In a recent historic move, locals from Asunción Mita, Guatemala, voiced their opposition in a referendum on the mining projects that have affected their community for decades. Eighty nine per cent of them voted “no” to the development of mining activities, like the Cerro Blanco gold and silver open-pit mine owned by Bluestone Resources — a Canadian mining company — in a municipal consultation held last month.
The arsenic liberated in the proposed open-pit mine’s gold extraction process can cause toxic leaching and long-lasting contamination that affects the supply of water for drinking, agriculture and cattle rearing by local communities.
