Barrick Gold Corporation's Pascua Lama Mining Project on Hold - The Perils of Gold Mining in Chile's Border Region - Uncertainty Rattles Shareholders

SANTIAGO, Jan 17 (Tierramérica) - Nearly two years after winning environmental approval from the Chilean government, the controversial Pascua Lama gold mining project of the transnational Barrick Gold Corporation remains without a launch date.

(See: Chile-Argentina Tax Dispute Delays Barrick Gold Corporation's Pascua Lama Gold Mine Development )

The gold deposit, in the Andes Mountains at 4,200 to 5,200 metres above sea level, holds proven reserves of 17 million ounces of gold and 689 million ounces of silver. The investment needed to mine the precious metals reaches 2.4 billion dollars.

It is the world's first binational mining project, with 80 percent of the deposit lying in the northern Chilean region of Atacama, and the remainder in the north-western Argentine province of San Juan.

One crucial aspect is for the two countries to determine the tax distribution, given that an existing agreement prohibits double taxation.

On its web site, Barrick states that progress continues on the mining project, but that in order to announce the construction of the mine the corporation needs to obtain more permits, especially in Argentina, and that the governments of both countries need to finalise the tax regimen.

In a communiqué released in October, it stated that the time line remains uncertain and that it is beyond the corporation's powers.

The company that manages Barrick's public relations, Extend Communications, declined to respond to Tierramérica's questions about dates and pending authorizations.

(Typical, Barrick Gold's environmental and humanitarian track record is not only abysmal but shocking. See: Al Gore dumps Barrick Gold sponsorship for Chile visit

"You can't be sincerely worried about environmental phenomena affecting the planet and at the same time be 'mates' with a company like Barrick Gold." Senator Navarro.)

On Feb. 15, 2006, the regional environmental commission, COREMA, of Atacama approved, with conditions, the environmental impact study presented by Barrick. In December, the government of San Juan province did the same.

(In the first environmental impact statement Barrick left out all mention of the glaciers. See: Pascua Lama Gold Mine, a Threat to Sustainability )

COREMA rejected Barrick's proposal to remove three glaciers near the gold deposit -- Toro I, Toro II and Esperanza -- whose runoff sustains the Huasco Valley water system and allows some 70,000 small farmers to cultivate their land. The commission also demanded that the corporation provide a monitoring and management plan for the glaciers.

In giving the green light to the project, the governments have sidelined the opposition of local communities and environmental groups from both countries, which have continued to carry out protests, stating that the mining project would have serious environmental and socio-cultural consequences.

Lucio Cuenca, director of the non-governmental Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA), told Tierramérica that in February they are planning a bold bi-national meeting in the inhospitable location where the gold reserves are located.

In Argentina, former president Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) announced during his term that the country would tax the mine's exports as much as 10 percent.

(See: Argentina Mine Tax Threatens Stability, Investment -Industry )

According to press reports, Chile would require Barrick to pay 80 percent of the taxes, in keeping with the proportion of the gold and silver deposits found in Chilean territory. But Buenos Aires has rejected that formula, as all of the output would be processed in Argentina.

The Argentine argument is that any potential environmental damage and the distribution of the mining waste would not follow the 80/20 division. Environmentalists in that country maintain that in addition to affecting water resources, the San Juan side would be left with the waste rubble, which would be permanently contaminated with cyanide from the ore processing.

(See: Toxic Metal Pollution From Medieval Mining Persists 800 Years Later )

Ramón Rada, executive secretary of the Chilean commission that administers the 1997 bi-national Mining Treaty, denied in a Tierramérica interview that the two countries are negotiating tax "rates" and "percentages".

They are only defining "administrative and auditing aspects" more appropriate for the "operational and contractual model that the companies developing the project will utilize."

Rada cited Article 7 of the Mining Treaty, which states that "the income or revenues originating from sales or export of minerals extracted from the territory of one Party... may only be subject to taxation by that Party."

The Argentine Mining Secretariat maintained that remaining are "the adaptation of the protocols included in the Treaty, and very technical questions and specifically regarding taxes" about which a proposal was presented in December and is being evaluated by his counterpart in Chile.

