Guatemala
Overview of tailings and waste rock- Marlin Mine
Richard Kamp at School Near Marlin Mine
Dr Ann Maest at Marlin Mine with Goldcorp Management
Reports and Documentation
March 30, 2011: English | Español Read the letter from members of U.S. Congress to President Alvaro Colom of Guatemala. It cites research done by E-tech when asking for suspension of Marlin Mine.
August 11, 2010: press release
August 11, 2010: boletin prensa
During 2009-10, E-Tech completed an analysis for Oxfam America of predicted (in environmental impact assessments submitted to the World Bank) and actual water quality at the Goldcorp Marlin mine in the San Marcos highlands region of Guatemala. In an unusual twist, we took all data from the company, two federal agencies, an independent monitoring program funded largely by Goldcorp, and an opposing community monitoring program. We remained in very close communication with Goldcorp throughout the process of comparing the trends in monitoring from all sources. We found some commonalities in terms of potential migration of mining contaminants to the south of the property and evaluated the type of monitoring and analyses critical to oversight of the mine. In August 2010, E-Tech presented our findings and recommendations to government regulators, the public, the Congressional Transparency Commission, local residents in the communities near the mine, and visited the mine itself. Subsequently we made our findings available to assist in resolution of disputes submitted to the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States in Washington, DC.
E-Tech intervention in Guatemala has centered around preocupations around mining and specifically, a relatively new mine, the Goldcorp Marlin Gold Mine. Oxfam America requested E-Tech to investigate predicted water quality impacts for the Marlin Mine in documents that led to International Finance Corporation (IFC) support and to compare the predicted water quality with actual water quality impacts. We conducted an in-depth analysis of data provided by Goldcorp, mining opponents, 2 mining ministries, and an "independent" monitoring project funded largely by the mine.
August 11, 2010: (Marlin Report Final English.pdf) E-Tech Releases Study on Water Quality at Goldcorp's Marlin Mine
E-Tech International, an environmental technical support organization that assists communities, has released "Evaluation of Predicted and Actual Water Quality Conditions at the Marlin Mine, Guatemala." The study assesses the reliability of water quality predictions made in the mine's environmental impact study (EIA&S) , which was used by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) when it decided to fund the mine. The E-Tech study compared these predictions against operational conditions using publicly available data collected by Goldcorp, Guatemalan agencies, and Guatemalan non- profit organizations. We anticipate conducting similar studies of three other mines.
Although no moderate or serious negative environmental effects were predicted before mining began, E-Tech findings suggest that some important predictions underestimated the environmental effects of the mine.
11 de Agosto de 2010: (Informe Marlin Espanol PDF) Estudio de E-Tech de la calidad del agua en la Mina Marlin
E-Tech publico su estudio de los previstos y los reales impactos en la calidad del agua de la mina de oro Guatemalteca Marlin de Goldcorp financiados por la CFI.
E-Tech International, una organización de apoyo técnico ambiental sin fines de lucro, ha lanzado la "Evaluación de las condiciones previstas y reales de la calidad del agua en la Mina Marlin, Guatemala." El estudio evalúa la fiabilidad de las predicciones de la calidad del agua realizadas en el estudio de impacto ambiental (EIA&S) de la mina, el cual fue utilizado por la Corporación Financiera Internacional (IFC) cuando se decidió financiar la mina. El estudio de E-Tech comparó dichas predicciones con las condiciones operativas de la mina, a partir de datos recogidos a disposición del público por Goldcorp, dependencias guatemaltecas, y organizaciones guatemaltecas sin fines de lucro.
Aunque no fueron efectos ambientales negativos o moderados graves previstos antes de que la explotación comenzó, los resultados de E- Tech sugieren que algunas predicciones importantes se subestimen los efectos ambientales de la mina.
August 11, 2010: Executive Summary English
11 de Agosto de 2010: Resumen Ejecutivo