By Tom Johnson 10-15-09

More problems for the indigenous…

(Reuters article by Sarah Grainger)

A long-running land dispute between local residents and a foreign-owned nickel mine in Guatemala exploded in violence over the weekend, leaving one man dead and thirteen others injured, police said on Monday.

The latest trouble broke out on Sunday when a fight broke out between security guards and local residents protesting their expulsion from the property of the mothballed mine, which is owned by the CGN subsidiary of Canada’s HudBay Minerals (HBM.TO).

Police said one man was killed and another eight were wounded by gunfire. Five security guards were wounded by machetes and several buildings at the mine were damaged in the fighting, CGN said.

A spokeswoman for CGN said the company’s security guards did not carry live ammunition and were forbidden from using their weapons.

Police reported that their barracks were raided during the disturbance and three AK-47’s were stolen.

HudBay acquired the mine, which originally opened in 1977, last year, said earlier this month it would consider reopening the mine if nickel prices continue to improve. The mine has been shut since the ‘eighties and could cost up to $1 billion to reopen.

The mine’s previous owner faced extensive opposition to its plans to reopen the mine earlier this decade due to the land dispute. Local residents burned down a hospital and community relations office in 2004 in protest when plans to reopen the facility were announced.

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