The story
Pan American Silver was founded in April 1994 by Ross Beaty. Beaty had previously founded and run Equinox Resources, which he eventually sold to an American mining company. It listed on NASDAQ in 1995 and acquired its Quiruvilca mine in the same year. In 1998, it acquired the La Colorada Mine in Mexico, and in 2000 it acquired the Huaron mine in Peru.
In 2012, Pan American acquired Minefinders Corporation for C$1.5 billion; Minefinders principal asset was the Dolores Mine in Mexico. In 2018, it temporarily curtailed operations at its Dolores mine in Mexico, due to violence in the area.
In 2020, research carried out by EJAtlas, MiningWatch Canada, Earthworks and the Institute for Policy Studies found that Pan-American Silver was involved in several environmental conflicts in Latin America and that these conflicts "demonstrate a lack of respect for communities defending their territories from mining."
Tahoe resources acquisition
In November 2018, Pan American announced it would acquire Tahoe Resources, a Nevada-based mining firm with mines in Latin America and Canada, for $1.1 billion or about $5 a share. Tahoe's largest asset was its shuttered Escobal Silver Mine in Guatemala, which faced widespread protests and had significant human rights violations where security guards shot locals, leading to a high profile court case. Markets reacted to the news, with Pan American's share price falling 12% whereas Tahoe's rose 50%. As of 2025, Pan American's Escobal silver mine remains suspended amid ongoing Indigenous consultation as mandated by Guatemala's Supreme Court. The impending result could set a precedent for Indigenous rights across Latin America.
From Wikipedia’s article on Pan American Silver, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6