Workers strike at Bolivia's top tin mine, seek better pensions

Workers on strike at Bolivia's biggest tin mine, state-run Huanuni, have cost the mine $5-million in lost output since they walked off the job on May 6, the government said on Friday. Miners at Huanuni have joined a general strike to demand...

South American Silver files proceedings against Bolivia government

Vancouver-based South American Silver (SAS) this week filed international arbitration proceedings against the Bolivian government after the company’s subsidiaries lost mineral tenements in that country in 2012. SAS said the international...

Bolivia mining exports seen falling 20%

Bolivia’s mining exports will likely decline by 20% this year, partly as a result of reduced private investments amidst regulatory uncertainty, experts say. “The value of Bolivian mining exports will probably fall around 20% in 2012,” says...

Bolivia faces struggle to revitalise image among mining community

In recent months, Bolivia has witnessed a spate of mining disputes, moves to nationalise and renationalise projects, and violence among protesting miners. Populist sloganeering and radical language has often been used to excuse instability and...

Bolivian explorers released by project saboteurs

TSX-listed South American Silver (SAS) on Monday welcomed the confirmation that two of its Bolivian employees, Agustin Cardenas and Fernando Fernandez, and a local policeman have been set free. These were the last people to be freed following a...

Rising resource nationalism in South America

In 2010/11 at least 25 countries increased or announced intentions to increase their government take of profits generated by the local mining industry through taxes or royalties, says advisory firm Ernst & Young’s yearly ‘Business risks facing...

Apogee eyes up to 7Moz/y from Bolivian silver mine

Silver prices could hit $50/oz in the next 12 months, Apogee Silver CEO Neil Ringdahl said in an interview on Tuesday. The company is reopening the second-biggest silver mine in Bolivian history at its Pulacayo deposit, and aims to produce five-...

BOLIVIAN MINER’S PROTEST

A mineworker with a stick of dynamite on his helmet attends a protest rally in La Paz, through which thousands of Bolivian miners marched in protest against the 10% wage rise offer that President Evo Morales’ government has offered, but which...

Coeur, Pan American rise after Thursday declines

Shares in Coeur d'Alene Mines and Pan American Silver both rose on Friday, clawing back some of the losses from a day earlier when the stocks rose on concern that the Bolivian government could expropriate mining operations. Coeur said in a...

Pan American Silver seeks answers in Bolivia, shares fall

Vancouver-based Pan American Silver is trying to get answers from Bolivian officials, after media reports that the government may rescind control of privately-held mining concessions. President Evo Morales' government could target contracts for...

The rise, and rise, of illegal mining

Ever since 33 miners were rescued from a Chilean mine last year, the spotlight has been firmly trained on the Latin American mining industry. And with it, a crackdown on illegal mining operations.

Japanese officials, experts hold lithium seminar in Bolivia

Japanese Economy, Commerce and Industry Minister, Kaname Tajima and top automotive industry representatives and lithium-battery experts visited Bolivia last week for a seminar in La Paz. Bolivia's salt flats contain large reserves of lithium, and...