Almaden Signs New and Expanded Cooperation Agreements with Ixtaca Project Host Community Groups
Almaden Minerals Ltd. (“Almaden” or “the Company”; TSX: AMM; NYSE American: AAU) is pleased to report that it has recently signed two new agreements with not-for-profit organizations established by inhabitants of the local towns of Zacatepec and Santa María Zotoltepec, the two communities closest to the Ixtaca project, in Puebla State, Mexico
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Almaden Minerals Ltd. (“Almaden” or “the Company”; TSX: AMM; NYSE American: AAU) is pleased to report that it has recently signed two new agreements with not-for-profit organizations established by inhabitants of the local towns of Zacatepec and Santa María Zotoltepec, the two communities closest to the Ixtaca project, in Puebla State, Mexico.
These agreements set out the terms of the Company’s continued support of local communities' human right to water through the immediate improvement of local water infrastructure, and establish a basis for longer term cooperation, once the Ixtaca project is permitted, on priorities identified through the 2017 EVIS (see press release of December 12, 2017) and the ongoing independent Human Rights Impact Assessment commissioned by the Company (see press release of October 19, 2021). The agreements will facilitate the formation and delivery of the Project’s Social Management Plan which will evolve from the Human Rights Impact Assessment and be mindful of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals1 as reflected in the priorities of the UN Agenda 20302 (see press release of July 6, 2022).
In Zacatepec, the Company has reaffirmed its agreement with the "Irrigation Group of Small Producers from Zacatepec A.C.” (“IGSP”), first announced in March, 2020, wherein it committed to work with them and Mexico’s water authority (“CONAGUA”) to construct an agricultural water reservoir and related pumping and drip irrigation system to support local farming. The reservoir and infrastructure were completed some time ago, and the Company is currently supporting an expansion of the irrigation system. A video made following initial construction of this dam can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/-mhnTl0dOoM.
IGSP stated that, “The project developed under the first agreement represented the following benefits to the Community of Zacatepec: savings of 40-50% of water as a result of the drip irrigation, as well as more abundant harvests, better crop survival, labour savings and a greater economic benefit for its members, and well-being for our community.” Zacatepec is located approximately one kilometre from the footprint of the Ixtaca project.
