Canadian mining company Goldcorp Inc. has agreed to conduct an independent human rights impact assessment in Guatemala at the request of Canadian and Swedish shareholders.

The announcement was made April 24 by the investor group, which includes the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) Staff Pension Fund, The Ethical Funds Company, The First Swedish National Pension Fund and The Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund.

The company has faced criticism regarding the environmental and human rights impacts of its mining operations.  The investors said in their statement that the intention of the assessment it is to provide the company with concrete recommendations regarding its implementation of practices, policies and procedures, and the impact of its operations on human rights.

In spite of Goldcorp's agreement to implement the assessment, Jantzi Research Inc. announced April 30 that it would remove Goldcorp from the Jantzi Social Index, and replace it with Potash Corp.  Jantzi Research said the decision was made on the basis of three factors: growing opposition from local indigenous communities to Goldcorp's Marlin mine in Guatemala; the company's " inadequate" response to local health concerns associated with its operations in Honduras; and the company's poor environmental compliance record, which Jantzi estimates to be the highest environmental fine total among mining companies on the TSX Composite Index.  At the same time, Jantzi said that Potash has improved its environmental, social and governance performance, citing a commitment by the company to address the environmental impact of its phosphate operations.

In commenting on the agreement with Goldcorp to implement the human rights impact assessment, the investors stated that a steering committee of company, shareholder and stakeholder representatives will oversee the assessment and develop a plan for implementing recommendations.  The investors have been in dialogue with the company for more than two years, and conducted a field trip to the Marlin mine in February, meeting with NGOs, indigenous people, government authorities and company representatives.  The trip culminated in a shareholder resolution submitted to the company.

"By taking on the Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA), Goldcorp is behaving responsibly and responding to the concerns raised by local stakeholders in Guatemala, " said Bill Brassington of the PSAC Staff Pension Fund.  " Goldcorp is also setting a standard for others in the mining industry-for which they should be commended."

For more information, visit

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2008/24/c9323.html and http://www.jantzisocialindex.com/index.asp?section=9&level_2=0&level_3=0&pr_id=151.

Back to news and archives