Congress approved President Nayib Bukele’s law authorising metal mining in El Salvador, according to AP News.
The law, passed with 57 votes in favour and 3 against on Monday, would lift the seven-year ban everywhere except nature reserves and vulnerable watersheds.
The legislation bans the use of toxic mercury in gold mining and would require private companies to form a joint venture with the government to open mines. However, environmentalists and the Roman Catholic Church, including Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas, oppose the resumption of mining, citing potential damage to ecosystems.
It will damage this country forever.
The same view was also expressed by about 100 civil and environmental activists protesting outside Congress. A recent poll showed a majority of Salvadorans believed that mining was not appropriate for their country.
In November, President Bukele said the country’s gold reserves, which he estimated at $3 trillion, might be “wealth that could transform El Salvador.” Exploration revealed deposits of gold and silver, but it remained unclear how much gold was hidden in the country’s depths.