But there are more hurdles. Barrick is involved in a lawsuit with a Chilean engineer who accuses the corporation of tricking him by purchasing the mining concessions for adjacent lands for 20 dollars, instead of the million dollars he says had been agreed.

(See, Washington Post: In Chile, Precious Lands Often Go for a Pittance - Barrick Gold Corporation Pays $19 Dollars for 20,000 Acres )

The mine is to be constructed on land claimed by the indigenous Diaguita community of the Huascoaltinos. In January 2007, the community denounced the Chilean government before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for failing to protect indigenous rights.

(Mapuche rights are typically ignored by the government of Chile:

Mapuche lands serve as garbage dump for Chilean Nation - United Nations investigates Environmental Discrimination

Small Mapuche community rests all of its hopes on a group of strangers in far-away Washington, DC - Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) )

In addition, OLCA is awaiting the State Defence Council to issue a decision soon on its claim against Barrick for the crime of environmental damages.

The Observatory accuses the mining corporation of destroying to 50 to 70 percent of the glaciers during prospecting and road construction. The damage has been certified by the government's Directorate General for Water.

Senator Guido Girardi, of the co-governing Party for Democracy, is convinced that the project would completely destroy the glaciers.

"Chile must be the only country where projects with negative environmental reports are approved anyway," he told Tierramérica.

(And a Central Intelligence Agency that monitors Environmental NGOs: Chile Intelligence Agency Monitors Environmental NGOs )

OLCA revealed in December that the Chilean authorities approved the installation of 363 high-voltage towers, to carry electricity to the mining site, through the central region of Coquimbo, which the government had already declared a priority environmental area because of its rich native flora and fauna.

(What the Chilean Government appears to be doing often differs from reality: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment )

On the Argentine side of the border, standing in opposition are the Self-Convened Mothers of Jachal, a village near the mining site, wine producers, adventure tourism operators and environmental groups, among others.

The national People's Defender of Argentina, Eduardo Mondino, recommended calling off the project until there is a plan in place to protect the San Guillermo Biosphere, an area that includes the mine site.

Furthermore, the Argentine Supreme Court of Justice is to issue a ruling on a case filed to make effective the environmental protection established under Environmental Law 25.675, which has not been applied because standards have not been established, but which would affect Barrick.

"None of these things alone would necessarily halt the project, but they do generate uncertainty. Each day that Barrick postpones the construction of the mine its public image is at stake, both at the international level and among its shareholders," said OLCA director Cuenca.

The Observatory is concerned about the possible precedent that could be set by Pascua Lama for other projects under the Mining Treaty in high altitudes of the Andes, "where the water is born."

Here is the full article.

Al Gore Dumps Barrick Gold Sponsorship for Chile Visit - Mining sponsorship risked "contaminating" and making a mockery of Gore's campaign.

"You can't be sincerely worried about environmental phenomena affecting the planet and at the same time be 'mates' with a company like Barrick Gold." Senator, Alejandro Navarro.

[12th April 2007] Al Gore has dumped financial backing from controversial Canadian mining company Barrick Gold for his upcoming Santiago event "Global Warming and Climate Change: The Time Has Come to Act." The Academy Award-winning environmentalist distanced himself from any association with the mining company, which owns the controversial Pascua Lama gold mine.

"Unfortunately, we were never asked to approve Barrick Gold as a cosponsor and as soon as we became aware that they were co sponsors, we asked that they be removed," Gore's press spokesperson Kalee Kreider told The Santiago Times. "I was informed that they were removed yesterday."

A Barrick Gold spokesperson confirmed to The Santiago Times that they had withdrawn their funding for the event. The US$50,000 that they contributed will be directed towards "other environmental projects." It is still not known how event organizers will cover the cash shortfall presumed to exist now that Barrick has been banned from the event.

Other sponsor's for Gore's visit include the Chilevision television station, the El Mercurio newspaper and the Banco Del Estado.

