Minera San Felipe
While the method to extract gold in mines based on
the use of cyanide has been banned in many countries,
Minera San Felipe, the mine north of town, uses this
dangerous substance to separate gold from low grade
ore and then treat the waste using a process that can
potentially pollute groundwater and the sea of Cortez.
Given the far from stellar track record of the gold
cyanidation process around the world, it would seem
there is no 'if' in the prognostication of its effects
but rather just a matter of 'when'.
In February, 2000 in Romania, there was a break in
a cyanide saturated tailings dam, which is the most
common source of these environmental disasters. Tonnes
of water laced with cyanide and heavy metals spilled
from the containment reservoir operated by the Aurul
gold mine near Baia Mare, and entered a nearby creek
spreading into the Tisza and Danube rivers. The spill
was described by Hungarian officials as the worst environmental
disaster to afflict the region since the leak from Ukraine's
Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986. An estimated
150 tonnes of fish died, drinking water has been affected
and scientists fear the cyanide and heavy metal residue
could remain for decades to come.
Esmerelda, the Australian gold mining company responsible
for the Romanian operation, has admitted that 100 million
liters of cyanide-contaminated water spilled into a
cross-border river system in Romania but they continue
to deny that the spill was linked to an environmental
disaster 75 kilometers downstream in Hungary where cyanide
levels were reported at more than 700 times acceptable
levels, in what scientists are calling a "wave
of death".
Fish, wildlife, micro-organisms and plants were killed
the length of one of Central Europe's most important
river systems. Hungary alone pulled 85 tonnes of dead
fish from the Tisza. This amounts to an economic calamity
for the thousands of fishermen and tourist operators
who depend on these rivers.
More than half a dozen major spills have occurred outside
the U.S., leading to international debate over the use
of cyanide in mining and prompting the Czech Republic
to ban cyanide leaching in 2000.
Courts in Greece and Turkey have ruled against cyanide
leach gold mine proposals because of the potential risks
to health and habitat.
In the last 25 years, the major causes of cyanide releases
into the environment from mining have been tailings-dam
mishaps (76%), pipeline failures (18%), and transportation
accidents (6%). Spills have occurred in so many places,
and for such a variety of reasons, that it seems obvious
there is no way to ensure safe transport and use of
cyanide in mining.
Given the scale of the gold cyanidation project north
of San Felipe, along with its location just a few miles
from the Biosphere Reserve, and add the very real possibility
of a hurricane (Nora of '97 is a good example), then
the recipe begins to look pretty grim.
What is the reason cyanidation is being used at the
San Felipe Mine, rather than an environmentally safe,
more efficient and cost equivalent process like the
Haber
Gold Process? Likely the cost of retooling for a
different method of gold extraction was weighed against
the initial loss of profit and/or Federal fines in the
event of a spill. The risk of laying the local shrimp
and fishing industry on a slab with scuppers is apparently
a small price to pay in exchange for the extra paychecks
that leach through the town's green grocers and beer
stores.
Empresas Frisco began production of the 3,000 tons
per day underground gold mine and cyanidation plant
near San Felipe in 1994. The operation is within a 300,000
hectares concession, perhaps the largest concession
since the 1930s. (Prior to the last change in Mining
Law, concessions were limited to 5,000 hectares.)
The mine was a low-angle stockwork gold deposit worked
in both open pit and underground fashion. By 1999 the
forecasted reserves were nearly exhausted. Discovery
of new resources and the rising price of gold enabled
the mines to start up again several years later.
Empresas Frisco, SA de CV, is a subsidiary of Grupo
Carso SA de CV, which is owned by Carlos Slim.
It's unfortunate the mine is not foreign-owned. On
March 29th, 2007, Canadian mining representatives and
advocacy groups, including Ottawa-based Mining Watch
Canada, announced an accord that would create the first
independent mining ombudsman as well as sketch out environmental
and social standards for projects in the developing
world. The report calls upon governments to withdraw
diplomatic support and tax breaks to any company failing
to uphold these standards. As 75% of the foreign companies
currently invested in mining in Mexico are Canadian,
this new accord promises significant environmental reforms.
Of course since Empresas Frisco is not eligible for
these tax breaks, it need not concern itself with environmental
and social standards. Ultimately the responsibility
for such priorities rests with us. But it is not a task
without hope. Witness the denial
of permits to a Canadian mining company in Baja Sur
last year.
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