Guatemala has an enormous potential in gold, nickel, tin and other light materials which is under consideration.  In 2007 one mine alone processed 1.7 tons of mineral with an average gold content of 4.55 grams per ton and 84.31 grams of  silver per ton.

SELECTED MINERAL RESERVES

NICKEL:

Three companies are currently operating in Guatemala.

The CGN has 8.7 million tons of proven reserves (at Sparolita) at 1.81% and 32.7 million potential tons, for a total of 41.4 million tons of nickel reserves.  The mentioned figure of 135 million tons of reserves refers to all its areas, jointly. 

Mayaniquel has 25 million tons of reserves in the Sechol area.  There has been an increase of approximately 20 million tons, but some data and estimates are missing.  The objectives is to reach 100 million tons.

Nichromet has no reserves and is still working on its mining projects.

COPPER:

The Oxec mine in Alta Verapaz was exploited by the company Transmetales.  They disposed of 1.6 million tons and Transmetales Ltda had a production capacity of 150,000 tones/year in 1985.  The estimated reserves were about 1 million tons, with 2.62% copper.

They abandoned the project considering that they had exhausted the reserves, according to the technology and market prices at that time.  Presently the company is exploring the area but no reserves have been estimated.

Concepción las Minas in Chiquimula is another deposit containing copper.  It has 2.2 million tones, with 0.75% cooper, 4.28% zinc, 0.58% lead and 36mg/kg of silver.

ZINC:

The Caquipec mine in Alta Verapaz contains lead and zinc. All that is exported area the remains left by the company working on the mine in the 80s.  An estimated ½ million tons of zinc are in the mine, with 10% zinc and 6% lead, and around 100,000 tons in the remains, with 18% zinc and 2% lead.

The same company (Tenango Mining) is also exploring the richest veins of La Esperanza mine in Huehuetenango, extracting only that which is easily exploitable.  There are no estimated reserves.

IRON:

Iron exploitations are of a small miner quarry type, who sell the mineral as an additive for cement at the cement factories in Guatemala and El Salvador.  There are no estimated reserves.

MINING PONTENTIAL

The mining potential of the country is divided into four regions.

Western Region:

Important deposits of lead and zinc (Pb-Zn) associated with silver and copper (Ag and Cu) in the mining districts of Chiantla-San Sebastián and San Miguel Acatan in the department of Huehuetnango.

Of no less importance are the deposits of antimony-tungsten (Sb-Wo) in San Ildefonso Ixtahuacan, Huenuetenango.  Presently this mine is being exploited, and the mineral concentrate obtained contains 60% of Antimony (Sb) and a degree of up to 8% of Tungsten (Wo).

Another important mining district is in Caníbal, West of Cuilco Huehuetenango, which has  Ilmenite with an E-W tendency,  and  a Southern dip parallel to the zone of the Cuilco-Chixoy-Polochic fault and into the Mexican territory.

Eastern Region:

The importance of this region is the economic mineralization of gold with small amounts of silver in veins of quartz and silicified zones found in fractures.  This  is located in the mining district of Chiquimula, which also has deposits of Cu in Xororagua Hacienda El Santo, Pb-Zn-Ag in Terceron and zones with iron oxide in San Jose La Arada, close to the city of Chiquimula.

The most important deposits of Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag y Au (gold)  are located in the mining ditrict of Concepción Las Minas, South East of the Department of Chiquimula.

Other important fields are a series of bodies of iron oxides in the mining district of Jocotan-Camotan, North East of Chiquimula, which have been exploited to supply the cement industry in Guatemala and in El Salvador.

Zone in the Pacific Coast:

This zone is a narrow belt along the Pacific Ocean.  Economic mineralization  comes from volumes  of sands rich in magnetite y titanium which are  in the coastal area and are part of the mining potential of Guatemala.

Northern Region:

Mineralization is constituted by a series of  reservoirs of Pb-Zn-Ag, níkel and cobalt (Ni-Co) and Cu located in tour important mining districts.

The deposits of Pb-Zn-Ag are located mainly in the mining district of Coban in the region of the Verapaces, in two different areas.  One in the Northern parto f the Cuilco-Chixoy-Polochic fault.  The deposit in the Caquipec mine South East of Coban, Alta Verapaz is very important.  Mineralization shows average contents of 12% of Pb, 30% of Zn y 10 ounces/ton of Ag/.  Lead concentrates have been produced with 36-62% of Pb and 15 to 20 ounces/ton of Ag.

