The Civil Council of Environment has made it clear that the Government did not cancel 254 special gold mining licenses under the law prohibiting mineral resources exploration and exploitation in river and forest basins. All it did at a meeting on November 17, 2010 was to suspend operation of those licenses. An outright cancellation would have been followed by a Government protocol ratifying the decision but this is yet to come. The Council says the law was passed on July 16, 2009 but has not been implemented. A protocol of the same sate also languishes.