National political leaders and Chile's environmental community warned earlier this week that the mining sponsorship risked "contaminating" and making a mockery of Gore's campaign.

Barrick Gold has come under fire for dubious environmental and human rights practices on four continents.

(See: Corporate rights trump human rights - alleged that Canadian Barrick Gold security forces intentionally buried alive 52 artisanal miners in Tanzania. )

Its most controversial recent project in South America, the Pascua Lama gold mine, straddles the border between Chile and Argentina in the Andes Mountains in Chile's Region III. The project been harshly criticized by environmentalists worldwide who oppose the company's determination to destroy the glaciers sitting above the metal deposits.

(In its first Environmental Impact Statement Barrick Gold did not mention the glaciers. See: Pascua Lama Gold Mine, a Threat to Sustainability )

"When it comes to the environment, you have to take sides," Sen. Alejandro Navarro told The Santiago Times. "In this case, it means that Gore has to choose whether he wants his message to retain its credibility, or whether he's happy to go along with whomever facilitates the event. You can't be sincerely worried about environmental phenomena affecting the planet and at the same time be 'mates' with a company like Barrick Gold."

Obviously, Gore has chosen.

Glaciers are one of the world's precious fresh water reserves – as Gore pointed out in his documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth," – and are one of the ecosystems most at risk from climate change.

With 1,751 glaciers within its borders, Chile is home to 3 percent of the world's small glaciers. Global warming, however, is taking its toll. Chile's melting glaciers contribute to over 8 percent of the world's rising sea levels. In the last two years Chile's Marinelli glacier appears to have shrunk by more than four kilometers, despite the area receiving substantial rain.

Barrick's quest for gold in Chile may prove similarly devastating. The company initially drafted a plan to build an open-pit mine and to remove or "relocate" three glaciers impeding Pascua Lama's development. The company eventually received the environmental go-ahead from Chile's National Environment Commission (Conama) in early 2006, but on the condition that the ice mass not be touched. A tunnelled mine, rather than an open pit mine, would have to be used, said Chile's Conama.

Environmental watchdog, the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA) has already reported partial destruction of three glaciers: Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza, which all sit astride Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama mine.

Still, Chile's lax environmental controls and dismally poor environmental track record suggest Barrick will be allowed to continue developing the mine without any significant penalty or oversight.

(See: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment , Revisiting the Valdivia CELCO industrial spill of 2005 , Chile Intelligence Agency Monitors Environmental NGOs )

Residents in the Huasco Valley below the Pascua Lama mine site – many of whom are from the Diaguita Huasco Altina indigenous community - fear residue from the mining process will contaminate the Estrecho River which flows out of the valley. The community also claims it has lost 50,000 hectares of land which Barrick Gold acquired illegally.

(See, Washington Post: In Chile, Precious Lands Often Go for a Pittance - Barrick Gold Corporation Pays $19 Dollars for 20,000 Acres )

"It does not make sense that one of the principal leaders of world public opinion on the threat global warming presents to our planet would come to Chile financed by the same mining company responsible for the destruction of glaciers and water contamination in so many parts of the world," read a statement from OLCA. The organization referred to the sponsorship as an "image-laundering operation" on the part of Barrick Gold.

Here is the full article.

Chile-Argentina Tax Dispute Delays Barrick Gold Corporation's Pascua Lama Gold Mine Development

[January 7, 2008] Construction of the 2.4 billion US dollars Pascua Lama gold mine has been delayed at least one year due to a tax dispute between Chile and Argentina. The Pascua Lama mine straddles the Chile-Argentine border. The Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corporation announced in September 2007 that it wanted the mine to be up and running by 2011.

However despite investing 200 million US dollars in preliminary construction, the company has not yet been able to start the project because Chile and Argentina cannot agree on how to divide the mine’s tax revenues. About 80% of the mine’s estimated gold deposits are found beneath 243 hectares located in Chile, while the other 20% of gold deposits are beneath 100 more hectares located on the Argentine side of the border.

Chile’s Internal Tax Service (SII) said it would be very difficult for authorities to monitor which side of the border the minerals came from. But regional and local governments in both Chile and Argentina are calling for an exact accounting in order to claim their own share of the tax income.

