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President Nayib Bukele: “God has placed great treasures at our feet.”
Posted by Leslie Eastman
Back in 2017, El Salvador became the first country in the world to commit economic suicide by banning potential development and utilization of its national resources.
Now, under President Nayib Bukele, the country is looking to turn things around.
The move by Bukele's predecessor, former left-wing rebel Salvador Sánchez Cerén, reflects the growing rejection by rural communities in Central America of a mining industry that has been devastated by the industry's adverse effects on health and the environment.
Costa Rica and Honduras both ban open-pit mining, and Panama last year announced a moratorium on new mining concessions after massive protests over plans for a massive copper mine.
According to Bukele, El Salvador may have approximately $3 trillion worth of untapped gold reserves, accounting for approximately 8,800% of the country's current GDP.
In a series of posts on social media platform
According to preliminary research cited by the president, El Salvador's gold reserves could be worth a staggering $3 trillion, equivalent to more than 8,800% of the country's current GDP. Bukele believes that mining just 4% of the country's gold mines could generate $131 billion in revenue, equivalent to 380% of current GDP.
Translation: God has placed a huge treasure beneath our feet: El Salvador may have the highest density of gold per square kilometer in the world. Located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is one of the richest areas in mineral resources due to volcanic activity.
But it's not just gold that matters. Research has found the presence of several key metals and rare earth minerals: cobalt, lithium, nickel, platinum, iridium, titanium and germanium.
Good news: He has the votes to repeal this stupid legislation.
According to the EFE news agency, on December 1, Bukele announced that in addition to gold mines, El Salvador also contains “metals of the fourth and fifth industrial revolutions.” The president said research has identified cobalt, lithium, nickel and “rare earth elements used in advanced electronics,” as well as platinum, iridium, tantalum, titanium, gallium and germanium, among others.
The president's liberal, populist and reformist party New Idea has the votes needed to repeal the mining ban at any time.
“We need to develop our natural resources responsibly, like every country in the world,” Bukele said. He cited the examples of countries such as Qatar, Israel, Canada and Switzerland, and reiterated that “no country has done anything as stupid as banning mining.”
Many of the reports cited gallium, a rare metal that has broader uses in electronics. But more importantly, the metal is also needed in thin-film solar cells, wind turbines and power converters for electric vehicles.
In other words, gallium is vital to green energy, a fact apparently underestimated by eco-activists, who are unhappy with this potential policy reversal.
These findings and policy reversals could not have come at a better time. Since China now bans imports of rare earth minerals into the country, expanding our supply chain would be a good thing.
Of course, environmentalists are not happy:
This week, Bukele doubled down on his proposals, and his critics were quick to respond. They are concerned that reopening mining could contaminate water supplies, especially given the amount of fresh water required for mining operations and the risks posed by heavy metals used in the mining process.
“The president claims that 'responsible mining' is possible, but there is no evidence to support this claim,” Pedro Cabezas, a member of the Central American Anti-Mining Alliance (ACAFREMIN), told Newsweek. “All examples of 'responsible mining' have had serious consequences. The impact in El Salvador will be dire,” he warned.
But Bukele makes a compelling argument: A richer country is a cleaner country.
“I understand the concern. 95 percent of El Salvador's waters are polluted. Imagine if we polluted them further; we would end up with 97, 98 percent pollution. The reality is that when 95 percent of the rivers are polluted, you Instead of focusing on saving the remaining 5%, we should focus on recovering the 95% lost,” Bukele said on Thursday. “If 95 percent of our rivers stay clean, then we can focus on maintaining the status quo.”
“The only thing we can do is invest billions of dollars to clean up polluted waters. In order to have these billions of dollars, we need resources that can be easily obtained from mining,” according to El Salvador’s daily newspaper.
I think Trump should make sure Bukele gets a front row seat at his inauguration.
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