Carlos Slim Gets Green Light for Gold Exploration, Despite Local Opposition Dolia Estevez - Forbes
go to original October 15, 2013

In recent years, Slim has increased his mining assets and is planning a significant expansion in the short term. (Reuters)

Minera Frisco, controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, has been given the green light to search for gold in Mexico. In a controversial decision, Mexico's Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) approved an environmental study last week authorizing Frisco's Las Espejeras mine to conduct gold exploration activities. The October 3 authorization, which does not include gold extraction, will last two years and begin this month.

The mine suspended gold exploration last February when workers abandoned the site as a result of mounting protests by locals and environmentalists. The population of Tetela de Ocampo, where Las Espejeras is located in the mountains of Mexico's east-central state of Puebla, strongly opposed the project, according to a poll conducted by Commission for Dialogue with Indigenous Peoples, a newly createdgovernmental body designed to settle disputes with local communities.

Tetela hacia el Futuro (Tetela Towards the Future), a grass-roots group that was formed to oppose Las Espejeras mining, expressed "surprise and outrage"atSemarnat's environmental approval. The group accused the Mexican government of ignoring the local population's concerns. Academic and environmental reports have documented that exploration at Las Espejeras "represents a threat to biodiversity and the social fabric," the group said, and warned against "devastating consequences" for the environment and quality of life if it is allowed to continue.

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