San Miguel Ixtahuacán
Encyclopedia
San Miguel Ixtahuacán is a municipality
in the San Marcos department
of Guatemala
.It compromises 19 villages and the population is about 39 000 people. The majority of people are ethnically Maya
- Mam, and speak the Mam
and Spanish language
s. Most inhabitants subsist by farming, growing crops of corn, beans, vegetables and fruits, irrigated from the Cuilco River and its tributaries.
In 2004, Goldcorp
, a Canadian- owned mining
corporation based in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, began construction of Marlin Mine
. Marlin Mine is a gold
and silver
mine located on the border between San Miguel Ixtahuacán and the neighboring municipality of Sipacapa
. Approximately 80% of the mine is located in San Miguel Ixtahuacán. There has been controversy over Marlin Mine, owing to accusations by some community members that they were not properly consulted prior to the construction of the mine, as required by national Guatemalan law and international law. There has been ongoing violence in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, both against mining property and against mining opposition.
In a 2009 press conference, the Catholic
Diocese of the department of San Marcos presented the results of a two-year study they carried out of the quality of surface waters surrounding Marlin Mine. The press conference was held in Guatemala City
, and was attended by environmental activists, human rights activists, mining personnel, and members of the public. The study found that surface water used by community members in San Miguel Ixtahuacán for crop irrigation, herd animals, and human consumption, has been contaminated by heavy metals such as arsenic and copper. The levels of these heavy metals exceed Guatemalan standards, international World Health Organization
standards, and standards set by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. The study explained the specific steps taken to test the water, and has been published online in Spanish, and in English. However, the study did not compare its findings to historical metals levels in the rivers, which were shown in the baseline study to have naturally high metals levels, which exceeded guidelines for certain uses, including drinking water, prior to the existence of the mining operation.
Officials from Goldcorp and from the Guatemalan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MARN) who attended the press conference accused the Catholic Diocese of using flawed methods that are unscientific. They have posted videos on YouTube
, in Spanish, demonstrating the strategies they use to test surface waters. The results of the MARN tests have not been released to the public, but Goldcorp
reports their monitoring annually on their website.
A subsequent 2010 study carried out under the initiative of the Diocese reported that, with the exception of aluminum content in one sample, samples of river water were all within "US Benchmarks"; and that all drinking water sampled had metals content below limits set in the US EPA’s National Drinking Water Regulations. This study, and the ongoing environmental monitoring are described in more detail in the article on the Marlin Mine
.
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the San Marcos department
Departments of Guatemala
||Guatemala is divided into 22 departments :#Alta Verapaz#Baja Verapaz#Chimaltenango#Chiquimula#Petén#El Progreso#El Quiché#Escuintla#Guatemala#Huehuetenango#Izabal#Jalapa#Jutiapa#Quetzaltenango#Retalhuleu#Sacatepéquez...
of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
.It compromises 19 villages and the population is about 39 000 people. The majority of people are ethnically Maya
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
- Mam, and speak the Mam
Mam
Mam or MAM may refer to:* Mam language, a Mayan language spoken in Guatemala* Mam people, an indigenous Maya people in Guatemala* Mam , a reverential term for certain aged Maya deities.* Mam, Azerbaijan, a village...
and Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
s. Most inhabitants subsist by farming, growing crops of corn, beans, vegetables and fruits, irrigated from the Cuilco River and its tributaries.
In 2004, Goldcorp
Goldcorp
Goldcorp Inc. is a gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Goldcorp has 16 operations and development projects in 6 countries across the Americas....
, a Canadian- owned mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
corporation based in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, began construction of Marlin Mine
Marlin mine (Guatemala)
The Marlin Mine is a gold mine in Guatemala owned by Montana Exploradora de Guatemala, S.A , which is a subsidiary of Canadian company Goldcorp.-Location and description:...
. Marlin Mine is a gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mine located on the border between San Miguel Ixtahuacán and the neighboring municipality of Sipacapa
Sipacapa
Sipacapa is a municipality in the San Marcos department, situated in the Western highlands of Guatemala. Sipacapa's population of around 14,000 is spread among 14 village communities, skattered over mountainous terrain...
. Approximately 80% of the mine is located in San Miguel Ixtahuacán. There has been controversy over Marlin Mine, owing to accusations by some community members that they were not properly consulted prior to the construction of the mine, as required by national Guatemalan law and international law. There has been ongoing violence in San Miguel Ixtahuacán, both against mining property and against mining opposition.
In a 2009 press conference, the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
Diocese of the department of San Marcos presented the results of a two-year study they carried out of the quality of surface waters surrounding Marlin Mine. The press conference was held in Guatemala City
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
, and was attended by environmental activists, human rights activists, mining personnel, and members of the public. The study found that surface water used by community members in San Miguel Ixtahuacán for crop irrigation, herd animals, and human consumption, has been contaminated by heavy metals such as arsenic and copper. The levels of these heavy metals exceed Guatemalan standards, international World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
standards, and standards set by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. The study explained the specific steps taken to test the water, and has been published online in Spanish, and in English. However, the study did not compare its findings to historical metals levels in the rivers, which were shown in the baseline study to have naturally high metals levels, which exceeded guidelines for certain uses, including drinking water, prior to the existence of the mining operation.
Officials from Goldcorp and from the Guatemalan Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MARN) who attended the press conference accused the Catholic Diocese of using flawed methods that are unscientific. They have posted videos on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
, in Spanish, demonstrating the strategies they use to test surface waters. The results of the MARN tests have not been released to the public, but Goldcorp
Goldcorp
Goldcorp Inc. is a gold producer headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Goldcorp has 16 operations and development projects in 6 countries across the Americas....
reports their monitoring annually on their website.
A subsequent 2010 study carried out under the initiative of the Diocese reported that, with the exception of aluminum content in one sample, samples of river water were all within "US Benchmarks"; and that all drinking water sampled had metals content below limits set in the US EPA’s National Drinking Water Regulations. This study, and the ongoing environmental monitoring are described in more detail in the article on the Marlin Mine
Marlin mine (Guatemala)
The Marlin Mine is a gold mine in Guatemala owned by Montana Exploradora de Guatemala, S.A , which is a subsidiary of Canadian company Goldcorp.-Location and description:...
.