El Salvador Lifts Ban On Metal Mining

El Salvador’s Congress has approved a law lifting the country’s seven-year-old ban on mining for metals, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The legislation allows mining activities across the country, except in nature reserves and sensitive watersheds. I Photo: Daniel Chavez castro Wikimedia Commons

The law, proposed by President Nayib Bukele, passed overwhelmingly with a 57 to 3 vote and is expected to become law upon his approval.

The legislation allows mining activities across the country, except in nature reserves and sensitive watersheds. It also bans the use of toxic mercury in gold mining and mandates that private mining companies form joint ventures with the government to operate.

The decision has sparked controversy, with environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Church voicing strong opposition due to concerns about potential damage to ecosystems.

Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas publicly urged the president not to reverse the ban, warning, “It will damage this country forever.”

Civic and environmental activists also protested near Congress, decrying the law’s approval.

“They are giving us a gift, on Dec. 23, 2024, of pollution for our water, our land,” said Adalberto Blanco, a representative of the Permanent Roundtable on Risk Management.

The mining ban, initially implemented in 2017, was hailed as a landmark move for environmental protection in a region plagued by resource exploitation. President Bukele, however, described the ban as “absurd” earlier this year, arguing that the resumption of mining could bring economic benefits to the country.