FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE- December 28, 2009

Another opponent of Pacific Rim's ElDorado mine killed in El Salvador

2nd community activist murdered in less than a week asCanadian-U.S. gold mining company moves forward with legal case againstSalvadoran government

On December 26, Dora “Alicia”Sorto Recinos, age 32, was murdered in El Salvador, the second anti-miningactivist killed in less than a week in the small community of Trinidad in thedepartment of Cabañas. Sorto Recinos was eight months pregnant and carrying hertwo-year old child when shot after doing laundry at a nearby river. She and herhusband, José Santos Rodríguez, were outspoken opponents of the non-operationalEl Dorado gold mine, which Pacific Rim, a Vancouver, B.C.-based company, isdesperate to open despite widespread community and governmental opposition.

José Santos Rodríguez is aboard member of the Environmental Committee of Cabañas, an organization thatformed to educate the public about the health and environmental risks ofcyanide contamination from gold extraction. The Committee’s vice-president,Ramiro Rivera, was gunned down on December 20 despite having been under 24-hourpolice protection since being shot eight times in August. Salvadoran PresidentMauricio Funes vowed to investigate that murder, stating, “I hope this casewill not remain in impunity the way that so many others do.” These attacksfollow the late June kidnapping, torture and assassination of anti-mining activistMarcelo Rivera (no relation), in the nearby municipality of San Isidro.

 Earlier this year, Sorto Recinos reported that her husband had received death threats. Oscar Menjívar,the man awaiting trial for shooting Ramiro Rivera in August, had previouslyattacked José Santos Rodríguez with a small machete. Menjívar’sneighbors report that he was one of Pacific Rim Mining’s paid “promoters,”though Pacific Rim denies this claim.

The ongoing violence inCabañas, including numerous assaults, attempted kidnappings and death threats,seems to be centered around the controversial presence of Pacific Rim Mining inthe region, with prominent anti-mining leaders coming under attack. Pacific Rimceased operations at El Dorado in 2008 after local protests gained support, andthe Salvadoran government subsequently refused to grant extraction permits.President Funes stated his opposition to the project during his presidentialcampaign earlier this year, and University of Central America polling show thatover 62% of Salvadorans oppose gold mining.

In response, Pacific Rimopened an investor-state arbitration case against the Salvadoran government inApril under the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), filing thesuit through a subsidiary, Pac Rim Cayman, based in Reno, Nevada (Canadiancompanies are not eligible to file CAFTA suits, as Canada is not party to theagreement). According to Pacific Rim CEO Thomas Shrake, the company is seeking“hundreds of millions” of dollars in the arbitration, which is scheduled tobegin in early 2010.

In November, Pacific Rimreceived notice from the New York Stock Exchange that it is in danger of beingdelisted after posting net losses for five straight years. The company thenannounced that it will seek to generate CDN $2.36 million by selling additionalshares of stock to finance its legal case against the Salvadoran government.The company does not have any other mining projects in operation.

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