Costa Rica Bans Open Pit Mining for Metals

Costa Rica’s legislative assembly voted unanimously on Tuesday to ban all new open pit metal mining projects in the country.

The legislators approved a reform to the country’s mining code that prohibits the activity, a change that Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla proposed in May, during in her first days in office.

The reform does not affect the Crucitas gold mine project, a proposed open pit gold mine in the country’s northern zone owned by the Canadian company, Infinito Gold LTD. That project being reviewed by the country’s Administrative Appeals Court, a process that is expected to determine whether work at the mine can move ahead. 

A ruling on Crucitas is expected as soon as next week.

On Wednesday, press officials at Casa Presidencial had not yet set a date for Chinchilla to sign the reform into law.