Meager royalties for Guatemalan mine

Guatemala’s largest nickel mine paid just $1.8 million in compulsory royalty taxes during its first four years of production, according to its latest filings.

The opencast Fenix mine belongs to the Bronstein family and is run by their Swiss-based Solway group. Solway benefits from Guatemala’s low nickel royalty rate, which is calculated at just 1 percent of all the revenues made from selling the unrefined ore it digs out of the ground, The Guardian reports.