In September of last year we told you about a foreign company's plan to mine 15,000 acres on a nearby estate known as White Ridge.
The plan is spearheaded by an American mining company known as Vulcan Materials Company. They say they are "exploring the feasibility of creating The White Ridge Project, an environmentally and socially sustainable limestone quarry, on the White Ridge Farm property near Gales Point, Belize."
They promise employment, trade with the US and economic benefits to Belize.
Sounds good enough, but there's been significant pushback from the Gales Point community - which we aired in our story last year. And, underscoring that this week is Aquatic Ecologist, Dr. Ed Boles - a Belizean citizen who says Vulcan intends to, quote, "blast, pulverize, and ship Sugar Hills, a limestone formation, to the southeastern US for use as road fill."
Now, we stress that is his take and Vulcan has a very different narrative which they have put out there. But, today we had a chance to speak with the Minister of Natural Rescues who is responsible for mining. Courtney Menzies has his remarks, with some background:
Ever since the residents of Gales Point Manatee discovered that a multi-billion dollar mining company in the US had set their sights on White Ridge Farm, located across the lagoon from the village, they've been fearing that this project will ruin their pristine village. And they haven't been silent about it either - just last year, many of them told our cameras their fears for the only little community in the country rich with Creole culture. And though Vulcan Materials Company has said repeatedly on their website that their projects are environmentally friendly, the residents aren't buying it and prefer to be safe rather than sorry. Especially since the Mexican Government has had to shut down Vulcan's Calica Mine south of Playa del Carmen due to havoc it was wreaking on their environment. And with that information, along with the villager's staunch opposition to the project, the Minister of Natural Resources says the decision is easy: no mine license for Vulcan.
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"The residents from Gales Point Manatee have made it absolutely clear to the government, that they don't want that kind of activity in their neck of the woods, absolutely clear for the longest time, at least I can remember since we've been in government and I can imagine it even from before, they've been clamoring and making that statement and if we're a government of the people, by the people, for the people, then we have to listen to our people so that's a no go for us really."
Courtney Menzies
"But they bought the land, so how do you stop them?"
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"Yeah but they didn't get any commitment from us before buying the land, it's a private sector deal I would imagine, they didn't buy the land on a condition that they would get a license to mine, we didn't give any such commitment, at least I didn't, so…"
Reporter
"So you're saying at this point, they're in the country to try and set up an operation but the government simply is not going to approve it?"
Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources
"No, we're not having that."
The next move now is for Vulcan. On their White Ridge website, they say that they have been conducting geologic and economic studies, and that they would have made a decision on whether to move forward with the project in mid-2022.
We asked Vulcan for comment on that very clear no today and the company sent out this statement an hour ago.
It says, quote, "If we purchase the White Ridge Farm property, the Vulcan White Ridge Project is going to undergo a rigorous and scientifically thorough EIA, conducted to World Bank standards and consistent with all Belizean regulations. Our hope is that this project will then be reviewed for approval, as is consistent with the standards and procedures set forward by the Belizean government and regulatory agencies. We're proud of our work to bring economic benefits and growth to the communities where we operate. We're hoping to do the same here in Belize." End quote.
We'll keep following this story tomorrow.
