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Saturday, September 12, 2026 · Guatemala CityQ7.6282 per US$+0.00%
ADVANCE GUATEMALA
Back to the researchIn research — sources cited, not yet in the verified archive

In depth

The Kappes ICSID case: mining and prior consultation

Dossier
The legal framework for foreign investment02-marco-legal.md
Domain
Arbitration and investor protectionlegal-arbitraje
Room
Law/ley
Audited
Audited

Daniel W. Kappes and Kappes, Cassiday & Associates (KCA) sued under CAFTA-DR (ICSID ARB/18/43) over Exmingua's gold mine (the Progreso VII Derivada project), whose license was suspended for want of prior consultation under ILO Convention 169. The award of 23 December 2025 found certain breaches of the treaty but granted no damages: US$0. The no-damages outcome was verified against IAReporter in the audit of 2026-08-19. For a mining investor, the case shows that a suspension over prior consultation can be recognized as a treaty breach without translating into compensation.

The research is written in English; quoted figures, source names and the titles of legal instruments stay in the language their source published them in.

Figures

Kappes v. Guatemala awardIAReporter
23 December 2025 — violations acknowledged, no damages2025
Damages awardedIAReporter
US$02025

Sources

Organizations named in the answer

  • Kappes, Cassiday & Associates (KCA)Investor in El Tambor–Progreso VII Derivada (gold); it claimed US$499M from Guatemala before ICSID (ARB/18/43) and lost outright on 23 December 2025, with costs of US$379,940.76.Company case
  • ExminguaThe local company behind El Tambor (gold), suspended by the CSJ in 2016 for lack of consultation and upheld by the CC in 2020; opposed by the peaceful resistance movement 'La Puya'.Company case

Directory of organizations

Related records

This layer is research: read from public sources by the archive's own team, every claim cited with the date it was consulted, and audited where it is marked so. It has not entered the verified store — no figure here was fetched back from its source or stamped with a retrieval time — so it wears no red provenance numeral and never mixes with the verified figures.