Over $3 billion and near 15,000 job positions. That is the cost to Honduras, the third poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, as a result of a lack of rules for mining companies operating or wishing to explore in the country.
Ian Hannam, better known as the "king of mining" after advising on some of the biggest deals in the past two decades, including BHP's London listing through its merger with Billiton, is fighting to save his reputation.
President Ollanta Humala’s administration wants the the South American nation's highest court to throw out an ordinance by the region of Cajamarca banning work on the $4.8 billion copper-gold project.
Argentinian gold and silver miner, Extorre Gold Mines (TSX:XG), announced a preliminary economic assessment showing their Cerro Moro gold-silver project producing 848,000 ounces of gold and 47.2 million ounces of silver.
The creation of the world’s first national protocol on sustainable and socially responsible mining was discussed at a meeting held in Argentina last week, called by the government of president Cristina Fernandez.
Silver started this week moving in a positive direction, but is now back under pressure. The metal has yet to return to its February 29 high, and it appears that many investors are deciding not to wait around.
Earlier this week, a fully loaded Brinks truck carrying between $3 million and $5 million in uncirculated loonies and toonies crashed on a snow covered highway in Ontario, Canada.
Canadian exploration companies feel their industry association doesn’t hear them, Neal Smitheman, a lawyer who represents junior mining companies in disputes with First Nations, told CBC.