Tahoe’s woes deepen in Guatemala as road blockade, permit suspension drag on

Precious metals producer Tahoe Resources has moved to suspend its quarterly dividend of $0.02 a share and has deferred its full-year production guidance on the back of the Guatemala Supreme Court provisionally suspending the mining licence on its Escobal operation, the third-largest silver mine in the world. The court issued a temporary licence suspension after nongovernmental and anti-mining organisation Calas filed a claim in May against Guatemala’s Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM). Calas alleged that the ministry had violated the Xinca indigenous people’s right of consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining licence to Tahoe’s Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael.