INQUIRER STOCK PHOTO
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — El Salvador’s Congress approved Monday a law that would lift the country’s seven-year-old ban on mining for metals.
The law, proposed by President Nayib Bukele and passed on a 57 to 3 vote, would allow mining everywhere except nature reserves and sensitive watersheds. It’s expected to go into law with his approval.
Article continues after this advertisementThe law bans the use of toxic mercury in gold mining, and would require private companies to enter a type of joint venture with the government to open mines.
no deposit real money slotsFEATURED STORIES BUSINESS Peso may further depreciate to 60 vs $1 territory in 2025 BUSINESS BIZ BUZZ: Almendras hangs up Ayala hat BUSINESS Business as usual: Top 10 most read business stories in 2024READ: El Salvador plans to sell or shut its crypto wallet
Environmentalists and the Roman Catholic church oppose the resumption of mining, citing potential damage to ecosystems, but Bukele called the ban “absurd” earlier this year.
Article continues after this advertisementArchbishop José Luis Escobar Alas recently asked the president not to reverse the ban, which has been in place since 2017.
Article continues after this advertisement“It will damage this country forever,” Msgr. Escobar Alas said in a homily.
Article continues after this advertisementThat view was also voiced by about 100 civic and environmental activists who protested near Congress.
“They are giving us a gift, on Dec. 23, 2024, of pollution for our water, our land,” said Adalberto Blanco, of the Permanent Roundtable on Risk Management.
Article continues after this advertisementA poll released by Central American University José Simeón Cañas suggested that a majority of Salvadorans feel mining is not appropriate for their country.
In a stock exchange filing on Thursday, October 17, the Ayala-led bank said its net income expanded by 24.3 percent to P48 billion.
In November, the highly popular Bukele proposed mining gold. The county’s unmined gold could be “wealth that could transform El Salvador,” he wrote on the social platform X. He has estimated the country’s gold reserves are worth $3 trillion.
At this point, exploration has revealed deposits of gold and silver, but has been was no large-scale metal mining. It’s unclear what how large the country’s gold reserves could be.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Bukele’s party controls El Salvador’s Congress by a wide margin and his political opposition has been devastated.phlboss
READ NEXT Japan, US blame North Koreans for $300 million crypto theft Sweden says China blocks prosecutors’ probe of ship link... EDITORS' PICK Grant Mary Jane Veloso clemency, lawyers’ group asks Marcos A Cebuano Christmas: Where to experience the most beautiful Christmas displays LIST: Sinulog Festival 2025 Schedule Business as usual: Top 10 most read business stories in 2024 Gov’t sets higher BIR, BOC revenue collection target for 2025 DOH to public: Avoid ‘Holiday Heart Syndrome’ MOST READ PH has right to allow US missile system despite China’s opposition – DND Peso may further depreciate to 60 vs $1 territory in 2025 John Amores to appeal GAB license revocation A 'happy' Christmas 2024? Fewer Filipinos expect it – SWS survey Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments