Candelaria Mining dodges politics at Caballo Blanco project

After acquiring the Caballo Blanco project in the Mexican state of Veracruz a little more than a year ago, Candelaria Mining (TSXV: CAND) prepared a new environmental impact assessment (MIA) for the gold project and worked closely with the surrounding communities and the local, state and federal governments. The junior submitted the MIA to the Mexican environmental authority, or SEMARNAT, in July of this year, but in a surprising and unusual move, retracted the MIA in the first week of October. In a brief, two paragraph press release, the company said it had decided to retract the application for the environmental permit “due to the current political environment and upcoming state and federal elections.” In a prepared statement, CEO Curtis Turner said, “We are still optimistic about the Caballo Blanco project going forward and continue to have good, open dialogue at all levels of the government and communities.” He also said that postponing the permit application “will allow Candelaria to optimize certain aspects of the project and improve upon existing and establish new relationships with our stakeholders.” Continue reading at The Northern Miner.