Mexico: Court Decision Stops San Luis de Potosí Gold Project
Published by MAC on 2004-11-02
Mexico: Court Decision Stops San Luis de Potosí Gold Project
The Mexican Federal Court of Fiscal and Administrative Justice (TFJFA) has halted operations at the San Luis de Potosí Gold Project, owned by Minera San Xavier (MSX), a subsidiary of the Canadian company Metallica Resources.
The company has retorted that the decision lacks a scientific base and that it will harm Canadian investments in the country.
In a resolution dated September 1st, disclosed by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, the TFJFA substantiated a case brought in 2000 by the civic union Pro San Luis Ecológico, opposing the authorisation granted to the company the previous year by the National Institute of Ecology (INE).
The Federal Court's resolution is based on the necessity of ecological preservation of San Pedro Hill, where some animal species are in danger of extinction, as well as risks derived from cyanide use in mining: "It would put in danger the biodiversity of the area". In addition to this point, the TFJFA recalls that the responsibility for preservation and regeneration of the environment lies with the federal authority. It concludes that the permit granted for the concession did not conform to "applicable laws".
Their opponent La Minera San Xavier consider that "the project is dead", since any action that could undermine the federal justice decision "would imply disrespect and transgression of the law".