Environmental worries, especially about the three nearby ice fields -- Toro I, Toro II and Esperanza -- as well as the concerns of the Huasco community that inhabits the valley, have also delayed construction.

Here is the full article.

ANI or DINA? Environmental organizations protest espionage and infiltration by Chilean Intelligence Agency

ENVIROS DETECT HYPOCRISY IN CONAMA’S SUPPORT OF ANI INVESTIGATION

(Dec. 13, 2007) Leaders of the Chilean environmental movement spoke out Wednesday against the National Environmental Commission’s (CONAMA) support of the government’s monitoring of environmental NGO campaigns. This comes after the Chilean daily La Tercera disclosed last Friday that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased oversight of environmental campaigns against three of the country’s most controversial environmental undertakings – the Aysén dam, the Pascua Lama gold mine, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) proposed waste duct into the sea.

(MICHELE BACHELET & PETER MUNK: Until we hear otherwise, we can infer that Michele Bachelet holds the same opinion of Environmental NGOs as Peter Munk, Chairman of the Barrick Gold Corporation. They both attended the Davos Conference in Switzerland where Chairman Munk had this to say: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry Apparently Bachelet was listening and took action?)

Various environmental activists have claimed that ANI’s methods include unnecessary measures like espionage and infiltration (ST, Dec. 10, 11). They are particularly upset by CONAMA’s support of the ANI investigation.

Director of Greenpeace Chile, Rodrigo Hererra, commented on CONAMA’s position Wednesday. “ANI’s report has very grave implications for freedom of expression in the environmentalist movement,” he told the Santiago Times. “I absolutely reject CONAMA’s support of their investigation. It is clear that CONAMA has no idea what methods the ANI is using.”

Lucio Cuenca, director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts (Olca), said that his organization – which campaigns against the Pascua Lama gold mine among other things – has been monitored by ANI since 2005 and has had negative experience with ANI’s questionable investigation tactics.

“It is legitimate within a democracy for the government to gather information on organizations,” he said. “It is not legitimate to deny people their liberty, intimidate them, and intervene in their civic participation as ANI has done.”

Cuenca said he was dissatisfied, though not entirely surprised, that CONAMA supports ANI’s investigation. He called on CONAMA to better fulfill its role as a facilitator of public opinion in projects affecting the environment.

CONAMA Director Ana Lya Uriarte has defended the ANI investigation. Her spokesperson, Jaime Ugalde, said, “It is necessary that in the democratic system that there exist investigation into the operations of organizations. But that does not necessarily imply infiltration or unnecessary persecution of said organizations.”

When asked about ANI’s supposed intimidation tactics, Ugalde said, “CONAMA does not have information that infiltration is one of the methods that ANI is employing. But if it is, then that is an issue that has to do with security, and should be left to the Ministry of the Interior. CONAMA does not have an opinion (on these allegations).”

CONAMA’s support of the investigation comes as the organization aims encourage more civic participation in its Environmental Impact Evaluation System (SEIA).

Urirate has launched a series of workshops set to last four months with the intention of surveying Chileans’ perception of the SEIA. Preliminary findings show that the general public believes there is not enough consideration of public opinion in CONAMA’s evaluation processes.

Uriarte says the survey of public opinion of the SEIA is part of a larger effort to restructure CONAMA to incorporate more avenues for the public to influence new projects.

But environmentalists are still dubious of CONAMA’s commitment to public participation. As Cuenca said, “CONAMA’s role should be to support free expression and ensure that people have all the information necessary to take part in the environmental impact evaluation process. But they do not do that. Instead, CONAMA misinforms the public by withholding necessary information on a given project.”

(This type of duplicity and corruption is characteristic of Chile and goes back a least a decade or more: Endesa Strategy & Tactics I – Revisiting the Ralco & Pangue Hydroelectric Projects on the Rio Bio Bio )

Here is the full article.

