Blackfire Exploration - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Blackfire Exploration Ltd. is an exploration and mining company based in Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Alberta,
Canada. The company holds mineral rights in British Columbia, Canada, and Chiapas, Mexico (through its 100% owned Mexican subsidiary company: Blackfire Exploration Mexico S de RL de CV). Blackfire has Canadian and Mexican mineral properties at various stages of development and is currently focused on projects in both Canada and Chiapas

Chiapas

Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

:
Blackfire Exploration operated a barite

Barite

Baryte, or barite, is a mineral consisting of barium sulfate. The baryte group consists of baryte, celestine, anglesite and anhydrite. Baryte itself is generally white or colorless, and is the main source of barium...

mine in Mexico from 2008-2009 selling high-grade barite for oilfield drilling to the Mexican market. There are 12 Canadian mineral properties.

Controversy

Blackfire employees arrested following implication in the murder of Mariano Albarca have been released and cleared of all charges. The former mayor of Chicomuselo: Julio César Velázquez Calderón, accused by Blackfire and others of extortion, has recently been found guilty of embezzling public funds and fined. The former mayor has also been implicated in the murder of Albarca and faces imprisonment. October 2011

Workers at the Mexican operation were implicated in the murder of Mariano Abarca

Mariano Abarca

Mariano Abarca Roblero was a community activist known and admired for leading opposition against mining by the Company Blackfire Exploration in his community of Chicomuselo in the state of Chiapas in Southern Mexico. He was a member of the Red Mexicana de Afectados por la Minería...

, an antimining activist from Chicomuselo. .

Only a few days later Blackfire's mine in Chicomuselo was closed by the authorities due to permitting concerns..
On Friday, December 18, 2009 about 500 people demonstrated against Blackfire in the neighbouring town of Frontera Comalapa

Frontera Comalapa

Frontera Comalapa is a town and one of the 119 municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico.As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 52,168.It covers an area of 717.90 km²....

Controversy

Further reading