| | |  Business News | December 2009 
Mexico Shuts Down Canadian Mine
 Shannon Montgomery - Canadian Press
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December 09, 2009
| | A banner of activist Mariano Abarca Roblero was left outside the Canadian embassy in Mexico City Dec. 3, 2009. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP) | |
Calgary – A Canadian mine in Mexico has been shut down over environmental concerns, while new details are emerging about how three men arrested in the death of a vocal anti-mining activist are connected to the Calgary firm.
The temporary closure of the Blackfire Exploration mine, revealed by a government official Tuesday, is another twist in a case some say symbolizes the anger of local people who feel Canadian companies are destroying their pristine ancestral land for profit.
"The reason this company has been closed down is due to building roads without authorization, causing pollution and toxic emissions, affecting the direction and flow of water sources, and changing the use of land without permission," said Carolina Ochoa of the Chiapas state Ministry of Environment.
Ochoa denied the mine's closure had anything to do with last month's slaying of anti-mining activist Mariano Abarca Roblero.
"They have to get certain approvals and permits," she said. "There are standards that have to be met."
Three men have been arrested in Abarca's death.
All are linked to Calgary-based Blackfire, said a document from the state's attorney general obtained Tuesday by The Canadian Press. Blackfire has condemned the activist's killing and a spokesman said the company was in no way involved.
The government document says witnesses have identified Jorge Carlos Sepulveda Calvo as the shooter and says this was confirmed by forensic tests. It also says Sepulveda worked as a driver for Blackfire on weekends.
The company had previously said Sepulveda hadn't worked for the company since June 6, 2008.
One of the other men arrested – Caralampio Lopez Vazquez – was allegedly identified as the driver of the motorcycle that helped the shooter escape.
The attorney general said Lopez worked as a driver and translator for one of Blackfire's executives.
Blackfire has admitted somebody by that name works for them, but has explained that since they haven't been notified of charges by police, they can't confirm it is the same person.
The role allegedly played by the third man arrested, Ricardo Antonio Coutino Velasco, was not revealed in the document. Coutino lent his services to the company to transport material in his truck.
The report says forensic testing revealed that four shots fired from a 9 mm calibre gun in Chicomuselo, a town in Chiapas, on Nov. 28 hit Abarca, striking him in the chest and neck.
No one at Blackfire would comment on the mine's closure or clarify the men's connection to the company.
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