Chile Intelligence Agency Monitors Environmental NGOs

OLD FRIENDS: Endesa SA, Barrick Gold Corporation, Celulosa Arauco receive support from Chile's Intelligence Agency.

Environmental Activists Alarmed, But Not Surprised About The News

(Dec. 10, 2007) The Chilean daily La Tercera on Friday revealed that Chile’s National Intelligence Agency (ANI) has increased its monitoring of environmental NGO campaigns since the start of this year. The report specified that campaigns against the controversial Aysen dam project, the transnational Pascua Lama mining project, and Celulosa Arauco’s (CELCO) waste duct are receiving the most attention.

According to La Tercera, the ANI has been gathering information on how environmental NGOs function, who their principal members are, who provides them with funding, and how they respond to environmental issues nationwide. At least three ANI employees, including a former official from Chile’s National Environmental Commission (CONAMA), are known to be working full time on these issues.

Prominent environmentalists expressed no surprise, saying the news confirmed their belief that they had been placed under increased surveillance.

The Director of the Latin American Observatory on Environmental Conflicts Lucio Cuenca said he received several phone calls from ANI employees in 2005, looking for information about campaigns against Pasca Lama. Cuenca said he did not provide any information, but warned that officials continue to be very interested in the anti-Pasca Lama movement.

“They are keeping a close eye on our activities. But, we refuse to cooperate with them,” he said. “It is extremely worrying that, even though we are in a democracy, environmental movements are considered as a threat to the State.”

(NGO's were at the top of Barrick Gold Corporation's agenda at the 2007 Davos Conference in Switzerland: Barrick Gold Chairman, Peter Munk complains rogue Environmental NGOs are Destroying the Mining Industry )

Juan Pablo Orrego, coordinator of the NGO Ecosistemas and one of the leaders of the campaign against the Aysen dam project, had a similar response.

“There are people who are not comfortable with our work,” he said. “I suppose that this has to do with the fact that we could be creating problems for the government or obstacles for big businesses.”

“Several of our computers have been stolen, but these crimes appear to be totally selective,” said Orrego. “Additionally, we have received phone calls saying that we should be careful about what we do. We are being investigated, but I have no idea why.”

Meanwhile, current CONAMA Director Ana Lya Uriarte defended ANI’s work.

“All of our country’s institutions—including environmental organizations—form part of the analysis for national security. I think that it is natural — and also quite obvious — that there exist intelligence reports about organizations in this area,” she said.

(Not unexpected, as the Chilean government's lack of concern for the environment and support of the foreign owned extraction industry is notorious: Chile's Government fines itself for polluting the environment )

The on-going citizen education campaigns against the Aysen dam project, Pascua Lama mining project, and CELCO’s waste duct are arguably the three best known environmental initiatives in Chile.

The dam proposal, known as HidroAysén, calls for five massive hydroelectric dams to be built in far southern Chile’s Region XI, an area also known as Aysén. The dams are slated for the region’s two most powerful rivers: the Baker and the Pascua. Together the five generating facilities would produce an estimated 2,750 MW of electricity – roughly equivalent to 20 percent of the country’s current overall generating capacity.

The dam project has attracted significant opposition from local residents and environmental groups who say the dams will be socially and ecologically devastating for the pristine region. A planned transmission line from Region XI to central Chile has been a particular lighting rod for criticism, with opponents insisting it will be a major blight on the country’s landscape (ST, Dec. 6).

The Pascua Lama gold mine is set to be built in the Andes Mountains in an area straddling the border between northern Chile's Region III and Argentina. This bi-national location has led to several disputes between the two countries, including prolonged discussions on how to divide tax revenues earned from the project (ST, Sept. 12).

Environmental activists have lambasted the construction since it was first proposed, claiming the mine will destroy nearby glaciers and pollute downstream water supplies with waste runoff (VT, June 10). Barrick’s deplorable track record for environmental abuse is well-known: U.S. Vice-President Al Gore insisted upon removing Barrick Gold as a sponsor of his May visit to Chile (ST, May 11).

