New blockade affects Newmont Goldcorp's Peñasquito mine

Just three months after the last 80-day blockade that affected the Newmont-Goldcorp (NYSE: NEM) Peñasquito gold mine (TSX: NGT) in Mexico, employees of the trucking company leading the Protest with members of the Cedros community, once again prevent access to the mine located in the state of Zacatecas, in north-central.

Local media reported that on Saturday afternoon, about forty workers from the CAVA trucking company decided to rally again to pressure Peñasquito so that he engaged them. They also claimed that the miner did not recognize that his extractive activities are drying up the Cedros water well and damaging the environment.

The action was a surprise, however, just hours before the Vancouver-based company and state and federal authorities ad that everyone had agreed to end the blockade and that in exchange, Newmont-Goldcorp would pay approximately $ 2.9 million to the community of Los Cedros, withdraw criminal complaints against the blockers, rehired 19 dismissed workers relocated the services of four local agents. transport operators, build a pool, sports fields and a park for the community, develop a water management plan that takes into account the concerns of the population regarding the use of the local aquifer, the construction and maintenance of the community. operation of permanent water infrastructure to replace existing facilities, among other commitments.

But facing the new blockade, Sunday afternoon, the miner announced that he was temporarily suspending his operations in Peñasquito.

"The company remains willing to continue discussions in good faith and will be available to resume dialogue once other parties recognize that their interests are best served by a return to government-sponsored discussions and not by illegal and unproductive blockages that harming local communities, "a statement released by Newmont-Goldcorp reads. "In order to ensure the safety of people, assets and the long-term viability of Peñasquito, the Company has temporarily suspended its activities as long as the illegal blockade persists."

Jose Narro Cespedes, Senator of Zacatecas and belonging to the ruling Morena party in Mexico, also published a declaration beggar for the urgent installation of a new negotiating table.

Some 6,500 direct and 20,000 indirect workers were affected by activist actions this year. Peñasquito was unable to resume delivery until mid-June, after being forced to cease operations in April.

Peñasquito is an open pit mine that produced 272,000 ounces of gold last year, representing about 17% of the net asset value of the combined company, according to Scotiabank.