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Vulcan Materials Company,
headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, is the largest
aggregate mining company in the United States. Vulcan is
in the process of purchasing White Ridge Farm in the
Belize District of Belize. Their intent is to blast,
pulverize, and ship Sugar Hills, a limestone formation,
to the southeastern US for road fill and other uses.
Deforesting the mine site, blasting limestone hills, and
crushing rocks shall drive away wildlife, disrupt local
groundwater systems feeding the Southern Lagoon area,
threaten the largest concentration of Caribbean
manatees, as well as Central American River Turtles,
American Crocodiles, other aquatic fauna, mangroves, and
reefs. Crushed stone shall be carried by a conveyer
bridge, crossing the nesting areas used by Hawkbill Sea
Turtles, and follow a long industrial pier to load the
hulls of waiting cargo ships. Each ship shall enter and
leave the dock area by a 6-mile-long dredged channel
deep enough to accommodate 45 ft. draft vessels, and
turn around in a large, dredged area at the end of the
pier. If allowed, this project will transform a
beautiful, tranquil, natural area with one of the most
peaceful communities in the country and its high tourism
and agricultural value, into an industrial landscape.
This deal will also undermine the spirit of the historic
Blue Bond agreement Belize has signed onto. Violations
of that agreement carry heavy penalties. Belize has increased in importance to
Vulcan because the Mexican Government shut down their
Calica Mine near Playa del Carmen on May 5, 2022, amid
claims of extensive environmental damage. In response,
Vulcan filed a 3rd lawsuit against the Mexican
Government for $1.5 billion USD with the International
Center for Investment Disputes, all three lawsuits now
totaling $3.1 billion. Vulcan is involved in court cases
in many areas across the United States where it operates
mines. Belizean
officials
including the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, a
Minister, and a CEO have all repeatedly stated that
Vulcan would not be given a license to operate in
Belize. During a meeting at Gales Point Village on
August 20, Vulcan executives were met by people voicing
their opposition through drums, chants, and via
interviews with news reporters. One Vulcan
representative maintained their mission is to “take the
hills.” Despite
the
organized opposition, Vulcan is going through with the
purchase of the property, claiming they are “digging in
for the long game” and will start an EIA soon. However,
no EIA permits are being granted by DoE until the
updated ESIA (environmental and social impact
assessment) process is approved and in place. Once the
purchase goes through, Belize shall be invaded by
another international corporation using colonialistic
tactics and strategies to push aside legislation and
resistance, only this one is much larger, very
determined, and focused on the goal of increasing
dividends for stockholders by exploiting our natural
resources. Within the past few weeks this issue
has grown from a local concern few people outside of
Gales Point thought about into a national issue. As
reporters covered the story, Belizeans across the
country became aware of Vulcan's plan for Belize, the
majority taking a stand against neo-colonialism and
inappropriate development for our small country, and we
are backed by our Government. This is the democratic
process in action, largely made possible by the
internet, digital technology, and an increasing number
of concerned and active people. As Vulcan forges ahead,
purchasing the property, visiting GoB offices, promoting
their agenda, and making promises we must also be busy
learning as much as we can about Vulcan, its history of
conflicts and tactics used, its board, and its
stockholders as we open this issue to the international
stage, reaching organizations involved in environmental
conservation and human rights at the global scale. We also must dig in and prepare for
the long game. We the people should decide how we want
to develop Belize and not leave that decision up to
international corporations. To make this reach the
proportions required to block Vulcan from now on, as
well as other exploitative corporations seeking to
extract profits from our country while wrecking our
ecosystems and culture, we need youth to be not just
involved, but leading the way because it's their future
we're fighting to protect. Ed Boles
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image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay |