Costa Rica News – Get ready for a billion dollar showdown in Costa Rica, as a Calgary-based mining company made an announcement that they plan to sue the whole country. Residents are extremely angry, saying that their sovereignty is being infringed upon.
Infinito Gold was hoping to run an open-pit gold mine in northern Costa Rica, in Crucitas. The company says it “completed all the environmental, social, and technical studies and obtained all approvals required under Costa Rican law to develop and operate the Las Crucitas Project.”
The project was held up after irregularities in the approval process were found in court. The mine’s approval was declared illegal. Otto Mendez fought against the mining project. He said, “It took a lot of effort. It took a lot of people and a lot of money.”
The company will take the country to international arbitration. It has already served notice of the massive suit, one of the biggest in Costa Rica’s history. The issue, according to the company, it that Costa Rica is violating trade agreements with Canada. They have already invested $92 million in this project worth $1 billion in profits. Some argue that the international arbitration system is tainted and others point out that the thought of losing a billion dollars to Canada is worrisome.
CRT Editor’s Thoughts on This Lawsuit
Infinito Gold can kiss their money goodbye for a long time and probably. This will be held up in the legal process for years. Costa Rica will most likely forge fake documents that show that they never granted ownership legally to Infinito. The Costa Rican government has the ability to rig the outcome of this arbitration with corrupt practices.
While I do not agree with the destruction of the Costa Rican environment that would have occurred from this project, I do not think that Infinito will see their money again. I do not know many governments that have lost lawsuits.
