As part of Transparency International’s global Accountable Mining Programme, Acción Ciudadana has analysed the process of awarding mining rights, its vulnerabilities and the corruption risks arising in practice.

The objective of this research is to describe the mining awards processes in Guatemala, and identify stakeholders and administrative or political situations that may be affected by corrupt practices.

This research project is an initial step towards analysing the performance of regulatory bodies and their relations with the extractives industry. It contrasts the legal regulatory framework of institutions and processes with the practice of those interested in obtaining mining rights, investigating public and private interests in the first part of the value chain for the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources.

The main findings of this research reveal vulnerabilities in the context of mining concessions in Guatemala, from the legal framework to aspects of practice that are central to political and administrative decision making in the awarding of mining rights.