The Dominion - James Rodriguez

Penasquito.Irrigation

Moira Peters — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:29:51 +0000

This image is from another Goldcorp-owned mine, the San Martin Project in the Siria Valley, Honduras. It shows the same cyanide leaching irrigation method used at Penasquito. Ten years after having begun operations, the environmental disaster in the Siria Valley is evident. Adjacent communities have reported hundreds of health issues involving intestinal and/or renal cancer, nervous system disorders, and research from a 2006 study found that 96 per cent of the population suffers from rashes and other skin problems, most likely caused by exposure to toxic materials from the mine, according to Daniel Trujillo in Diario Co Latino.

Penasquito.Mine Truck

Moira Peters — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 22:21:36 +0000

From property taxes alone, the municipal government of Mazapil should be receiving one million pesos annually from Penasquito. Such revenues would come in handy in a municipality where 30 per cent of the population has running water, 65 per cent has electricity, 18 per cent has sewage systems, three per cent has a garbage pickup service, 50 per cent enjoys public security and 7 per cent of roads are paved. Vicente Perez Esquivel, Mayor of Mazapil, said that since 2007, when the first stage of operations began at Penasquito, the municipal government has not received any tax payments from Goldcorp—not even the construction license fees.

Penasquito.Dudes

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:42:30 +0000

“Leaders from the ejido state that, according to Mexican Mining Law, local residents must receive a compensation of at least 100 million Mexican Pesos for every year the company works their land, this being retroactive to 2006. In addition, the National Water Commission should severely reprimand Goldcorp for the likely contamination of the underground aquifers,” states an article in El Financiero en Linea. According to Felipe Pinedo of the Zacatecas Popular Front for Struggle, “The mining law requires Goldcorp to pay the peasants from Zacatecas a percentage of the annual earnings, which roughly stand at 17.5 million pesos per day.” Lauro Herrera, resident of Cedros (pictured here, left), claims Goldcorp “took advantage of our ignorance and poverty by drafting a lease contract in which they agree to pay us only half a Mexican Peso per square metre over 30 years.”

Penasquito.Mine Piles

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:36:20 +0000

“Penasquito is expected to produce about 500,000 ounces a year of gold, 28 million ounces a year of silver, 450 million pounds a year of zinc and 200 million pounds a year of lead,” according to an article in miningweekly.com. If the price of gold per ounce remains this high, Goldcorp can expect to earn around US $600 million per year from gold production alone. These profits do not benefit the people of Mazapil, and for several days in May 2009, residents blocked the entrance to Penasquito, demanding a monetary adjustment for the 6,000 hectares leased out to Goldcorp.

Penasquito.Armando

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:14:31 +0000

"The mine’s wells reach 300 metres below the surface, while ours at El Vergel only reach 100 or 130 metres," according to Armando Gonzalez Alvarado, resident of El Vergel and member of the Negotiation Committee with the mining company. Penasquito, an open pit mine, will require thousands of litres of water per hour over its estimated 22-year lifespan.

Penasquito.Sign

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:10:17 +0000

Before mining operations began, a contract between the people of El Vergel and Goldcorp stipulated the perforation of 10 wells for industrial use. By the end of 2009, Goldcorp was operating 30 wells. Joel Mancilla, Commissioner of El Vergel, accuses “the mining company of using in one hour the amount of water a local family would use in 25 years.” Goldcorp’s disregard for previous agreements and Penasquito’s inordinate use of an already precarious groundwater supply have caused widespread unease among the local population.

Penasquito.Kitchen

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:04:21 +0000

“Our life support system depends on water, because we live off what we harvest!” says Irma Hernandez Herrera, resident of El Vergel. “Here we grow chili peppers, alfalfa, corn, beans, squash; and our lives depend on this, because this is what we eat.” Nevertheless, since 2007, groundwater levels have been declared critical statewide as water tables have suffered an annual deficit of 220 million cubic metres.

Penasquito.Farmer

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:01:07 +0000

Despite an annual rainfall lower than 400 millimetres, the local ejidos have managed to subsist thanks to massive aquifers that provide vital groundwater, used primarily for the irrigation of crops. In Mazapil, the main underground water reserves are located directly underneath the ejido of El Vergel.

Penasquito.Bride

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:57:47 +0000

“Even though it has been a mining town by tradition, [Mazapil] has never been prosperous. Its population has managed to survive off agriculture and the raising of livestock.” [3] The ejido system still prevails in this part of the country. It consists of community members, known as the ejidatarios, sharing a common landholding, both for agricultural and living purposes.

Penasquito.Doll

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:52:55 +0000

Mazapil, one of the largest municipalities in Mexico, covers an area of 12,063 square kilometres and is located on a high plateau roughly 2,000 metres above sea level. As annual rainfall hovers between 200 and 400 millimetres, Mazapil’s climate is classified as semi-desert. Founded in 1568, Mazapil is, according to Roberto Morales Navarrete in El Economista, “one of the poorest and most marginalized municipalities in the country.”

Penasquito.Flowers

Moira Peters — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:31:43 +0000

“In the future, I see a deserted image of what once was this town... It makes me very sad, especially for the children," says Irma Hernandez Herrera of El Vergel, an ejido in the municipality of Mazapil, Mexico. Residents of Mazapil are battling Goldcorp for their water.

Hondurans demand the return of President Zelaya

dawn — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:21:21 +0000

Hondurans gathered at the country's main airport in Tegucigalpa to demand the return of President Manuel Zelaya. His plane was not allowed to land, and he remains unable to enter the country. Canada has not demanded that he be allowed to return.

Skye Resources 2

hillarybain — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:34:35 +0000

Décembre 2006. Des membres de la communauté de Barrio Revolución. mimundo.org

Skye Resources 1

hillarybain — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 13:02:49 +0000

Décembre 2006. Les membres de la communauté de Barrio Revolución dans leur lieu de rassemblement.
mimundo.org

Barrio Revolucion - Fields

dru — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 06:16:31 +0000

December 2006--Community members in Barrio Revolución. mimundo.org