GUATEMALA CITY, Sept 17 (Reuters) - The Guatemalan unit ofU.S. miner Tahoe Resources Inc laid off an additional169 workers on Monday, two weeks after the country's top courtkept in place a more than 14-monthsuspension of operations atthe company's Escobal silver mine.
The layoffs at Minera San Rafael, Tahoe's local unit, nowtotal 872 employees since the company's property was forced tohalt operations last year after a Guatemalan court suspended thelicenses.
An environmental organization filed an appeal alleging thatthe country's Ministry of Energy and Mines did not consult withthe Xinca indigenous people before awarding the Escobal mininglicense to Tahoe.
Earlier this month, Guatemala's Constitutional Court upheldthe suspension of licenses at the Escobal mine, meaning Tahoemust return to the Xinca for consultations in order to try toregain its license.
"The uncertainty in which the (Constitutional Court) hasmaintained the case compels us to adapt," Andres Davila, aspokesman for the mine, said in a statement.
Reno, Nevada-based Tahoe has argued that the mine is a keydriver of growth in the local economy.
(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Writing by David Alire and JuliaLove; Editing by Peter Cooney)