Cyanide spill in Honduras (Spanish and English)

Cyanide spill in Honduras (Spanish and English)

Statement from ASONOG, Prog. Incidentia Politica,

Honduras, January 15 2002

On the night of Sunday January 5th, the mining company, Minerales de Occidente, which mines the San Andres gold mines in western Honduras, discharged an estimated 300 gallons of Cyanide solution into the Lara River. The cyanide leakage is said to have been accidental, caused by a worker’s confusion between valve number 8 and valve number 3.

Cyanide, the ingredient used to separate gold particles from the rocks excavated, is also highly poisonous.

The following day at 9 AM a citizen of the local community of San Andres observed from his cornfield, a number of dead fish on the shores of this river where villagers often bathe or take animals to drink.

Community members contacted authorities in Santa Rosa and by 11:00 AM members of the Direction of Criminal Investigation arrived at the site of the contamination and joined employees of the mining company in an effort to collect all dead fish in sacks. They also uncovered sacks of dead fish that villagers had previously observed being buried by mine workers. At the end of the day on Monday, about 18,000 dead fish were counted in the Lara River, along with other dead animals like crabs and frogs. Evidence of contamination extended at least 4.5 kilometers to where the Lara River joins the Higuito River, source of the future 2.5 million dollar Santa Rosa water project which will bring water to the town’s 28,000 residents. Although the water project will draw from the ground beneath the river, rather than taking the water directly from the river itself, no official study exists as to the impact that such cyanide spills might have on the ground water beneath. The project is set to be inaugurated by president Maduro on this January 16th.

Minerales de Occidente expressed it’s regrets over the accident in an official statement made Wednesday, January 8 and said that it is taking steps to mitigate the damage such as monitoring the river water and adding chemicals to neutralize the effects of cyanide. The company is also investigating further what actions to take regarding the culpability of employees involved.

Citizens from communities near by claim that this is not the first time that cyanide has been discharged into the Lara River, though it is the case to be documented and acknowledged by the company.

The aftermath of this incident will be telling in terms of the balance of power between mining companies and the citizens of adjacent communities, as well as the role that environmental regulation plays with big business in Honduras.

Mining is one of the top economic priorities for the government of President Maduro. Honduras’s mining law tilts heavily in favor of the interests of mining companies and does very little to protect against environmental damage or violations of human rights. Independent environmental studies of mining impact are not allowed, and in fact attempts at incorporating independent experts in studies of environmental impact have been blocked by the mining company. Studies of environmental impact are financed by the company and conducted by DEFOMIN (literally translated, the Department for the Encouragement of Mining). All claims of environmental abuses must also be addressed to DEFOMIN, an agency with the conflicting double function of regulating and promoting the mining industry.

The company should be responsible for conducting a meeting with the communities near to the mines to explain with openness what occurred, what measures are being taken to thoroughly investigate the health and environmental impacts of the spill, and what preventative measures are being taken to assure that such unfortunate accidents do not recur.

No mine in Honduras has ever been shut down or even strictly regulated on account of environmental abuses. The actions of the company and government authorities in addressing this spill will indicate whether gold mining in Honduras can be a responsible industry interested in making positive contributions the communities where it exists, or if it only intends to take the gold and leave local people with not much besides large holes and contaminated rivers.