By Lyndsey Kelly
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
MEXICO CITY, Mexico – On 21 September, Mexican authorities issued an alert concerning a toxic spill into a river due to a copper mine run by the company Grupo Mexico. Grupo Mexico operates a $1 billon a year Buenavista mine in Cananea, Sonora, which produces nearly 200,000 tons of copper.
The chemical, which is used to dissolve copper from ore, turned a 60km stretch of Sonora River the color orange. The spillage caused the authorities to shut down the municipal water supply to seven towns, affecting more than 20,000 people. Officials in the northern state of Sonora also asked that citizens to not use any water from the Bacanuchi River.
Carlos Arias, the civil protection director for the border state of Sonora, stated that his department is taking measures to ensure people and livestock do not come in contact with the water until it can be tested. The Sonora state civil protection agency said it would end its relationship with Grupo Mexico, due to the company’s continuing discharge of toxic substances into the water supply. The recent spill comes jut weeks after a spill of 40,000 cubic meters.
On 6 August, two rivers were contaminated by a spill due to the mining giant, causing thousand of residents to be left without clean water. The spill was recorded as the worst environmental disaster in Mexican history by a mining industry. The contamination forced authorities to shut down hundreds of water wells and distribute millions of liters of water in trucks. At least five individuals sought medical attention after coming into contact with the polluted water.
More than a quarter of Mexico’s mining activity is located in the north-western region. Thus making it Mexico’s top producer of gold, copper and graphite. Grupo Mexico reached an agreement with the Mexican Government, in which Grupo would create a trust to pay for all environmental damage caused by toxic spills. The company has since set up a $150 million trust.
For more information, please see the following:
ABC NEWS – Western Mexico State Reports New Mine Spill -21 Sept. 2014
BBC – Mexico’s Sonora State Reports New Mine Spill – 21 Sept. 2014.
BLOOMBERG – Grupo Mexico Spill Sparks Scrutiny of $150 Million Cleanup – 17 Sept. 2014.
WALL STREET JOURNAL – Grupo Mexico To Set Aside $150 Million for Mine Spill Cleanup – 11 Sept. 2014.
