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I will explain a little bit about the illegal extraction at Crucitas mine. Crucitas mine its located in Cutris of San Carlos. In Costa Rica open air mining is illegal, mining its only legal when its for subsistence. A canadian mine company bought the territory to extract gold the president that days was Miguel Angel and only allowed the mining if the company made an environmental study that proved that the mining wont destroy the ecosystem. People in the area were very happy since in San Carlos there is a lack of work. The president after Miguel Angel called Oscar Arias allowed it because it was supposedly public interest. Studies were made and the open air mining affected and polluted the ecosystem.
What are the environmental impacts of this resource extraction?
- Short term: citizens in San Carlos got their hopes up about the new jobs they were having and they finished having none.
-Long term: The Infinite Gold Company wasn't able to continue their project and since the land was left unsupervised. Citizens that were happy about their job started extracting gold without environmental control and used mercury which causes heath problems. Also many students started dropping out of school in order to work as miners in Crucitas mine , which is illegal since it is open air mining.
B) Who benefits from this resource extraction? Who is disadvantaged? How is this connected to colonization?
-The people benefit from this extraction would be the illegal minors, citizens and also students that quit school.
- People disadvantage would be all the citizens since its causing them health problems.
- This problem is connected to civilization because people are doing this only for money and they are not thinking about the climate.
C) What kinds of opposition / environmental preservation being carried out by the following groups, especially as this case contributes to climate change? Are any of them in conflict? Whose interests are at stake?
- The court didn't give permits in order to continue the project and were two environmental groups that were in favor of not giving the permits.
- People outside Costa Rica supported the decision of not giving the permits and were glad that The Golden Infinite Company left.
- NGO’s, Government and activists are against the mines.
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1 Comment(s)
You're right Sofia, gold mining has ravaged landscapes, contaminated water resources, damaged communities, contributed to the destruction of many ecosystems and the use of mercury in gold mining has also causes huge global health and environmental problem especially because when mercury enters the atmosphere or any water body it is difficult to remove. Truly, mining of gold has many short term benefits, but in the long term, the disadvantages outweigh these benefits especially small scale gold mining. But even where dams are constructed for the toxic wastes, the dams are not 100% contamination proof. Toxic waste sometimes seep into soil and groundwater.
Gratefully, the gold mining industry is beginning to embrace the green movement and environmental sustainability. Many gold mining companies are now pledging to commit not only to the sustainable sourcing of gold, but also even more environmentally conscious practices, such as the recycling of gold and other precious metals. The sector has started to implement a number of innovations in green technology and practices. But more still needs to be done as such we all need to stand up and lend our voices to green movements and initiatives.
Have you thought of ways to get involved in the green mining movement?
Great pictures... Well done Sofia!
Let continue to keep it green....:)
Sandra Ukaigwe
Oct 23, 2017