2012 Administrative complaint filed by Save Santo Domingo Environmental Movement (MASSD)

In 2012, the Save Santo Domingo Environmental Movement (MASSD), with the assistance of the Humboldt Centre, filed an administrative complaint with the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA), the Office of the State Prosecutor (PGR), and the Municipality, challenging the granting of exploitation mining licences to Desarrollo Minero de Nicaragua S.A. (DESMINIC S.A.), a wholly owned subsidiary of B2Gold, for its La Libertad Mine, in particular for the area of Jabalí Central. The complainants challenged the absence of an Environmental Impact Study before the granting of this licence, and filed detailed information regarding environmental damage to water sources connected to the mining project (Centro Humboldt 2017; Interview with Centro Humboldt 2017).

The exploitation licences for La Libertad Mine were granted by the General Directorate of Environmental Quality (DGCA) of the MARENA in September 2012 for an area referred to as “Jabalí Central”, without completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment or community consultations. In 2014, the Municipality of Santo Domingo approved a land-use permit to develop the “Tajo La Antena” project (also known as, Jabalí Antena Underground project), which also forms part of the La Libertad Mine project and is located in the town centre of Santo Domingo, near the Jabalí neighbourhood (Confidencial, 2015). In its March 2018 Annual Information Form (AIF), B2Gold acknowledged that its La Libertad Mine project includes “a risk of conflict with the small scale miners which could materially adversely affect [its] operations”, adding that “[f]urther development of [its] mining activities may require the relocation and physical resettlement of artisanal miners and development plans may be impacted as a result. Any delays as a result of potential relocation or resettlement could negatively impact [B2Gold] and may result in additional expenses or prevent further development” (B2Gold 2018).

In 2013, the Humboldt Centre began to test Santo Domingo surface water sources, which supply both rural and urban communities (See Political Action entitled, “2013-2017 Humboldt Centre tests water in Santo Domingo to research industrial mining“. The 2013 results confirmed that the water was potable. However, information gathered in 2014 from farms located in the areas surrounding the mine indicated that irreparable damage had occured to community water sources, attributed to the construction of the mine and exploitation activities (Onda Local, 2017). Small-scale artisanal miners and community members have raised specific concern about contamination of the Túnel Azul, the municipality’s main water source (Ibid).