The Canadian Almaden Minerals still wants to extract gold and silver in the municipality of Ixtacamaxtitlán, in the state of Puebla. The Supreme Court revoked two of the company’s concessions in February because the government had not previously consulted the communities in the area. It was a historic decision for the rights of indigenous peoples. However, the highest court, after consultation, left the door open for the reissue of the permits. Almaden, through its subsidiary Minera Gorrión, declared this Tuesday that it is “in the best shape” to keep the project and continue with the project.
The future of the controversial open-pit mine that Almaden wants to open is at stake. The landmark Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed the right of indigenous peoples to prior, free and informed consultation on projects in their territories, a principle enshrined in ILO Convention 169 that has been repeatedly ignored by governments. Because this requirement had not been met before the permits were granted, the court ruled agreed with the Tecoltemi communitywhose territory was granted in concession without being consulted, and left the concessions of the two mining companies “non-existing”, which totaled more than 14,000 hectares.
Now Almaden, which has invested some $40 million in prospecting and exploration work, is waiting for the Department of Commerce to conduct the consultation to later reclaim the concessions, as determined by the court in the ruling. “The company understands that the application process is still in full force and will therefore maintain its vested rights,” it said in a statement. “Minera Gorrión is in the best mood and will try to communicate with local authorities and communities so that consultations can take place.”
As the company acknowledges, the Supreme Court has not set a term to conduct indigenous consultations, which the government has left ample room for manoeuvre. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed at the start of the six-year term that no new mining concessions would be granted. More recently, before the Supreme Court ruled on the case, The Ministry of the Environment called on ministers to decide in favor of the Tecoltemi community.
Almaden has been trying to distance himself from Tecoltemi, a small-time ejido concerned about the mine’s impact on the water supply. The mining project is located a few kilometers from the claimant population, although the two concessions cross part of its territory. The company indicated on Tuesday that it “has no interest in owning concession titles that could cover the land of the community that started all these legal issues.” During the trial, Almaden already tried to waive the part that ran through Tecoltemi in order to nullify the legal process. The miner’s request was rejected by the court at the time.
Indigenous consultations are not the only stumbling block for the company. At the end of 2020, the Ministry of the Environment rejected the Environmental Impact Assessment (MIA), for which Almaden commissioned a specialist consultant. The permit is a requirement to proceed to the operational phase. However, the federal agency believed that the document presented underestimated the indigenous presence in the affected area, as well as the project’s impact on the ecosystem.
A year and a half after that rejection, Almaden has confirmed that the new MIA he is working on is “virtually complete” and that he hopes to enter it once the government holds the Indigenous consultation. “Minera Gorrión reaffirms its commitment to the rule of law and to a mining project that will bring development and well-being to Ixtacamaxtitlán and Mexico,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tecoltemi and the social organizations that spearheaded Almaden’s lawsuit remain on their toes to protect what they see as a historic victory for indigenous peoples from major mining projects. “These criteria are of great importance because they form jurisprudence and therefore, because they are mandatory, strengthen the rights of indigenous peoples and communities in the country and help stop the imposition of mining extractivism in the areas,” they stressed. in a June statement.
register here until newsletter from EL PAÍS México and receive all important information about current affairs in this country
