El Salvador’s president wants to end a mining ban that has been in place for the past seven years. He told reporters that the country has about US$3 trillion worth of gold under its soil last week.
President Nayib Bukele says the current ban is absurd and that billions generated from lifting it could be allocated toward solving some of the nation’s foremost problems. Widespread contamination throughout 95 per cent of El Salvador’s water supply is one of the most notable. A high rate of poverty, about 27 per cent, is another.
“But to have those billions of dollars we need the resources that can be easily generated from mining,” Bukele said. “God placed a gigantic treasure underneath our feet.”
He emphasized that the desire of many to focus on preserving the remaining 5 per cent of the clean water supply is misguided. Enough mining money could restore the nation’s water supply and bring that 95 per cent figure down, he says.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about his plan though. The Roman Catholic Church has voiced condemnation, citing environmental concerns.
“It will damage this country forever,” Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas said in response to the ban’s proposed removal.
A local environmental organization does not think that the economic benefits will outweigh the ecosystem damage that a resurgence in mining would cause either. El Salvador was the first country in the world to completely ban metals mining in 2017 when Salvador Sánchez Cerén was its leader.
“It’s not true that there’s green mining,” Amalia López, a representative from the Alliance Against the Privatization of Water, said, “it’s paid for with lives, kidney, respiratory problems and leukaemia that aren’t immediate.”
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) December 6, 2024
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El Salvador could potentially surpass Nicaragua
The latter nation is currently Central America’s top gold producer, but that could change if Bukele’s claims are true and he gets his way.
El Salvador may become an expansion target for Nicaragua’s top gold producers if the ban is lifted.
Companies like Condor Gold PLC (TSE: COG), Calibre Mining Corp (TSE: CXB) (OTCMKTS: CXBMF) and Mako Mining Corp (OTCMKTS: MAKOF) have been capitalizing on Nicaraguan gold for years now and El Salvador is reasonably close by compared to other countries in the region.
Currently, El Salvador’s primary exports are coffee, sugar, various fabrics and textile materials.
As of last year the nation had nearly US$29 billion in debt, thereby making the reintroduction of mining a serious consideration for economic reform. That number is expected to continue rising if nothing changes.
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rowan@mugglehead.com
