Environmentalists, indigenous groups and the government itself are seeking changes in Guatemalan mining policy as tensions mount over the country’s attempts to build a metal mining industry. Last month, a congressional committee proposed changes to Guatemala’s seven-year-old mining law. And this month, three public forums on mining were held—one of them organized by the government and the other two by critics of the country’s mining plans. The activity stems largely from a conflict in Guatemala’s San Marcos department, where Montana Exploradora, a subsidiary of Canadian-owned Glamis Gold, is set to begin production at its Marlin mine, Guatemala’s first modern-day gold mine. A recent poll commissioned by the Guatemalan daily Prensa Libre and conducted by the research firm Vox Latina found... [Log in to read more]