Goldcorp urged to clean up closing mine

Goldcorp has been urged by catholic aid agencies CAFOD and Development...

Goldcorp has been urged by catholic aid agencies CAFOD and Development & Peace to ensure that its San Martin mine in Honduras avoids potential environmental impact at the end of its life. The mine is due to close at the end of the year.According to CAFOD, the mine in the Siria Valley is the largest opencast gold mine in the country, and the group said it had the potential to turn into "an environmental disaster" with arsenic and cyanide entering water courses. The group alleged that some of the local population have already been suffering health impacts, such as skin conditions.Sonya Maldar, CAFOD’s extractives policy analyst said: "Despite repeatedly raising our concerns with Goldcorp, and on the basis of the evidence we’ve seen, the company has yet to live up to its social and environmental responsibilities at San Martin."Goldcorp has responded that the mine has brought benefits to the local population through economic opportunities that had not existed before. The company told the Business and Human Rights Centre: "The presence of the mine has had no effect on the quantity or quality of the water in the area of the San Martin mine. In fact, the mine has routinely assisted in providing water to the communities during the regular annual dry season."