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26 November 2015 | News | Resisting neoliberalism | Extractive industries
Court sentences payment of 6 million dollars in compensation for environmental damage caused by mining company in Costa Rica
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The repair of environmental damage caused by the activity of Crucitas mine, in Cutris de San Carlos will cost 6.4 million dollars. The compensation should be paid jointly by Industrias Infinito mining company, the State and the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac) as established by the Tribunal.
This sentence was made public five years after the ruling that overthrew the concession granted by the State to the mining company for considering it was established in an irregular way. Canadian Industrias Infinito intended to extract 800,000 ounces of gold from the mine.
"This is evidence of how late justice takes to come in Costa Rica", said Edgardo Araya, one of the lawyers of the plaintiffs and current MP for the Frente Amplio Party.
It seems that there are no more representatives of the company in the country and it remains unclear with which capital the debt will be paid.
According to the ruling, the repair should be carried out as established by a study conducted by experts. Also, due to the fact that Infinito sold the lands in Cutris, the new owners should allow for the necessary works.
The payment for damages should be made six months after the ruling becomes definitive as established by the Court.
The arbitration lawsuit filed by Infinito in the US is still pending after being suspended due to the financial problems of the company itself in Canada.
