After years of deliberation, public debate and protest, Costa Rica’s National Assembly this month issued a rare unanimous vote in favor of a bill prohibiting open-pit gold mining. The legislation, expected to be signed into law soon by President Laura Chinchilla, also outlaws the use of cyanide and mercury in all mining activity. Open-pit mining involves extraction of metals from an exposed hole, or borrow, in the earth, and often entails the use of toxic chemicals to extract minerals from ore. The issue has been at the center of national politics in Costa Rica since 2009, when then President Oscar Arias declared the Crucitas open pit gold mine proposal by the Canadian company Infinito Gold to be of “national interest.” The announcement by... [Log in to read more]