Pacific Rim Mining Corporation announced his morning that it has filed a Notice of Intent to seek CAFTA (Central American Free Trade Agreement) arbitration against the Salvadoran government for prohibiting the company to mine in El Salvador. Pacific Rim says that the Salvadoran government's failure to issue exploration and exploitation permits to the company has cost the company significant financial losses. Pacific Rim argues that because it has invested over $75 million in El Salvador, the company is entitled to the mining permits.Tom Shrake, President and CEO of Pacific Rim stated, "It is with deep regreat that we must now pursue our legal rights through the initiation of a CAFTA action and we intend to pursue these rights vigorously. He also added, "Sadly, it is not just Pacific Rim whose rights are being compromised, but the rights of all Salvadoran and foreign investors. Local communities and social and environmental agencies are being denied the benefits of our community programs."
The Salvadoran government and Pacific Rim have 90 days after the filing of the NOI to resolve the matter under CAFTA rules.
CONFERENCE CALL
Pacific Rim is hosting a conference call TODAY to discuss the details of their action. The conference call starts at 11:00 am (EST) and is open to all interested parties. For those who missed the call, a replay will be available from 3 hours after its original completion until December 16, 2008. For those calling from the US or Canada, call toll-free 1-800-406-7325. For those calling from other countries, call 1-303-590-3030. The access code to listen is 3952530.
Click here to read the full article.
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Note - Pacific Rim's announcement comes just days after dozens of Salvadorans staged Pacific Rim's "funeral" in San Salvador. Check out the article from the Institute for Policy Studies.
- Sara Skinner, US Grassroots Coordinator
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