Mayans Occupy Guatemalan Nickel Mine Property

GUATEMALA

Mayans occupy Guatemalan nickel mine property

GUATEMALA CITY, (Reuters)

18th September 2006

Hundreds of Mayan Indian families have invaded land owned by a Canadian nickel mining firm in Guatemala, setting up makeshift camps and demanding the company cede land for subsistence farming.

Skye Resources Inc. plans to reopen a long-dormant nickel project near Guatemala's Lake Izabal and begin producing 11,000 tonnes of ferro-nickel late in 2008.

But environmental concerns and disputes over land rights prompted more than 1,000 Mayan Indians living near the site to occupy two different areas within the company's concession over the weekend, said activists working in El Estor, the town closest to the mine.

"People are building houses and it looks like they are not planning on leaving anytime soon," said Daniel Vogt, who represents local Mayan development group Aepdi.

The company said it is open to negotiation but that the townspeople refused to enter into discussions to resolve the dispute.

"Right now they are just near the roads to the mineral deposits, and the landing strip," mine official Omar Dieguez told Reuters. "We would like to resolve this or else there could be conflicts once we start operations."

Skye's shares rose last week after news that mining giants Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, BHP Billiton and Xstrata Plc were all considering bids for the Vancouver-based company.