Pacific Rim Mining Corporation

The Pacific Rim Mining Corporation is a Vancouver, Canada-based multinational mining company that works throughout the Americas. It merged with Dayton Mining Corporation in 2002. Its President and Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Shrake, is a United States citizen and a resident of Nevada. Pacific Rim's principal corporate offices are in Reno, Nevada.

Pacific Rim Mining Corporation describes itself as "a gold exploration company with projects in El Salvador and Nevada, USA. The Company focuses its exploration efforts on epithermal gold deposits in the Americas because of their typically high gold and silver grades, low environmental risk and propensity to occur in veins that can be mined underground. Environmental stewardship and social responsibility are core values announced by the Company."

In 2013 Pacific Rim became a wholly owned subsidiary of OceanaGold.

As the company's projects are still in development, it had no income in 2009. At the end of 2009 Pacific Rim's total assets were valued at $8.2 million.

The proposed El Dorado mine project is Pacific Rim's largest project. The company gained the mine property, of 144 square kilometres, from its merger with Dayton Mining Corporation in 2002. More than $77 million has been invested to discover and prepare to begin mining gold deposits in Cabañas department. The company estimates that it can extract 1.4 million gold-equivalent troy ounces.

According to US think tank Public Citizen Pacific Rim did not complete a feasibility study required for a mining permit, and in July 2008 ceased exploratory drilling. However, it is claimed that Salvadoran President Antonio Saca refused to authorize the company to begin its mining operations. Expatriate Salvadorans, and local activists connected with the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) political party have campaigned for the project to be discontinued over human rights issues, and concerns of pollution arising from the extraction of gold and silver. In December 2008, twenty four mining project were waiting for new mining laws to be finalized. The draft law proposing "a clear regulatory framework, a monitoring body to enforce the law, and a classification of companies that comply with international standards," was introduced by the National Coalition Party. Environmentalists have warned of negative environmental and social impacts if the mining goes ahead. On June 16, 2009, FMLN lawmakers demanded a permanent ban on gold and silver mining in El Salvador, whose requirements meant that "companies involved in mining activities in El Salvador would have 180 days to abort operations and leave the country." However, that proposal did not become law.

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