(Here is another classic Barrick Gold Corporation missive: Barrick Gold Corporation Chairman asserts that gold mines create jobs and feed people. (so would dismantling the Pyramids of Egypt) and here is the truth: Mining Misery: Guatemala is one of many countries that has attracted the investment of Canadian Mining Companies – but at what cost to its people? )

Finally, CELCO has been at the center of environmental controversy since 1996 when it first proposed to build a waste disposal duct from its Valdivia plant through the tiny Region XIV fishing community of Mehuín. Resistance in the town was initially strong enough to make CELCO back out of the sea duct project, opting instead to dump its waste water into the nearby Cruces River. But in 2004 the newly inaugurated Valdivia plant leaked untreated waste water into the river, killing off the black-necked swan population and setting off a firestorm of local and international protests. (ST, Dec. 3)

CELCO announced in October it had reached an agreement with Mehuín’s fishermen’s unions - paying members US$8.9 million in exchange for their acquiescence in the company’s waste duct plan. Initial reports indicated that 99 of Mehuín’s nearly 250 unionized fishermen had signed the agreement.

But, community leader Eliab Viguera recently told the Santiago Times that the opposition to the Mehuín duct is stronger and more widespread than ever before.

“It is no longer an issue of just Mehuín,” he said. “The movement has gained strength in communities throughout the Valdivia area (ST, Dec. 6).

Here is the full article.

Corporate rights trump human rights - alleged that Canadian Barrick Gold security forces intentionally buried alive 52 artisanal miners in Tanzania.

Harper visits a foreign Barrick Gold operation for a second time this year

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA, November 30, 2007: The Stephen Harper government is working quietly to stifle legislation in the Senate that would force companies like Barrick Gold, whose controversial operations he visited here this week, to respect human rights and the environment.

Harper had visited a Barrick operation in Chile in July. There, he met with company officials overseeing the Pascua-Lama mining project, which straddles the mountain border with Argentina and has been condemned by Chileans, as well as international environmentalists. In Tanzania, Barrick is strike-bound and the source of massive public protests for its employment and environmental practices. The Bulyanhulu Gold Mine there was the site of massive displacements of small-scale artisanal miners in the 1990s, and it is alleged that 52 of these miners were intentionally buried alive by company security forces.

"There is nothing more contested than resource extraction in the developing world," Gerry Barr of the Canadian Council for International Cooperation told HarperIndex.ca . "Developing countries give up a lot and get very little out of resource extraction, so it is a zone of intense social debate in Tanzania, no less so than anywhere else." He said a government review is underway there that may result in stricter rules for mining companies. "Until recently the nation has been very very permissive, with very modest royalties coming to the Tanzanian state as a result of mining."

Meanwhile Chile"s lawmakers are demanding a review of the Pascua- Lama project, where critics charge that three glaciers near the site have already shrunk by up to 70 percent due Barrick"s exploratory activities. Andes Mountains indigenous groups have complained to the Organization of American States that environmental damage from the mine will ruin their lands.

"The thing that has us scratching our heads is not so much that Mr. Harper is visiting resource extraction centres in the developing world but that his government has maintained a silence on the outcomes of a very remarkable process sponsored by its own Department of Foreign Affairs - a round table dialogue on resource extractions." He says the group "produced remarkable consensus-based recommendations." Representatives from industry, civil society groups and government "all agreed Canada needs a national corporate social responsibility framework with the expectation that all Canadian operators would comply with a key set of principles that would take account of human rights, labour standards, and a host of other issues including environmental impact and the rights of indigenous populations and communities to benefit from development."

Harper uses Senate to block Parliamentary legislation

At the same time, the Harper Conservatives are using procedure to block the the Canadian Senate from ratifying a bill that might put fetters on companies like Barrick. Bill C-293, the Development Assistance Accountability Act, is a private member"s bill that received third reading in the House of Commons last March but has not gone to the Senate for approval due to government opposition.

Here is the full article.

Argentina and Chile to sign huge Andean shared mining project - Environmentalists call the Las Flechas Project a second Pascua Lama

The governments of Chile and Argentina will sign an agreement this week pushing forward the development of another massive bi-national mining project. The deal is intended to hurry approval of work at “Las Flechas” mineral deposits by using existing treaties and protocols to govern its construction.

