MEXICO CITY, June 05, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following is a statement by PODER:
In April 2019, at the request of an indigenous community, a Mexican court canceled Almaden Minerals Ltd.’s mining concessions in Ixtacamaxtitlán, Puebla.
Almaden has denied the indigenous presence in the area and conducted exploration without receiving free, prior, and informed consent.
In 2015, the Tecoltemic indigenous community filed a constitutional lawsuit to cancel the mining concessions that were awarded to Almaden’s subsidiary, Minera Gorrión, S.A. de C.V., for the Ixtaca project. It argued that the Mexican Mining Act violates the rights of indigenous peoples to free determination.
Subsequently, Minera Gorrion asked the Economy Ministry to reduce the size of the initial concessions so as to exclude the community’s land. The Ministry agreed, but that decision was later overturned in court.
On April 11, 2019, the District Court of Puebla canceled the initial concessions stating that they “are illegal since they were awarded without taking into account the opinions of the indigenous affected community.” Almaden did not report this in its public disclosures.
Later Almaden published a release stating:
“[The] original claims were already voluntarily cancelled by the Company and Almaden’s current claims covering the Ixtaca deposit,(...) are not the subject of this court decision.
This statement is untrue because the only concessions for the Ixtaca project were the initial ones.
In order to begin extraction, the Environment Ministry (SEMARNAT) must authorize the Environmental Impact Statement for the Ixtaca project and Almaden must secure extraction permits. As a result of the ruling, SEMARNAT is unlikely to authorize the EIS as it is based on the new concessions, which no longer exist. Without an approved EIS, Almaden cannot apply for other permits, jeopardizing authorization for extraction activities.
On June 11, 2019, SEMARNAT will conduct an informational meeting with the affected communities, who requested the meeting to reiterate that they do not consent to mining activities.
Almaden’s main project is the Ixtaca deposit, where it has focused all of its efforts. If canceled, this likely will have a serious impact on the company.
PODER is a regional corporate accountability and human rights NGO. www.projectpoder.org