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Fenix Nickel Project
The Fenix nickel project, also known as El Estor mine, is an integrated mountain-top nickel mine and processing facility near El Estor in the Izabal Department of eastern Guatemala. The project consists of a cluster of several deposits with reserves amounting to 36.1 million tonnes of ore grading 1.86% nickel. The project is owned by Solway Group through Guatemalan subsidiaries CGN (once called Eximbal) and Pronico.
The mine has contributed to over six decades of environmental conflict: initially implicated in violence during the Guatemalan civil war, and later becoming implicated in lawsuits and violence between 2009 and 2022. Local Mayan villagers say that the mine has polluted their water, damaged their crops, that they weren't properly consulted, and that they don't receive development benefits from the mine. The mining company and the government say that they follow all environmental laws, invest in local communities, and provide jobs.
A 2019 media investigation coordinated by French NGO Forbidden Stories found evidence in leaked documents that the mining company covered up pollution events, bribed community leaders to support the mine, and made payments to police and the military.
A protest in October 2021 resulted in a 30-day military enforced 'state of siege' in the area, raids on local homes and media outlets, and several arrests.
The Fenix project encompasses 250,000 square kilometers near the town of El Estor and adjacent to Guatemala's largest freshwater lake: Lake Izabal. The lake is an important breeding ground for endangered manatees. Local people rely on fish from the lake. The project area also includes protected areas and habitat for the endangered Yucatan black howler monkey.
The project and includes about 20 Mayan villages, some of which have complained about water shortages and crop failures.
Nickel from the mine is primarily exported to China or Europe to manufacture stainless steel.
Initial mining rights in the area were granted by military leaders following the US-backed 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. During the ensuing Guatemalan civil war, many Mayan people were massacred, and EXIMBAL mine security participated in this violence in 1978.
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Fenix Nickel Project
The Fenix nickel project, also known as El Estor mine, is an integrated mountain-top nickel mine and processing facility near El Estor in the Izabal Department of eastern Guatemala. The project consists of a cluster of several deposits with reserves amounting to 36.1 million tonnes of ore grading 1.86% nickel. The project is owned by Solway Group through Guatemalan subsidiaries CGN (once called Eximbal) and Pronico.
The mine has contributed to over six decades of environmental conflict: initially implicated in violence during the Guatemalan civil war, and later becoming implicated in lawsuits and violence between 2009 and 2022. Local Mayan villagers say that the mine has polluted their water, damaged their crops, that they weren't properly consulted, and that they don't receive development benefits from the mine. The mining company and the government say that they follow all environmental laws, invest in local communities, and provide jobs.
A 2019 media investigation coordinated by French NGO Forbidden Stories found evidence in leaked documents that the mining company covered up pollution events, bribed community leaders to support the mine, and made payments to police and the military.
A protest in October 2021 resulted in a 30-day military enforced 'state of siege' in the area, raids on local homes and media outlets, and several arrests.
The Fenix project encompasses 250,000 square kilometers near the town of El Estor and adjacent to Guatemala's largest freshwater lake: Lake Izabal. The lake is an important breeding ground for endangered manatees. Local people rely on fish from the lake. The project area also includes protected areas and habitat for the endangered Yucatan black howler monkey.
The project and includes about 20 Mayan villages, some of which have complained about water shortages and crop failures.
Nickel from the mine is primarily exported to China or Europe to manufacture stainless steel.
Initial mining rights in the area were granted by military leaders following the US-backed 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. During the ensuing Guatemalan civil war, many Mayan people were massacred, and EXIMBAL mine security participated in this violence in 1978.