When The Gold Mining Companies Come Calling, Put On A Bullet Proof Vest And Tell Them To Hit The Road

What is it with those Canucks? Can't they stay home and ruin their own country. 61% of the world's mining companies are incorporated in Canada. And the gold mining companies are really bad news. The byproduct of their mining produces cyanide that seeps into the aquifer, poisoning the water for centuries. The cyanide has to breakdown into its component elements, a process that is rather slow without sunlight. The ore thought to contain the gold is mixed with a cyanide solution to preciptate the gold or silver which uses cyanide in a similar process. Once the ore in suspension and the gold recovered:

The "pregnant liquor" containing these ions is separated from the solids, which are discarded to a tailing pond or spent heap, the recoverable gold having been removed. The metal is recovered from the "pregnant solution" by reduction with zinc dust or by adsorption onto activated carbon. This process can result in environmental and health problems. Aqueous cyanide is hydrolyzed rapidly, especially in sunlight. It can mobilize some heavy metals such as mercury if present. Gold can also be associated with arsenopyrite (FeAsS), which is similar to iron pyrite (fool's gold), wherein half of the sulfur atoms are replaced by arsenic. Gold-containing arsenopyrite ores are similarly reactive toward inorganic cyanide.

 See, the cyanide is not the only problem. Arsenic is easily absorbed and transported by the tailings solution as well as mercury. Pacific Rim claims that its rubber lining, sort of a 'garbage bag' lining the tailings pond keeps these elements out of the water supply. But even with the 'garbage bags' or double Hefty's, somehow those tailings mysteriously wind up in the water supply. Then people start asking questions when people start getting sick. What they can't and refuse to explain is why the people develop cancers that were unknown in the area before Pacific Rim came to the area. There is also the 'mystery' of the birth defects of children after Pacific Rim begins spewing its poison in the area. But, then, mercury is well known as a causative agent for birth defects. Pacific Rim claims that it is the poor diets of the mothers in the area that causes the birth defects. Funny though, the birth defects were not happening at nearly the rate before Pacific Rim's poison as after it leached into the water supply. TRNN explains:

Then of course, there is the 'mystery' of the murders of the activists opposed to Pacific Rim's raping of the pristine evironment of El Salvador. It seems that when people begin making too much noise and become too effective at defeating Pacific Rim's payola to local officials, the suddenly turn up dead. And then, of course, Pacific Rim claims that it knows nothing of this and that nobody has proven anything against them.  Well, yeah, as the TRNN video illustrates, nobody in authority will investigate these assassinations. Gee, I wonder why.

Tim's El Salvador Blog explains Pacific Rim's whining:

Pacific Rim, the gold mining company which has sued El Salvador over the government's failure to grant it mining permits, has put a statement on its website regarding the recent murders of environmental activists in Cabanas:

January 04, 2010
STATEMENT REGARDING RECENT EVENTS IN EL SALVADOR

Pacific Rim Mining Corp. and its subsidiaries (collectively, "PacRim") are environmentally and socially responsible gold mining and development companies with significant assets in El Salvador.

PacRim has recently been the target of false accusations made by certain anti-mining groups, which wrongfully suggest PacRim's involvement in a series of murders in the area of Trinidad, El Salvador. PacRim unequivocally denies these accusations.
PacRim has no knowledge in relation to the Trinidad murders other than what has appeared in the mainstream Salvadoran press, which reports that these tragic incidents are apparently related to a longstanding feud between two local families.

More broadly, the same anti-mining groups that have wrongfully implicated PacRim in the murders have portrayed the incidents as the result of an allegedly hostile conflict related to the debate over mining in El Salvador. However, there is no evidence indicating these violent acts bear any relation whatsoever to the debate over mining in the country. PacRim encourages all parties affected by the recent violence in Trinidad to rely on the appropriate legal processes to determine the true facts of these cases.

PacRim takes this opportunity to reiterate its support for open dialogue in relation to all events affecting the communities in which it operates, and to unequivocally condemn the use of violence and threats of violence as part of such dialogue. Furthermore, PacRim condemns attempts to incite violence through the deliberate dissemination of misinformation about PacRim and its activities in El Salvador.

 As Tim notes, and this is so ironic that it would be funny if it weren't so tragic, Pacific Rim has sued El Salvador for violation of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. You see, El Salvador's new progressive government told them to take a flying leap at a rolling doughnut on their application for the operating permit for the gold mine. Pacific Rim says that the denial is a violation of CAFTA so it has sued for gazillions of Dollars. Wait a minute, you say. wasn't the CAFTA between the US and the Central American countries? And isn't Pacific Rim a Canadian company?

Yes and Yes. But the overpaid sharks at Pacific Rim are hanging their claim on the fact that Pacific Rim owns a tiny, inactive company incorporated in the US. Thus, they claim, Pacific Rim is entitled to the protection of CAFTA through that US company. Now any first year law student can tell you that in order to have a viable claim, you have to prove damages. Since the US company has no interest in the El Salvador operation, it can have no damages.

What is really going on is that Pacific Rim is trying to wear El Salvador down with monumental attorneys fees and costs of litigation, in hopes that it will just grant the permit to settle. I hope Mario Funes has a stiffer spine than Barack Obama has. Otherwise, the people  at the proposed site will get a 'health care reform' package that they will just love...if they bring their own KY jelly.

One can only hope that one of those 'celebrities' who want everyone to know how environmentally concious they are will start spending some money and bring some pressure to bear on Pacific Rim in Canada, El Salvador and the US. Don't hold your breath...or drink the water... or the Kool-Aid.