Under the agreement, the 1.5 billion US dollars project, straddling Chile's Region III and Argentina's San Juan Province, would fall under the scope of the nearly ten-year old Treaty of Integration and Mining. That deal was signed by the two nations during the approval process for the controversial Pascua Lama mine and its protocols have also been used to streamline the development of the Amos-Andre and Vicuna bi-national mine projects.

Chile's Undersecretary of Mining Marisol Aravena will travel to Buenos Aires Wednesday to sign the agreement with her Argentine counterparts. Officials note that while this is only a “first step” in the approval process, the use of extant protocols is a valuable tool in expediting two-party talks.

Investment at “Las Flechas” is a joint venture between the Japanese Jogmec and Brazilian CVRD mining companies. While the project remains in its infancy, production estimates and extraction techniques are not concrete. Other projects approved under the same treaty – such as the massive Pascua Lama mine also set for Region III – have been met with considerable public debate over the environmental consequences of development despite a government stamp of approval.

For their part, the financiers of “Las Flechas” have a mixed environmental record.

Here is the full article.

Canadian Barrick Gold Corporation Pascua Lama Project Protested - Al Gore insisted upon removing Barrick Gold as a sponsor of his May visit to Chile.

CHILE: PASCUA LAMA OPPOSITION REVIVES DURING SATURDAY MARCH

March Organizers: “We Have To Inform The Public Because The Mass Media Will Not”

(Oct. 29, 2007) Opponents of the Pascua Lama gold mine took to the streets of Santiago on Saturday to raise public awareness about the US$1.4 billion project that, they claim, will have terrible long-term effects on Chile's environment. Although environmental authorities have already approved the project, protesters said their continued resistance can halt the completion of construction (ST, June 26, 2006).

The noisy and vibrant procession of approximately four hundred protesters weaved its way through the bustling pedestrian streets of central Santiago, led by demonstrators hoisting a banner with a simple message: “No to Pascua Lama.” Puncturing the afternoon calm on one of the sunniest days of the spring season, the march rumbled through the heavy weekend traffic of shoppers and passers-by, accompanied by rumbling drums and chants of “Water, Yes! Gold, No!”

Organizers told the Santiago Times that the purpose of the spectacle was to let the public know that opposition to Pascua Lama remains, even as construction continues on the mine.

“This is a march to inform our neighbors that there are still plenty of obstacles for the completion of the mine,” said Consuelo Infante, head of the anti-mine group Citizen Movement. “We have to inform the public because the mass media will not do it, and it is very important that people know there is organized opposition to the project at this time.”

In addition to banners and songs, marchers distributed thousands of informational pamphlets to nearby Santiaguinos outlining the case against Pascua Lama and its owner – Canadian mining group Barrick Gold. Anti-mine groups said a series of logistical and administrative issues could still derail construction, including non-compliance with permit requirements and the refusal of Barrick to respect all aspects of the agreements that paved the way for the mine's construction.

March organizers claim these shortcomings by Barrick could halt the project, if only the government is willing to pursue existing legal complaints.

“Our case was presented at the beginning of the year and the state has not responded, so the courts are not accessible for us,” read the literature given out by marchers. “All of the complaints we have lodged have been rejected due to problems of form, and not substance.”

Barrick's project at Pascua Lama is no stranger to controversy. Environmental activists have lambasted the construction since it was first proposed, claiming the mine will destroy nearby glaciers and pollute downstream water supplies with waste runoff (VT, June 10). Barrick’s track record for environmental abuse is apparently well-known: U.S. Vice-President Al Gore insisted upon removing Barrick Gold as a sponsor of his May visit to Chile (ST, May 11).

Here is the full article.

