Last December the Mexican media…reported that the door could be closed to some foreign-owned mining operations in Mexico, the case in point being a planned open pit gold mine in Baja California Sur … Residents opposed a mine within the buffer zone of the Sierra de la Laguna Biosphere Reserve, the Paredones Amarillos gold mine, planned by…Vista Gold Corporation…Critics contend that metals and chemicals used in the mining operations could contaminate vital ground water supplies…damage ecosystems, and threaten public health…[P]roject manager Carlos Calderón…disputed the contentions…[saying] Vista Gold would use environmentally sensitive, state-of-the-art mining technology and practices, and uphold "the highest international standards."…The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources denied the...project change of land use application...[T]he federal agency rejected the application as it deemed the information insufficient in order to certify that the mine would not cause erosion or an impact on biodiversity.