The deposits of Ni-Co are also very important and are located in two main districts.  One with important economic interest is located in the region of El Estor, Izabal where a potential of 50 million tons of Laterite has been evaluated with laterite with a content of 1.5% of Laterite, Ni and 0.05% of Co.   The other reservoir is located between Uspantan and San Cristóbal Verapaz in the Departments of El Quiche and Alta Verapaz, respectively.  Here, 40 million tons of lateritic soils have been evaluated with 1.25% of Ni and 0.04% of Co. 

REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY FOR A LICENSE FOR EXPLOITATION, EXPLORATION OR RECONNAISSANCE

• Application form
• Certificate of Good Standing from the Department of Auditing and Control
• Justify the capacity in which the company appears, through a power of attorney or the legal representative with legalized copy of the certificate  with the notations from the respective Registries (clause c)  Article 41 of the Law.  In the case of companies a legalized copy of the charter of incorporation of the company has to be submitted with the evidence of the provisional or definitive registration in the General Commercial Registry of the Republic, paragraph b), article 41.  THE APPICATION WILL BE ACCEPTED PROVIDED THE CHARTER OF INCORPORATION SPECIFIES THAT THE SHARES OF THE COMPANY ARE MOMINATIVE ONLY.
• Location, description and extension of the area requested, enclosing original or photocopy of the  map, with adequate scale, signed by a civil engineer, a geologist or a miner.
• General description of the work program to be conducted, duly signed by a civil engineer, a geologist or miner;  the holder shall comply with or  will notify the modifications that are technically necessary.  Paragraph j) article 41. Decree 48.97
• Attach a certificate that the engineer that signs the plan and the work program is an active member of the Engineering association.

APPLICATION FOR AN EXPLOITATION LICENSE:

• Article 20 of the law and 7 of the Regulations. The interested party shall submit the original of the study on environmental impact to the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN in Spanish) and a copy to the Office of the Environment of the Ministry of Energy and Mining.  It shall also attach a copy, stamped with the date of receipt, of the approval by EIA when requesting the publication of the respective resolutions (article 45 of the Law on mining), without this requirement the legal opinion and approval from the Office of the Government Attorney cannot be obtained.

TERM OF THE LICENSES:

• Reconnaissance:  maximum 6 months
• Exploration: up to 3 years.
• Exploitation: up to 25 years.

SUBMISSION OF THE DOCUMENTATION

• The interested party shall submit to the Department of Mining Rights of the Bureau of Mining, the original application with its anexes as well as an additional photocopy of the application and all the annexes

AREA

• The area for the License for Reconnaissance  shall be a closed area of no less than 500 and no more than 3000 square Km.
• The area for the License for exploration shall be a closed area  of no more than 100 square Km.
• The area for the License for exploitation shall be a closed area of no more than  20 square Km.
• The area shall be limited by coordenates UTM  ORIENTED INORTH-SOUTH and EAST. WEST (that is in straight angles) or by international limits or the sea coast.  A number of not more than tour (4) decimals should be utilized.  Second paragraph, article 24, Decree 48-97.

PAYMENTS OF ROYALTIES:

The holders of the mining rights shall pay the following royalties:

• Royalty for a mining right:  to be paid in quetzales, in advance  when the notification of the mining right is receive  Q 1,300.00.
• Royalty on surface for the license for reconnaissance.  It shall be paid in advance and only once during the first month of the reconnaissance period,  the amount is one hundred and twenty quetzales per square Kilometer or fraction thereof.
• Royalty on surface.  For the license for exploration.  It shall be paid annually, in advance during the first month of each year of exploration.  The amount is three units per square Kilometer or fraction thereof, for each of the first three years.
• Royalty on surface for the license for exploitation.  To be paid annually, in advance during the month of January of each calendar year.  The amount  is twelve units per square Kilometer or fraction thereof.
• The payments shall be made in the Accounting Department based on the payment vouchers issued by the Department of Auditing and Control of the Ministry of Energy and Mining.
  

Guatemala Exploration Projects: