Guatemala Negotiates Mining Royalties

Erick Archila, the newly appointed Minister of Energy and Mines of the government of President-elect, Otto Perez Molina, who will take office on January 14, said that they are holding meetings with various sectors, including the Extractive Industries' Guild, with whom they will negotiate the royalties.

On the subject of the royalties, Archila said "’we are in a process of negotiation and renegotiation of the 1%, which is currently paid’, reported PrensaLibre.com. “The official stated that he believes there would be an increase in that amount, based on directives from the president-elect. ‘There are several ways [of dealing with this], but one could be a matter of voluntary royalties, this would speed up the process while we wait for a reform of the law. This system would be used as an alternative until amendments to the Mining Act are approved.”

According to the article, “Mario Marroquin, president of the Extractive Industries' Guild, said that the subject has been broached but they have not exhausted the agenda or yet made any agreements.”

Source: prensalibre.com

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