El Salvador president proposes bill to overturn metals mining ban
In 2017, El Salvador became the first country in the world to ban forms of metals mining.
Buenaventura’s Chief Executive Officer Victor Gobitz announced today that the company has no plans to restart its $5 billion Conga gold project anytime soon.
“The subject of Conga is not on the agenda of the coming months, this year or next year,” Gobitz told Reuters in an interview. However, he added that he will revisit the topic in the long term as the gold mine could be included in future plans to develop a slew of projects in the northern Cajamarca region.
Operations at Conga were halted following local protests over land rights and environmental concerns in 2011. Later on, falling gold prices also pushed the Peruvian giant to decide the mine was not viable.
Instead, the country’s largest producer of precious metals switched its attention towards extending the working life of the Yanacocha gold mine, where it has a stake together with Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM).
“That’s our priority for now, and it will have a positive impact for the company,” Buenaventura’s CEO said.
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La resistencia de las comunidades, únicos dueños del los territorios pararon para siempre el desastre ambiental que significa Conga para los pueblos peruanos. #CongaNoVa
Göran Löfstedt
Yes, close all unprofitable gold and silver mines. No meaning to produce when price is relentlessly manipulated downwards. But prepare so it’s easy to reopen, when manipulation fails and prices start to rise explosively again.