A social and environmental impact assessment of the Crucitas gold mining project in Costa Rica

Abstract

In 2008 Costa Rica was facing a critical time in its history. A five year mining moratorium had just ended and mining companies were interested in exploring untapped resources in the country. The country was facing important decisions with which development path to take. The Crucitas Mining Project (CMP) was an issue that the whole country had an opinion on; in fact the Constitutional Court of Costa Rica (SALA IV) was debating what to do with the CMP. The purpose of this study was to assist decision makers by providing a well-rounded assessment of the impacts the CMP would have. The goal of this study was to evaluate whether it would be better for Costa Rica to let the mining operation continue or shut it down permanently.

This study is a social and environmental impact assessment of the CMP. The conceptual framework for integrating social and environmental impacts developed by Slootweg et al. (2001) was used to guide the discussion. Multiple data sources were used to get a well-rounded understanding of the issues surrounding the CMP. These data sources include literary sources, mining documents, participant observation and interviews with a wide variety of stakeholders impacted by the project. Interviewees include government officials, university professors, mine personnel and local community members.

After evaluating the social, environmental and economic impacts of the CMP it became evident that even though there would be benefits from allowing the CMP to continue, the risks simply outweighed the potential rewards. The location of the CMP, in the humid tropics, coupled with its close proximity to Nicaragua made the CMP very risky. This study concluded that the precautionary principle should be applied and the CMP should be permanently closed.