Mining in El Salvador

Mining in El Salvador to extract gold and other minerals from beneath the surface can be traced back to the beginning of the twentieth century but has generally been halted due to policy changes in the last two decades. There are large deposits of minerals in the mountainous areas of Central America, starting in Guatemala, throughout El Salvador, and all the way to northern Costa Rica.

Mining expanded in scope from artisanal mining to industrial mining at a mine in San Sebastián, El Salvador. Artisanal mining has occurred in El Salvador, including at the San Sebastian Gold Mine that opened in 1904. Mining became a national significant economic activity in the 1970s when U.S.-based company the Commerce Group Corp industrialised the mine.

El Salvador became the first country in the world to officially ban all forms of metal mining in 2017, following campaigns by activists, local populations, civil society organizations, community members, and the catholic church on the grounds that metallic mining is harmful to the local ecosystem and human life.

Mining activity ceased directly after the Salvadoran Civil War. After the war, the country's right-wing government proposed designated mining zones and issued exploration licences to many foreign mining companies in order to supplement the Salvadorian economy, which led to much pushback from locals and years of social unrest and opposition from the local community based on the alleged environmental impacts of this practice.