VANCOUVER, B.C. -- A Canadian company says there's "no basis" for closing its Marlin mine while the Guatemalan government conducts what it calls an "administrative process" to deal with allegations that the rights of local people have been violated.

Goldcorp Inc. of Vancouver (TSX:G) says the Guatemalan government agrees that studies by several of its ministries have found no evidence the mine has contaminated the water supply or caused disease.

But Guatemala has agreed to work with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a Washington-based organization that has asked for operations at the mine to be suspended, the company announced Thursday.

The government has indicated that a mission from the human-rights agency will visit Guatemala in July.

Goldcorp has been assured it will have an opportunity to demonstrate there has been no adverse environmental or health impacts from the mine, the company said Thursday.

"We concur with the statement of the Guatemalan government that there is no evidence of pollution or ill effects to health or the environment as a result of Marlin mine's presence," Chuck Jeannes, Goldcorp's president and CEO, said in a statement.

"Absent such evidence, we continue to believe there is no basis for suspending operations at the mine."

Goldcorp shareholders soundly rejected a call to suspend mining at Marlin in a vote at the company's annual meeting held on May 19 in Toronto.

The company, which currently employs about 1,900 people at the mine, has been under pressure for months by advocacy groups that say local communities weren't consulted properly when the mine was approved by the government.

Critics of the mine also say there's evidence of health problems among people living near the mine but the Washington-based rights watchdog is still investigating and hasn't drawn any conclusion about the validity of the claims.

A spokeswoman for the IACHR told The Canadian Press on June 8 that the organization has asked the Guatemalan government to suspend mining at Marlin as a "precautionary measure" until the merits of allegations by several Mayan communities living near the mine are investigated.

Goldcorp said Thursday that Guatemala is responding to the IACHR's request by "initiating the applicable administrative process under the laws of Guatemala."

Thg government's response also "expressly confirmed" that studies conducted by the ministries responsible for health, environment, and mines has found no evidence that the community water supplies are contaminated, Goldcorp said.

"The Guatemalan government response states that it will initiate an administrative process under Guatemalan law to further investigate the allegations on which the IACHR's suspension request is based, and we have been assured that we will have a full opportunity to present the compelling data that prove there have been no adverse environmental or health impacts from the mine," Jeannes said in his statement.