounds that PacRim did not gain ownership of all of the surface land above the area they were to mine. This was in spite of the fact that the mine was to be underground and would disturb only a small footprint of the total surface area. Nonetheless, there was a clause in the El Salvador mining act saying all surface land had to be owned.
Until that law is changed or until Oceana gains 100% ownership of surface areas, I doubt that the El Salvador mine will go through. I hope OceanaGold still owns the limited surface area that they had. That ownership means that they control what will happen with the known mineral resource.
Mining requires digging into the ground. It disturbs the environment and therefore is subject to environmental laws. OceanaGold is a responsible miner. Unfortunately they are tarred with the reputation of small local miners and firms that are less conscientious (similar to the Phillippines). I hope OceanaGold continues to negotiate and demonstrate that they are responsible.
Translation
Edgardo Rivera Oceana Gold assures general 70 direct jobs. Thursday 23, March 2017 | 1:38 pm In front of the Assembly and next to the CSJ, a group of people supported the mining company. Photo: DEM. Representatives of communities in San Isidro, Cabaas, arrived today in the Legislative Assembly to request that the metal mining not be banned, but rather that that industry be regulated to avoid causing environmental damage. Also participating in the meeting were employees of Oceana Gold, owner of Pacfic Rim, an entity that has developed mining exploration works in El Dorado, San Isidro. Publicity We ask the deputies to evaluate, analyze the situation, not to eliminate the mining law, Rather than regulate it and demand that it be carried out in a responsible manner, said Juan Isidro Hernndez, representative of the community. The Commission of Environment and Climate Change of the Legislative Assembly foresees that the next week to approve the Law of Prohibition against the Metallic Mining. Different social organizations, including the Catholic Church, have asked the Legislative Assembly to issue a law that prohibits the metal mining. During a march on March 10, the Archbishop of San Salvador, Jos Luis Escobar Alas, said that the metal mining is the worst damage that can be done to the environment. Hernandez says that the Archbishop should know the experience of San Isidro. She wanted me to (Escobar Alas) go to the place and know what the project has, so I give a judgment based on what it really is and not what they are told. Seal that Oceana Gold company has planted more than 80,000 trees in the El Dorado area and currently generates 70 direct jobs. In case of authorizing the mining operation, it will generate between 400 and 500 direct jobs and up to 2,500 indirect jobs. He says that the organizations that oppose the mining refer to companies that have been irresponsible, but believes that can be done in an environmentally friendly way. We want the deputies to listen to us, to visit us and to see the situation of poverty and unemployment in which we live. We want them to take our opinion into account, because with projects of this type we can have a decent job and be able to provide education to our children, Hernndez said. The company Ocena Gold filed a lawsuit in 2009 with the Salvadoran State for the suspension of the mining operation. The lawsuit was for $ 250 million. In October 2016, the World Bank's International Center for Settlements of Investment Disputes (ICSID) condemned Oceana Gold to pay the Salvadoran State $ 8 million for legal defense costs.