Alleged Greenwashing by Infinito Gold

The controversial Canadian mining firm that fought against Costa Rica for nearly a decade over the Crucitas open-pit project has formally suspended its arbitration case presided by the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, which serves the World Bank.

According to a news report filed by Manuel Sancho of online news daily CRHoy.com, Infinito Gold’s decision to suspend the arbitration claim arrives in the wake of a bankruptcy filing announcement, which prompted a mass resignation of the company’s executives and business principals. In recent months, The Costa Rica Star has reported on Infinito Gold’s numerous financial troubles, which were patched up with a couple of loans by its main shareholder.

At this time, the mining company is more than $100 million in the hole, which means that Infinito Gold would still be in trouble even if the claim against Costa Rica, which was unusual and considered a very long shot by several analysts, would be resolved in their favor. The company was hoping to get $94 million from the arbitration.

The history of Infinito Gold in our country has been mired in controversy. As reported by The Costa Rica Star in late 2013:

Just days before Christmas, eight Canadian organizations are increasing their pressure on Infinito Gold and urging the mining firm to drop its peculiar billion dollar lawsuit against the Republic of Costa Rica. One public petition has already gathered more than 300,000 signatures, and this letter is now calling on the Canadian government to release certain sensitive information about the case.

 

The wording of the letter is strong:

 

We demand that Infinito Gold respect the will of the vast majority of Costa Ricans and drop the threat of international arbitration.

 

We also demand that Infinito Gold ‘cease and desist’ all its pending court cases in Costa Rica, and that Infinito adhere to the Supreme Court decisions directing the company to pack up and leave.

Infinito Gold’s legal fight against Costa Rica dates back a few years, and it has not been productive for the company; just about every court decision issued to date has gone against this firm. The Crucitas mining project was rescinded due to its potential environmental damage and its unpopularity.