El Salvador faces multiple challenges and environmental threats that would be exacerbated by large scale industrial mining. On Mar. 29, 2017, El Salvador’s legislature voted unanimously to prohibit all metals mining in order to save its rivers and water.
President Nayib Bukele’s reversal today of this historic legislation, to promote what he calls “sustainable mining,” aggravates environmental risks already posed by his extractive economic agenda, will increase El Salvador’s risk of environmental contamination, human rights violations, and public health concerns, and will have an adverse economic impact on important industries like agriculture and tourism. El Salvador cannot mine its way to clean water, healthy communities, and sustainable livelihoods. It is a contradiction in terms.
When El Salvador’s legislature voted unanimously to prohibit all metals mining in order to save its rivers and water, here are the main reasons why. They remain as true in 2024 as in 2017.
One: Residents of affected areas spoke out against gold mining. A 2015 poll commissioned by the Jesuit-run Central American University found that four in five Salvadorans living in areas affected by mining projects opposed gold mining in their communities. Additionally, five municipalities in the departments of Chalatenago and Cabañas held local referenda based on binding procedures established by the Municipal Code of El Salvador to designate their jurisdictions as mining-free territories.
Two: According to polls, most Salvadorans also reject gold mining. A recent poll by the Public Opinion Institute at Central American University (IUDOP) reveals that 59 percent of the Salvadoran population believes the country is not suited to the mining industry. On Mar. 29, 2017, the Salvadoran legislature voted unanimously, 70-0, to prohibit all metals mining, including members from all political parties in the legislature.
Three: Overuse of precious water in mining. El Salvador’s gold is incredibly fine —not the big nuggets of popular lore— and it takes vast quantities of water to separate the gold from the surrounding rock. Estimates show that gold mines use between 6,937 and 18,000 liters of water per ounce of gold produced. El Salvador has the lowest per capita water resources in Central America, and among the lowest in the entire hemisphere; gold mining threatens both the quantity and quality of the water supply.
Four: Only one major watershed. El Salvador has one major watershed, the Lempa River, which supplies water to over half of the households in the country. The Lempa winds through the countryside where gold deposits are located. A major 2005 technical report on the feasibility of mining in El Salvador, known as the Moran Report, pointed out the problems of mining along the Lempa. Robert Moran raised concerns about earthquakes and hurricanes in the Lempa watershed compromising the “tailings ponds” where the toxic waste from mining is stored, thus contaminating the watershed.
Five: Cyanide. 90 percent of industrial gold mining operations use cyanide; mining in El Salvador will likely depend on cyanide to be profitable. Cyanide poses significant dangers to water, soil, and life, primarily due to its extreme toxicity. It can rapidly kill aquatic life, contaminate drinking water sources, and harm soil organisms. Even at low concentrations, cyanide can impact entire ecosystems if released into the environment. Salvadoran community leaders confirmed these effects after a visit to the San Martín mine in Honduras in the early 2000s: They came home with stories of rivers poisoned by cyanide, dying fish and skin diseases, displaced communities, and denuded forests.
Six: Acid Mine Drainage. One of the longest operating gold mines in El Salvador was the San Sebastián mine in the La Unión department. Even though there has been no mining there for decades, the spring water that emerges below the mine remains a rusty orange, emptying into a lifeless stream, as a result of “acid mine drainage.” Acid mine drainage is extremely common because there are sulfides in the rocks, along with the gold, that when exposed to the air and rain convert into sulfuric acid. With each rainfall, they release other substances found in the rocks, including harmful metals and metalloids like arsenic. Once the process of acid mine drainage starts, it’s impossible to stop, which is one of the main reasons why 40 percent of the headwaters in the western United States are still polluted from mining activities.
Seven: Gold mining waste is risky. Gold mining is essentially toxic waste management. Gold has the highest rock to metal ratio of any metal: about 3,000,000-to-1. This means that for every three metric tons of rock moved and processed, only one gram of gold is produced. Such massive volumes of waste along the Lempa River would be alarming because, as research shows, tailings dams are failing with increasing severity and frequency.
Eight: Experts say much, if not all, of El Salvador should be off-limits to mining. In 2014, an expert panel, known as the Blue Ribbon Commission, released recommendations to the Salvadoran government that mining should only occur in specific areas and with increased regulation. One of the leading members, Robert Goodland, proposed “no-go zones” for mining in areas prone to earthquakes and hurricanes, and none in areas with rich biodiversity or fragile watersheds. That would comprise most if not all of the country. Thus, deliberations about this led experts to recommend a total mining ban, as passed into law in 2017.
Nine: There is no such thing as sustainable mining. President Bukele has said that he wants only “sustainable mining”. Mining is inherently unsustainable: It is destructive to the environment, its potential contributions to human well-being are unequal, and its short-term benefits are dwarfed by the long-term social and economic damage it inevitably inflicts. This has led to a global backlash against the industry; not only El Salvador, but other countries, like neighboring Costa Rica, have also halted certain types of mining. The mining company that attempted to mine in El Salvador, OceanaGold, made the same pledge of sustainability before the 2017 mining ban, but Philippine governor Carlos Padilla testified to the Salvadoran legislature with pictures of dead trees lining the tailings pond and other environmental horrors that spread from the company’s Philippine mine. He also delineated the lack of economic benefits.
Ten: Mining will hurt agriculture and tourism. El Salvador’s rural economy depends heavily on subsistence agriculture and local tourism. Both will be harmed by the contamination of rivers, air and soil that come with mining.
Eleven: El Salvador can’t afford the destruction caused by mining. Mining companies have an abysmal track record of acknowledging and predicting their harmful impacts. While most mining projects lay out plans to avoid long-term water contamination during operations, studies find that the majority of mining companies —76 percent— were unable to accurately predict whether their operations will pollute groundwater or surface water. Mining companies also have a long neglectful history of abandoning mines to avoid paying for cleanup. The U.S. government estimates it needs over $50 billion in the United States to clean up the half-million abandoned mines across the country. The government of El Salvador —that is, its taxpayers— cannot afford to clean up after irresponsible mining companies.
Twelve: Mining increases conflict and violence. In their visits to Honduran mines, Salvadorans witnessed the corruption and conflict that come with mining as companies buy off local officials and spread financial favors. In 2009, three water defenders were assassinated near the sites where OceanaGold’s predecessor proposed its mines in El Salvador. Globally, in 2023, mining was the sector responsible for the most murders of environmental defenders. A shocking 25 defenders were documented to have been killed due to their opposition to mining operations — and the true number is undoubtedly higher. In Central America, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua are often in the top ten list of countries with the most violations against environmental defenders.
Thirteen: Most gold is not used in industry. Nearly all gold is either used in jewelry or stored in central bank reserves. Only ten percent of mined gold goes to business and technology, whereas 30 to 40 percent goes to banks and investments, and fifty to sixty percent goes to jewelry. For every new gold engagement ring produced, gold mining produces more than 20 tons of contaminated waste.
Fourteen: Mining companies have special rights to sue governments in supranational tribunals. El Salvador has been sued by mining companies twice at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank, and endured costly and painful litigations in defending itself for the right to protect its water. El Salvador heroically prevailed in both cases. Mining companies increasingly use the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. There are 123 known suits from mining companies demonstrating that not only El Salvador, but governments all over the world are opposing their destructive practices. El Salvador must avoid falling into this trap again.
Fifteen: Two Salvadoran archbishops and the Catholic Church rejected mining. The former and current Archbishops of San Salvador, Fernando Sáenz Lacalle and José Luis Escobar Alas, both spoke eloquently about the dangers of cyanide in mining and advocated for the prohibition of mining. Archbishop Escobar Alas, the Bishop’s Conference of El Salvador and the Central American Bishops Conference have all expressed concerns about Bukele’s intention to revert the mining prohibition.
Robin Broad is a Research Professor at American University. John Cavanagh is a Senior Advisor at the Institute for Policy Studies. Jan Morrill is the Tailings Campaign Manager at Earthworks. Manuel Perez Rocha directs the Trade and Mining Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.
