by Loren Guerriero
The foreign mining industry has been exploiting communities for their natural resources in Central America for decades now, principally in Guatemala, and the industry is rapidly expanding. Today, foreign companies, especially Canadian Linear Gold, are turning their attention to the mountain ranges in eastern Chiapas, which known to be rich in various mineral resources, of which the most valuable and sought-after is gold. The market price of gold has reached US $2,000 per ounce and is continuing to grow. Prospectors have estimated the Chiapan mountain ranges hold up to 1.2 million ounces of gold. In Guatemala, a single mining site makes US $50 million on average per year. With several mining companies maintaining about 15 sites at any given time, the owners are making a killing.