LatinNews Daily - 04 September 2018

Guatemala: Guatemala’s constitutional court (CC) has upheld the suspension of a July 2017 ruling by the supreme court (CSJ) of a mining licence for the Escobal silver mine, one of the largest in the world, which is owned by Canada’s Tahoe Resources. The CSJ suspended the licence amid complaints that, ahead of granting it in 2011, the mining & energy ministry (MEM) had violated the Xinca indigenous people’s right of consultation. In its latest decision, announced on 3 September, the CC also ordered the government to carry out a pulbic consultation. Last month Tahoe Resources announced the loss of 200 jobs at the mine due to the ongoing legal uncertainty. This is in addition to announcements made in March and January that 250 jobs (on each occasion) would be cut. According to an August 2018 Tahoe Resource press release, with the latest job losses about 70% of the total workforce has now been dismissed. Prior to the licence suspension, the mine employed 1,030 people, 97% of whom are Guatemalan and 50% of whom are from the Santa Rosa region, where the mine is located.

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