Controversial gold mining project in Costa Rica: Out of Crucitas!
Your Excellency
Mrs. Laura Chinchilla Miranda
President of the Republic of Costa Rica
Minister of Environment and Energy, Mr. Teófilo de la Torre Argüello
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Rene Castro Salazar
Dear Madam President:
In the most respectful way, I request your repeal of Presidential Decree 34 801-MINAET, issued during the previous Arias Sanchez administration, which declared of national interest (public utility) the Crucitas Mining Project for open-pit gold exploration using cyanide leaching.
It is well known that open-pit gold mining with cyanide leaching is one of the most destructive industrial activities there are. It is therefore not accidental that this past May 5 th, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the general prohibition of the use of technologies based on cyanide mining. This resolution calls upon Member States to not support, directly or indirectly, any mining project that employs technologies based on cyanide mining, or support projects of this kind in third countries (for more information, follow this link).
I know of your commitment and political will to reach an alternative development model for Costa Rica. I also share the concerns expressed in your inaugural speech as President of Costa Rica on May 8th, about the fracture of the alliance between man and nature and the need to work for a greener and cleaner planet. I agree with you in your quest for a “more innovative and intelligent” economic model, a model in which, I think, the open-pit gold mining with cyanide leaching has no place in any way.
I have seen with great satisfaction that your very first decree as president “declares a national moratorium for an indefinite period on the activity of gold metal mining in the national territory, understood as the exploration, exploitation, and the benefit of materials extracted using cyanide or mercury”. I believe it is a visionary and courageous act, which must be supplemented by a ban on such activity expressed through a law and by not authorising the continuation of the Crucitas mining project. The world‘s public opinion turns its eyes once more on Costa Rica. As environmentalist and citizen of the world, I believe that a determined attitude on your part, stopping the Crucitas gold project, will bring great prestige worldwide.