Canadian company Aura Minerals said on Tuesday that it did not expect Honduras’ announcement that it would prohibit openpit mining to have an immediate impact on production at its San Andres gold mine.
The company stated, however, that it was working to better understand the implications of the Honduran Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, Environment and Mines’ press release, which not only declared Honduran territory free of openpit mining, but also stated that the approval of permits for exploitation will be cancelled, because they limit access to water as a human right.
Honduras’ government described the industry as harmful and added that natural areas with "high ecological value" will be preserved, without going into further detail.