The Ministry of Energy and Mines was consulted about the reactivation of operations at the processing plant and mine of the Fénix project in El Estor and what verifications the portfolio will carry out, the Vice Minister of Energy and Mines, Erwin Barrios, explained that it represents an important economic activation in the department of Izabal, of a transversal nature, and that verifications will be implemented such as the supervision of the exploitation technique, which must prioritize the prevention of risks on Lake Izabal.
Regarding the reactivation of the mining company, the vice minister explained that it represents an important economic activation in the department of Izabal, of a transversal nature, since it implies the activation of the entire mining value chain, which involves different sectors of the economy.
While, he added, for the country it represents an opportunity “for the consolidation of the exercise of governance of mineral resources”, in coordination with the institutions in charge of the protection and conservation of the environmentas well as the opportunity to strengthen the integrity mechanisms of the Ministry and the Executive.
Regarding controls and verifications, the official expanded that technical and financial compliance controls regulated in the Mining Law and its regulations will be carried out, taking into account the principle of public function and legality.
He added that these involve the supervision of the exploitation technique, “which must be developed in an orderly and rational manner as until now”, prioritizing the prevention of risks to Lake Izabal, as well as the reconformation of the intervened areas to guarantee the sustainability of the endemic ecosystems, with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) and the National Council of Protected Areas (Conap).
Regarding the processing plant, which resumed operations in May, Barrios explained that the support from the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS), as well as the General Labor Inspection (IGT), in order to guarantee that occupational risks are adequately managed.
The Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN) adopted the name Fenix Minerales, SA, and is in charge of the license for the Minera Fénix extraction project, in Izabal; Meanwhile, the Izabal Nickel Processing Company (Pronico) became Fenix Metales, SA; Both companies operate under the Fenix Nickel brand. Their parent company is Fenix Nickel Company LLC, registered in New York, United States.
Of these, the processing plant began operating in May of this year, after several months of testing in the smelting furnace, and the firm plans to reactivate mining extraction next June.
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For reactivation, the investment for the period from 2025 to 2026 is around US$85 million.
Other projects
The MEM said that the reactivation of operations of other projects that require the conclusion of community consultation processes, which are currently being worked on, is expected, although it did not detail dates or deadlines.
One of the projects for which the process is being developed is that of the Pan American Silver mining company (formerly the San Rafael mining company), in Santa Rosa.
As announced by the Union of Natural Resources, Mines and Quarries (Grenat) to Prensa Libre on May 19, At least five mining projects represent an investment potential between US$577 million and US$600 million:
- Aura Minerals, with the Era Dorada project, which contemplates investments of approximately US$380 million
- Pan American Silver, with the Escobal project, currently suspended, but which could represent between US$80 million and US$100 million to reactivate the plant, once the consultation process is concluded
- Element28, with the Sechol project, projects investments of between US$30 million and US$40 million in 2026
- Minerales Sierra Pacífico projects around US$2 million for geological and geophysical exploration campaigns
- Fenix Nickel, with investment data of around US$85 million for 2025-2026
Processes
After CGN and Pronico were sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), of the United States Department of the Treasury, at the end of 2022, the companies temporarily suspended their operations in March 2023 and went through a process to have those sanctions lifted, which occurred in January 2024.
This also led to a subsequent restructuring of corporate governance that included the registration of a company in New York, United States, which became the new headquarters of the companies in Guatemala, as part of the new supervision and compliance scheme under international standards.