Mining threats in San Agustín

For several months there have been rumors that the open-pit mining operation in San Andrés, La Unión, Copán, was hoping to expand its operations in the corridor between the mine and San Agustín, Copán.

On May 10, notices began circulating in Facebook that there was a real chance of mining coming to the forest reserve El Quetzal, which is about five kilometers from San Agustín.

The mayor of San Agustín began getting messages and calls about this, but he didn’t really know anything about this. Last Tuesday, the office of the Environment of the municipality of San Agustín got a note date May 14, to come to a meeting in La Unión, Copán, on a project.

Even though there was no confirmation of a mining concession on the El Quetzal mountainside, the mayor called a Town Meeting (cabildo abierto) for Sunday afternoon at 1 pm. Word spread and the town hall was filled to overflowing.

The mayor told what he knew and what he had discovered. He also had gone to an office in Tegucigalpa and, from there, sent a message of the opposition of the municipality to mining on El Quetzal Mountain.

After some opening words, he asked the attendees if there was anyone in favor of a mining project. No one raised a hand. Then he asked who was against; the opposition was overwhelming.

He talked more and then had two of the owners of land on the mountain come forward. One, an evangelical pastor who had worked for eleven years in the mining industry was clearly opposed to the project. He also proceeded to share his opinion strongly opposed to mining and the dangers he sees coming from the mining industry.

The other owner also is opposed to the mining project, though not as vociferously as the pastor.

The mayor talked about two possibilities to prevent mining. The first is a formal legal definition of the land as a national reserve(check); the other is going forward for a water project from water sources on the mountain. The two landowners were a bit skeptical of one of the mayor’s proposals, but finally they agreed to sit down later this week to work out details and disagreements.

One of the congressional representatives from the department of Copán, who had been mayor of San Agustín, was there and also expressed concern. He contacted a government official of GEOMIN and will meet with him in the near future. The government official had no knowledge of any concession that had been granted during his time as director. There is, however, I found out and shared with the mayor, a concession for exploration.

The pastor of the parish of Dulce Nombre, Padre German Navarro, also spoke, in opposition, noting the local church's concerns about mining. (He did not  mention the bishop's letter on mining, which can be found in translation here.)

Many questions remain but I find myself somewhat hopeful. First of all, I was glad to see that great turnout for the town meeting. Secondly, the opposition of the mayor and of two landowners is a good sign; interestingly, both are members of the governing National Party. However, since there are some areas of disagreement on what to do, I have a concern that the mining industry will try to find a way to exploit the divisions in order to get its way.

The area is a treasure. There are trees there that are centuries old. One tree is so large that not even seven people can encircle it. It also is a great source of water, which is becoming an ever more serious concern here in Honduras. In addition, there are birds and animals of many species there.

As a follow up, I met with parishioners in the Social Ministry on Tuesday. We discussed the situation and we will try to inform people of the situation and prepare materials on the church’s social teachings regarding mining and use of natural resources.

Providentially, Pope Francis had sent a letter to a meeting on mining. I have not yet found a Spanish translation. The English is available here. But there are three points that summarize his concerns, that I posted in Spanish at the meeting.

1.     Mining, like other economic activities, ought to be at the service of the entire human community…

2.     Mining ought to be at the service of the human person, not the reverse…

3.     We ought to encourage the implementation of a circular economy, even more in the field of mining activities.

The Social Ministry would like to plan a pilgrimage and Mass to the site – to show our prayerful concern for the preservation of this treasure.

May God help us in this endeavor.