Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Date Set for Withdrawal of Canadian Mine

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Aug 4 2008 (IPS) - The Honduran mining development agency announced the withdrawal, in one year, of the Entremares mining company, a subsidiary of Canada’s Glamis Gold, which launched operations in this country in 2000. Julio Ortiz, director of mining development, told Tierramérica that the measure is in keeping with “special considerations” of the company, acquired in 2006 by Goldcorp, also Canadian, and before the application of an environmental mitigation plan in the central valley of Siria, 120 kilometers from Tegucigalpa, focus of the company’s operations.

The withdrawal of Entremares comes after a heated fight with environmental groups from the Siria area, which accused the company of operating without the environmental requirements stated by law, of deforesting the area, and of contaminating water sources with cyanide and other toxic substances associated with mining.