Goldcorp answers allegations

Enviromine

Publishing Date: 07 Jul 2010 4:12pm GMT
Author: Mining, People and the Environment

Health and Safety Corporate Social Responsibility CSR Sustainability

Goldcorp Inc has said that allegations of pollution from its Marlin gold mine in Guatemala are entirely without merit.

The mining company was responding to a request from the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to the
Guatemalan government to suspend the Marlin operation.

The company said: “Goldcorp believes the IACHR’s action is based on environmental allegations that are entirely without merit.”

Chief executive Chuck Jeannes said: “The existing scientific data and analysis clearly demonstrate no pollution or ill effects to health as a result of the mine’s presence.”

Goldcorp said the IACHR had based its request on what it understood to be “grave and imminent threats to the environment and health of local communities”.

The firm countered that it believed any suspension to the operation would “directly and adversely impact the human right to work, earn a living, to personal health, and to the education of mine employees and members of nearby communities”.

The mine currently employs more than 1,900 people, of whom 64% are Mayan indigenous residents.

In 2008 the company began an independent human rights impact assessment at the mine in response to a shareholder resolution voicing concerns about previous allegations of human rights abuse. The inital findings and Goldcorp's reponse to the report have now been released.

Goldcorp said it was committed to "begin a comprehensive process of developing and implementing business management practices that will ensure 'broader due dilligance for human rights'".

In the report, the company acknoweldged that it "does not, and can not, have all the answers as to how best to effect the changes needed" to enable it to consistently operate with respect to human rights, but said that it looked forward to "deeper engageent with all stakeholders".

Goldcorp added that the human rights assessment recoginsed that it had enhanced human rights in specific areas, such as health and safety, but noted opportunities for improvements that could be achieved through a broader change in policy.

"While the implementation of industry best practices at Marlin is the immediate objective, we are undertaking this process with the goal of creating a comprehensive framework that addresses our activities everywhere we operate," Mr Jeannes said.