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BOLIVIA activists and others ���associated with artisanal mining are acting against the stated wishes and best interests of local indigenous communities.��� Although Morales met with groups on both sides, he ultimately sided against the company. ���These resources belong to the state, and therefore to the Bolivian people,��� Morales said. ���We have to remember our history and Mother Earth, which is natural resources.��� Morales further blamed company officials for instigating violence between indigenous clans. ���These companies pit brothers, in-laws, cousins, neighbors, brothers against one another,��� he said. ���We cannot understand why some people use and confuse others.��� Two months later, Supreme Decree No. 1308 was issued and company officials, after retaining two law firms and financial advisers under a U.K.-Bolivia treaty, declared a six-month ���cooling off��� period. They are now offering negotiations for the mine in which they planned to invest $50 million by 2015. But negotiations have yet to begin. Barring a resolution by April, South American Silver has said it will pursue arbitration under 102 E&MJ; ��� APRIL 2013 the UN Commission on International Trade Law for full compensation. Current CEO Philip Brodie-Hall has expressed optimism in recovering losses, citing ���substantial��� technological investments in the mine���s exploration. ���We are confident the international arbitration process gives us means to recover the full value of our project,��� he said in a statement. July witnessed additional discord after India���s Jindal Steel and Power abandoned its El Mutun project near the border with Brazil with $2.1 billion in announced investments since work first began in 1989. The government claimed Jindal ignored part of its 40-year contract obligations signed in 2007���to the tune of $600 million���while the company invoked lax legal securities and production schedules; both sides disputed provision of operational gas supplies. Regardless, six Jindal employees were arrested, equipment was confiscated, and production at one of the world���s largest iron ore deposits was brought to a standstill. Company officials decried Bolivia���s ���criminal proceedings��� and ���intent to victimize��� the business and its workers. Immediately after relations began deteriorating, Bolivia confiscated $36 billion in financial guarantees from Jindal; the seized assets remain under international arbitration. Irregular Regulation The San Cristobal zinc, silver and lead mine owned by Japan���s Sumitomo Corp.��� Bolivia���s largest foreign investor���has also been menaced by protesters. One of the country���s biggest mines, the southwest Potosi operation produces 1,300 mt of zinc-silver ore daily, according to company officials. During the 2010 unrest in which rioters threatened to cut the mine���s power supply, Mining Minister Jose Pimentel told local radio daily losses were $2 million. Nonetheless, work continues; Tokyo-based company officials said the site also produces 300 mt of lead-silver ore per day. But U.S. gold and silver company Coeur d���Alene Mines, which also continues production near Potosi through subsidiary Empresa Minera Manquiri, offers an even more striking contrast to competitors. The San Bartolome silver mine www.e-mj.com