Almaden Minerals signs cooperation agreement with Ejido Santa Maria Zotoltepec

Almaden Minerals reports that it has recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Ejido Santa Maria Zotoltepec, the Ejido located closest to the Ixtaca project, in Puebla State, Mexico. This agreement is similar to the one signed last year with the "United Ejidatarios for the Sustainable Development of Santa Maria Zotoltepec, A.C.," but it is signed with the entire Ejido after a majority vote in favour under strict agrarian rules and signed through an Act of Assembly. The agreement is initially focused on contributions to support an agro-technological package aimed at sustainable plant nutrition and soil enrichment. Longer term, the agreement commits the parties to work collaboratively under the Project’s Social Management Plan in pursuit of multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals. Duane Poliquin, Chair of Almaden, stated "We have felt welcomed in Santa Maria since first arriving in the area many years ago, and are pleased to be able to formalise our relationship with the local Ejido. The practices captured by this agreement have been in place for many years; continuous respectful dialogue with the overarching objective of building a mine the Company and local communities can be proud of. This agreement cements this approach through local leadership and sets us up to continue delivering on such fundamental priorities as water rights, education, health, opportunity, workers’ rights, environment, culture, and more."