Resource World Magazine

A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 www.resourceworld.com 5 Editor's Comments Ellsworth Dickson Ellsworth Dickson, Editor-in-Chief Email: editor@resourceworld.com T: 604 484 3800 | 1 877 484 3800 A ccording to a new report by PwC Canada, Canada's largest mining companies played a prominent role in the sector's global recovery that began last year after a four year+ down- turn in the shares of exploration and mining companies. For example, during 2016 the TSX Venture Exchange was responsible for 57% of global financings, according to the TMX Group. Factors that contributed to the mining industry's growth were Canada's international leadership in explo- ration, commitment to talent diversity and the implementation of innovation. "As the global mining industry is mov- ing out of a challenging time into a period of recovery, it is very encouraging to see Canada as an international mining leader in a variety of areas," said Liam Fitzgerald, National Mining Leader, PwC Canada. However, something rather disturbing that took place is the suspension of min- ing at the Tahoe Resources Escobal Mine in Guatemala that was precipitated by a legal action brought by the anti-mining organization, CALAS, against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM). The Escobal Mine is one of the world's largest silver producers. Tahoe Resources, a Canadian company, saw its share price drop by over 30%. The action alleges that MEM violated the Xinca indigenous people's right of consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license. Tahoe states that it believes that no Xinca representative or community is currently participating in the CALAS lawsuit against MEM. Tahoe will now take legal steps to have the ruling reversed and the license reinstated as soon as possible, including immediately appealing the decision to the constitutional court. Of note, the last offi- cial census shows the nearby town of San Rafael las Flores to be 98.6% non-indige- nous with no Xinca community presence. Despite the fact that the Escobal Mine is not located in or impacting any indigenous communities, the company understands that MEM held a consultation process that complied with the requirements set forth in ILO Convention 169. The definitive con- stitutional claim and appeal process could take over a year. Ron Clayton, President and CEO of Tahoe Resources, said, "We are extremely disappointed in the court's ruling sus- pending the license because we believe that there are no indigenous communities affected by Escobal's operations. While the lack of indigenous communities in our area makes ILO 169 inapplicable, there is nevertheless extensive documentation evidencing that an ILO 169 consultation process was in fact conducted in the area of the mine. We are acutely aware that an adverse ruling could have a significant adverse impact on our shareholders, part- ners, employees, vendors and community populations, as tax and royalty payments, along with purchases of operating supplies will be suspended during any period that the mine is not operating. Escobal is our flagship mine which has been designed and operated to meet the highest environ- mental standards and we will make every effort to remove any suspension and bring Escobal back into operation as soon as pos- sible. We remain committed to protecting our employees' livelihoods, as well as those livelihoods of the company's suppliers and the thousands of Guatemalan families that benefit from the responsible operation of the Escobal Mine." Did the government really need to sus- pend mining operations during the court procedure, putting many employees, sup- pliers and service providers out of work? Let's hope this does not set a dangerous precedent for other unsupportable actions opposing responsible resource develop- ment. n Canada a global leader in mining but it's not all roses

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