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Topics: Science, World News, Environment
Lucy Devine
President Nayib Bukele has claimed that El Salvador is sitting on $3,000,000,000,000 of unmined gold.
Bukele has revealed plans to submit a proposal to the Legislative Assembly, in order to 'repeal the mining prohibition' within the country that has been in place for the last seven years.
Salvador Sanchez Ceren implemented the ban of mining metals both above and below ground in El Salvador back in 2017, with concerns over the effects of harmful chemicals that are used in the process.
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But seven years on from the ban and Bukele is in favor of ending the restriction, calling it 'absurd' following claims that the country is sitting on trillions of dollars worth of gold and other metals.
"A few days ago we announced that we would submit a proposal to the Legislative Assembly to repeal the mining prohibition in El Salvador," Bukele announced last week.
"El Salvador potentially has three trillion dollars, make no mistake its not billions, it's trillions, three million million dollars in gold alone.
"We've also found gallium, tantalum, tin and many other materials needed for the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions.
"The gold is only... the potential gold is only one part of it, and it isn't even the most valuable.
"And if we do it responsibly, and make responsible use as many countries already do, making responsible use of their natural resources, such as Norway for example... that will allow us to invest in recovering our rivers, our lakes, our forests and reforesting."
But the plans haven't been well received by those concerned over the amount of water that would be required for mining the metals and the potential health implications.
Bukele said the mining would be done 'responsibly', but Amalia López, of the Alliance Against the Privatization of Water, said: “It’s not true that there’s green mining, it’s paid for with lives, kidney, respiratory problems and leukemia that aren’t immediate."
However, Bukele has argued that mining the metals would transform their economy 'overnight' and provide the country with the funds to de-contaminate their lakes and rivers, as well as providing employment opportunities.
However, economist Carlos Acevedo, former president of the Central Bank of El Salvador, also spoke about the huge amount of gold discussed by Bukele.
He told France24 that there wasn't a 'recipe for generating growth from one day to the next' and that it would depend on the royalties paid by mining companies.