Rights Action
November 14, 2018
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Tahoe Resources sells violent mining operation in Guatemala to Pan American Silver, perpetuating & exacerbating migrant refugee producing situation
- Below: “Pan American Silver offers $1.1 billion to buy out Tahoe Resources”
Reuters informs public that
- this mining story is NOT about Tahoe Resources’ repression against local populations, and resultant legal proceedings in Guatemala and Canada for some of that repression;
Topacio Reynoso, member of peaceful resistance to Tahoe Resources harms and violations, was assassinated in an April 13, 2014 attack that left her dad, Alex, seriously wounded
- this mining story is NOT about the support Tahoe Resources has received from governments of Canada, the U.S. and Guatemala, that ignored and enabled the repression and environmental harm;
- this mining story is NOT about the endemic conditions in Guatemala of government repression and violence, exploitation and poverty, organized crime, corruption and repression that force 10s of 1000s of Guatemalans to flee their country, year after year, alone or in refugee caravans;
- this mining story is NOT about environmental contamination and destruction, and resultant health harms, in and around Tahoe’s mine;
Reuters informs the public that mining is ONLY about profits for investors and shareholders, … and this business deal will exacerbate and perpetuate the reasons why so many Guatemalans are forced to flee.
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Pan American Silver offers $1.1 billion to buy out Tahoe Resources
Susan Taylor, Reuters, Nov. 14, 2018
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tahoe-resources-m-a-pan-amer-silver/pan-american-silver-to-buy-tahoe-resources-for-1-1-billion-idUSKCN1NJ0ZD
TORONTO (Reuters) - Pan American Silver Corp (PAAS.TO) said Wednesday it has agreed to buy Tahoe Resources Inc (TAHO.N) in a $1.07 billion cash and stock deal that would create a top global silver miner but also include some troublesome assets.
The offer, representing a near 35 percent premium to Tahoe’s average share price over the past 20 days of trade, sent Tahoe shares up 45 percent, while Pan American stock fell about 12.5 percent.. Reno, Nevada-based Tahoe was at $3.17 in early afternoon trade on New York, below the $3.40 bid, which could climb to $4.10 on a conditional payment.
There is a “defined path toward resuming production” at Tahoe’s Escobal mine, which was suspended last year, Pan American CEO Michael Steinmann said on a conference call.
A Guatemalan court ordered the completion of consultation with indigenous groups before the world’s second-largest silver mine can come back on line.
Steinmann said his company has a 25-year record of successful operations in Latin America and noted that a four-stage constitutional court mandate and government-led consultation process is well under way.
Still, the offer includes a conditional payment hinged on the restart of concentrate shipments from Escobal, which Steinmann said was a means of sharing risk.
Since 2011, Tahoe has spent more than $500 million developing Escobal.
“Pan American’s acquisition of Tahoe Resource could be a very opportunistic transaction...assuming the company is able to address recent social, geopolitical and operational challenges,” RBC analyst Mark Mihaljevic said in a note to clients.
John Tumazos, who holds modest stakes in both Pan American and Tahoe, said Tahoe seems to be selling “at the worst moment” with silver prices down 17 percent from last year and Tahoe shares 90 percent below their 2014 peak.
The acquisition is great for Pan American, said Doug Groh, co-manager of top 10 investor Tocqueville Gold Fund, demonstrating “value opportunities” in the precious metals sector.
The deal will double Pan American’s silver reserve base to 576 million ounces, above rivals Fresnillo (FRES.L), Hecla Mining (HL.N), Coeur Mining (CDE.N) and Hochschild Mining (HOCM.L), Steinmann said. Fresnillo will still lead production.
Vancouver-based Pan American is offering $3.40 in cash, or 0.2403 of a share, for each Tahoe share, giving it about three-fourths of the combined company.
The conditional payment tied to Escobal, which has a 10-year term, is currently valued at $221 million. Including that, Pan American said its offer represents a near 63 percent premium to Tahoe’s average share price over the last four weeks.
Reporting by Susan Taylor in Toronto and Bhargav Acharya in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Jeffrey Benkoe and Cynthia Osterman
Reuters "Standards": The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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“Let us be clear: Our opposition to mining in our territory and the future of Tahoe’s mine specifically does not depend on the outcome of the legal case currently before the Constitutional Court. Our encampment in Casillas and peaceful resistance in the region will continue until the mine is permanently closed. We have already held our own processes of consultation in which the vast majority of people in the affected area have said no to mining. We will not change our minds. The time for dialogue was before Tahoe forced the mine on us in 2011. Now, all we want is closure.”
(Communities in resistance letter to Mr. Kevin McArthur, Executive Chair & Mr. James Voorhees, President & Chief Executive Officer, Director Tahoe Resources Inc.)
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Canada – Mining Impunity Capital of the World, perpetuating & exacerbating the migrant refugee producing crisis
Write and call, and keep on writing and calling, your elected MPs, asking why the Canadian and U.S. governments, and North American businesses and investors (hydro-electric dams, mining, African palm, tourism, cattle, fruit, etc.) maintain profitable relations with corrupt, repressive governments in Honduras and Guatemala, turning a blind eye to and benefitting from repression, environmental devastation, human rights violations, corruption and impunity.
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Tax deductible donations, U.S. and Canada
Since 2012, Rights Action has funded emergency support needs and community defense struggles of community near Tahoe Resources/Pana American Silver’s mine. Make check payable to "Rights Action" and mail to:
- U.S.: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
- Canada: (Box 552) 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
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