Equinox Gold indefinitely suspended its Los Filos mine in Guerrero, Mexico on April 1, 2025 when the company let lapse its land use and social cooperation agreements with the community of Carrizalillo. The company had been trying to pressure the community of Carrizalillo in Guerrero, Mexico into accepting austere cuts to their land use and social cooperation agreements as a condition for continued investment in the Los Filos mine.
Since 2008, the ejido’s arable and grazing lands have been almost entirely occupied by the open pit and underground gold mine. The community’s health clinic and soccer field are roughly 500 metres from the mine’s cyanide heap leach pad.
MiningWatch together with nearly 100 other organizations denounced threats against the community in March, when Carrizalillo was calling for a reset in negotiations while having indicated openness to accepting significant cuts in their agreements with the company.
Since April 1, the community of 2,800 has set up camp in front of one of the main mine gates.
Now, Carrizalillo is denouncing further evidence of discriminatory and punishing acts against them from the company. Their May 7 press release directed at company investors cites a lawsuit that Equinox brought under agrarian law in Mexico to once again seek access to their land, offering compensation for the community in the amount of around $90,000 USD. According to the judge’s own calculations cited in the court documents, if this amount were treated as land rent for one year, it would amount to roughly 1.5 Mexican pesos (roughly 7 cents USD) per ejido member per month. The judge calls this sum “ridiculously small and even laughable… going against the elementary rights of the ejido and its members”.
The judge indicated that he would grant the company the land access it was seeking, but only if Equinox would pay the same rent that it paid to Carrizalillo in 2024. According to the community, the company reportedly refused and withdrew its suit.
In the absence of adequate compensation, restoration and return of their agricultural lands, Carrizalillo states that the company’s “self-imposed indefinite suspension” of the Los Filos mine is cruel punishment that “[threatens] the survival of [their] community”.
Read the full press release issued by the agrarian representatives of the Ejido of Carizalillo on May 7th here.