No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveEnvironmentalists Warn Of Pending Mine Disaster

Environmentalists Warn Of Pending Mine Disaster

Environmentalists are warning of a potential disaster if care isn’t taken to prevent cyanide seepage from an open-pit gold mine in the small Pacific-slope town of Miramar, in the hills east of Puntarenas.

The Bellavista mine suspended operations in July, according to a report in the daily La Nación, and had committed to monitoring the earth’s movements, which at the time were believed to be slipping about half an inch daily.

“Our fears have become reality,” said Luis Diego Marín of Preserveplanet.org, who warns that a catastrophe of “great proportions” is imminent.

An earthquake or landslide, warn environmentalists, could rupture a membrane that isolates the cyanide pools from the local aquifers, and lead to contamination of rivers, water supplies and the Gulf of Nicoya, just nine miles from the mine.

According to Gabriel Rivas, of the Costa Rican Federation for Environmental Preservation (FECON), the mine owners, the Glencairn Gold Corporation of Canada, must take action now.

“Who will be responsible for this environmental disaster after it happens?” Rivas asked.

The Tico Times was unable to obtain comment from mine owners by press time.

 

Popular Articles

Costa Rica and Panama Dismantle Migrant Smuggling Network

A joint Costa Rica–Panama operation has dismantled a transnational criminal organization involved in human smuggling and money laundering. Authorities carried out 23 raids Wednesday...

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano Erupts in Costa Rica

Yesterday, the Rincón de la Vieja volcano in northwestern Costa Rica erupted, sending a column of ash 2,000 meters above its crater. The eruption,...

Panama Declares State of Emergency After Chiquita Banana Strike

The government of Panama declared a "state of emergency" on Tuesday in a Caribbean province where a subsidiary of U.S.-based banana company Chiquita Brands...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest Articles