Caritas says Canadian mining company pollutes groundwater in Honduras

Published: 2004-04-14

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (CNS) -- A Canadian-operated gold mine is polluting the groundwater in a Honduran valley, putting the environment and the lives of thousands of rural peasants at risk, Caritas has charged. According to a study sponsored by Caritas, an aid and development agency of the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa, samples of water and river sediments in the Siria Valley show higher-than-permitted levels of mercury and arsenic. The group released its report at a press conference in late March. The sampling, conducted in November by a team of Honduran scientists, was carried out around the operations of Entre Mares, a subsidiary of Glamis Gold, a Canadian company. Officials at Entre Mares granted permission for the scientists to enter company property. Michael Steeves, vice president of investor relations for Glamis, said he was not familiar with the report, but said Glamis used the "highest of North American standards regardless of what is required in an individual country."

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