Guatemalan Mining: Environmental Risks
Team Leader: Kavisha Patel
Analyst: Jessica Ly
The mining industry itself is highly invasive and destructive to the environment. Guatemala’s environmental concerns are primarily of the deforestation of the tropical forests. Mining companies should familiarize themselves with the environmental damages that the different types of mining can present. High-profile disasters can become very costly for both the companies and environment – which in turn creates upheaval amongst the citizens of the local region. Unfortunately, there are no global standards or any legal framework that can prevent or outline such problems and/or solutions when they arise.[1] Therefore, it is up to the companies to have a foundation of information before undergoing any projects in any country. Although there are several different types of mining that can be performed in Guatemala – all present the same kinds of environmental risks that should be understood and mitigated.
Water Contamination
The primary environmental concern is the risks of water contamination. Once water becomes contaminated, it becomes very difficult to filter and clean. Water contamination risks the livelihood of the agricultural industry within Guatemala. If the people are unable to make a living and provide sustenance for themselves, the mining operation will subsequently be received negatively. Water contamination is also not a localized issue but can become widespread throughout the entire country. Since waterways are interconnected throughout Guatemala, polluted water will eventually travel to the most unsuspecting areas. Consequently, many mining groups have faced high charges and penalties for contaminating water resources. For instance, the United Paragon Mining Corporation faced a $60, 000 fine for unauthorized discharge of wastewater in the Philippines in 2015.[2] In order to avoid any sort of penalties or political backlash from water contamination, it is important to find alternatives to water waste disposal and to ensure that every ounce of water is being used precariously. In the past, mining in Southern California consisted of implementing waste-water recycling technologies.[3] This directly resulted in a huge decrease in water demands for the actual process of mining, as well as liquid waste which can be an adequate mitigation strategy to this problem.
Deforestation
Deforestation is another huge impact of mining in Guatemala. The processes of deforestation lead to the destruction of biomes and contributes to the effects of erosion within the area. More importantly, deforestation could mean intense drought season for the agricultural industry as well as political effects. Deforested areas lead to an intense decline of annual rainfall which then is prolonged by warmer dry seasons.[4] Creating tropical wastelands inherently devastates natural habitats and wildlife of Guatemala. In Guatemala, the rise of land rights activities is growing at an exponential rate.[5] Many environmental groups are fighting for “land rights” and heavily oppose foreign companies occupying their resources. A simple mitigation would be to follow the guidelines set out by Guatemala’s Mining Laws in order to accommodate and consider the local communities and environmental impacts. Mining companies must work with the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), as well as the Ministry of Environmental and Natural Resources (known by its Spanish acronym: MARN).
Although environmental concerns are highly abundant when considered in the mining industry – there are new technologies and processes that can mitigate these risks. These alternatives would essentially frame the mining operation as environmentally conscious. As mentioned, water-waste recycling is a simple way to mitigate water contamination. Although it is unfeasible to always operate with alternatives, there are many processes that provide much less stress onto the environment. For instance, open pit mining is the most taxing on the environment, but it is the most popular.[6] An alternative to this is underground mining, which only wastes about 7% of extracted rock. The best form is in-situ leaching – but this is the most volatile since it is heavily depended on the geography of the intended mining site. The process of in-situ leaching should be the first considered method of mining, since it has minimal waste contamination risks and is not highly invasive to the land.
Mining operations will always present high risks for the environment, which in turn creates political and political upheaval for the region. If all mining processes are considered and consulted with MEM and MARN within Guatemala, any mining project has the possibility of being well-received with little destruction to the environment. Creating an environmentally friendly framework is important in order to have a successful operation within Guatemala.
[1] Marta Miranda, “Mining and Criitcal Ecosystems: Mapping the Risks,” World Resources Institute, (2003): 1.
[2] Marta Miranda, “Mining and Criitcal Ecosystems: Mapping the Risks,” World Resources Institute, (2003): 1.
[3] Terrescope, “Environmental Risk of Mining,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology: The Future of Strategic Natural Resources, http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/finalwebsite/problems/mining.html
[4] Al Argueta, “Environmental Issues in Guatemala,” Moon Guatemala, 8 November 2012, https://moon.com/2012/11/environmental-issues-in-guatemala/
[5] John Vidal, “How Guatemala is sliding into chaos in the fight for land and water,” The Guardian, (19 August 2018).
[6] Terrescope, “Environmentally Sensitive “Green” Mining,” Massachusetts Institute of Technology: The Future of Strategic Natural Resources, http://web.mit.edu/12.000/www/m2016/finalwebsite/solutions/greenmining.html.
