Due to “unforeseen difficulties due to economic sanctions” imposed by the United States, two subsidiaries in Guatemala of the Swiss mining group Solway Investment Group -Compania Guatemalteca de Niquel (CGN) and Compania Procesadora de Niquel de Izabal (PRONICO) – have been forced to “temporarily suspend their activities” in the nickel sector, announces a press release from the group.
On November 28, 2022, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions for “corruption” and “influence peddling” on a Russian considered to be the leader of the Swiss group, as well as on a Belarusian and three companies operating in the mining sector in Guatemala.
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Part of the staff maintained
A request to US authorities for a “temporary license for certain transactions” has not received a response, says Solway Investment Group. For its part, the Guatemalan government has not renewed the export permits of the two subsidiaries of the Swiss group.
Part of the staff will be retained to “ensure the effective control of environmental risks, safety and conservation of the existing infrastructure”, according to the press release.
Read again: In Guatemala, controversy over a Swiss mining group
Both companies operate in El Estor and Los Amates, in the Caribbean region, 320 km northeast of the capital. Indigenous Maya oppose mining in this area and clashes with police have resulted in deaths and injuries while environmental activists have been imprisoned.