The Guatemalan Congress aims to increase from one to 10 percent the royalties that more than 400 mines of precious minerals must pay the government. The initiative has the backing of the parliamentary commission and could be approved in early 2005, after the recess that began Dec. 1, legislative deputy Alfredo Cojtí, chair of the commission, told Tierramérica.

“There are 158 mines for exploiting different minerals, including 93 that are searching for gold, located in the central, eastern and western parts of the country,” and another 260 companies are applying for gold, silver and nickel mining permits, he said.

This year there was a heated debate on mining between President Oscar Berger, who defends the industry, and Catholic cardinal Rodolfo Quezada, who rejects mining because of its potential harm, and challenges the environmental impact studies conducted by some companies, particularly the Canadian gold mining company Montana.