Overview of the Extractive Industries

Guatemala with 13.5 million inhabitants is the most populous of the Central American countries with a GDP per capita roughly one-half that of the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. The agricultural sector accounts for nearly 15% of GDP and half of the labour force; key agricultural exports include coffee, sugar, and bananas. The 1996 peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment, and since then Guatemala has pursued important reforms and macroeconomic stabilization. More than half of the population is below the national poverty line and 15% lives in extreme poverty. Poverty among indigenous groups, which make up 38% of the population, averages 76% and extreme poverty rises to 28%.  Remittances from the expatriate community in the United States are equivalent to nearly two-thirds of exports.

Guatemala’s extractive sector represents 2% of GDP. The main commodity is gold, with an annual production in 2008 of about 7.500 metric tonnes (as a reference for the same year, Burkina Faso produced 7.600, Kyrgyzstan 18.100 and Peru 180.000 metric tonnes). The main gold mine (Marlin) is owned by the Canadian firm Goldcorp (a member of ICMM). The second largest commodity is silver, with a sales volume equivalent to a quarter of the gold sales. There is a limited oil production as well. In 2010, the country produced 3.5 million barrels. The country is a net importer of oil. On the other hand, it has been identified mineral deposits of coal, cobalt, copper, gold, iron ore, limestone, sand and gravel and uranium that could provide investment potential for further development. The sector is oversight by the Ministry of Energy and Mines.

Status of EITI Implementation

Guatemala was accepted as an EITI Candidate country 1 March 2011. It has until 28 August 2013 to complete EITI Validation. 

The first reconciliation report was scheduled for May 2012 in the initial work plan submitted in March 2011.

Governance of EITI implementation

A working multi-stakeholder group has been working on preparing implementation of the EITI, however the formalization of the multi-stakeholder group is still pending.

National Coordinator

Vacant

(acting: Bernardo Lopez - bjlopezr [at] gmail [dot] com) 

Multi-stakeholder group

To be announced.

Further information about the status of EITI implementation in Norway can be provided by Regional Director Francisco Paris at the EITI International Secretariat.