Escobal suspension: Guatemala court requests studies

Guatemala's constitutional court called for further studies in order to reach a ruling on the suspension of Tahoe Resources' Escobal mine license.

The country's culture and sports ministry and San Carlos and Del Valle universities were requested to undertake separate anthropological studies to be delivered within 15 days, court secretary Martín Guzmán was quoted as saying on local news website Prensa Libre.

The studies are aimed at ensuring the Escobal license meets the International Labour Organization's (ILO) convention 169, which requires prior consultation with indigenous communities.

The constitutional court has yet to rule on an appeal on the supreme court's decision to reinstate Escobal's mining license, which it suspended in July 2017 following a legal challenge by NGO CALAS, which said indigenous communities were not consulted.

The appeal was heard in October. Under Guatemalan law, the constitutional court was required to issue a ruling within five calendar days, Tahoe said in its Q4 results statement.

Operations at the silver-lead-zinc mine were suspended in June 2017 as a result of a roadblock near the town of Casillas, 16km from the mine. Tahoe also has gold mines in Peru and Canada.