More on Pascua Lama here: Pascua Lama Gold Mine: A Contemporary Quest for El Dorado

Endesa SA plans 5 additional dams to coincide with the HydroAysen Project

WATER RIGHTS: A HOT-BUTTON ISSUE IN CHILE

(June 28, 2007) Water rights - as they relate to hydro-power in the south, industrial needs in the northern mines, or irrigation in the Central Valley vineyards – are a big issue in Chile. But who owns Chile’s water rights, who administers them, and are fears justified that Chile’s water could be monopolized by an economic juggernaut?

The General Water Directorship, or DGA, administers the nation’s water code, which is supposed to regulate water rights and to prevent monopoly ownership. The DGA was in the news last week when Chilean legislators cited a 2002 DGA report documenting substantial damage to Chilean glaciers by Canada’s Barrick Gold. The damage occurred during extra-official surveying work done at Barrick’s Pascua Lama gold mine (ST, June 26), but the DGA report was not considered by Chilean environmental authorities when they later granted Barrick authorization for their project.

In May the government’s Free Competition Defense Tribunal, FCDT, ordered the Endesa energy company to report about its water rights holdings throughout the country in order to determine the effect the proposed Aysen dam project – developed by Endesa and the Colbún Electrical Company - would have on the energy market.

Endesa responded to the FCDT enquiry reporting that while it owned substantial water rights in Regions XII and IX, most of its water rights were concentrated in Region X. Its water rights holdings, said the company, are all confined within the Interconnected Central System (SIC) of energy and total 40 percent of the total water rights within the SIC.

Endesa said it already generates 3,400 megawatts of power; its proposed collaboration with Colbún on the Aysen dam project would give it an additional 2,400 megawatts of power generating capacity.

The company also outlined additional water rights applications now in process before the DGA. If approved, these new water rights would open the door for five additional hydro projects that would generate another 1,081 megawatts of power.

Also in May, various Chilean farming operations sued the DGA, saying it wrongfully charged them exorbitant licensing fees under new provisions in Chile’s water code. The farmers hold water rights titles allowing them to exploit groundwater on their property, but were recently placed on a DGA list of “non-complying” companies that allegedly owe thousands of dollars in licensing fees.

Here is the full article.

Pascua Lama Gold Mine: A Contemporary Quest for El Dorado

Pascua Lama Gold Mine Background

Pascua Lama is a mining project consisting of the open-pit exploitation of a deposit of gold, silver and copper ore and its processing to produce doré (gold and silver) and copper concentrate.

The deposit is located high in the Andes on the Chilean-Argentinean border, about 150 kilometres to the south-east of the city of Vallenar in the Commune of Alto del Carmen, Province of Huasco, III Region of Chile.

The nearest communities are Chollay and Las Breas, located 35 and 55 km away, respectively.

The project is bi-national in that it will have workings and operations in both Chilean and Argentine territory. In Argentina, the project is located about 300 km to the north-east of the city of San Juan, in the Department of Iglesia, Province of San Juan.

The operational area is established according to Additional Protocols 20 and 23 of the 16th Economic Complementarity Agreement of negotiated between Chile and Argentina within the framework of the 1980 Treaty of Montevideo.

A large part of the open pit will be in Chilean territory, as well as a waste rock dump, the processing plant, primary crusher, mine equipment maintenance complex, and powder magazine for the storage of explosives.

These facilities will be located in the headwaters of the Estrecho River, tributary of the Chollay River, at 4,400 metres above sea level.

In Argentine territory a smaller portion of the open pit will be built, along with a waste rock dump, a processing plant, a tailings pond, the construction camp (for 4,000 people) and operation camp (for 1,000 people), in addition to a private aerodrome.

The ore will be extracted of the mine at the rate of 15 million tons per year and sent to a primary crusher in Chilean territory, to reduce its size. Then it will be transported by means of a conveyor belt to processing facilities located in Argentine territory, crossing the border through a 2.7 km long tunnel.

In the processing plant the ore will undergo secondary crushing, milling, and washing operations.



The so-called refractory ore will be processed by means of conventional flotation to obtain copper concentrates. The non-refractory ore, as well as wastes from the flotation circuit, will be processed by means of leaching with sodium cyanide, precipitation with zinc, and refinement to obtain “doré” metal.

The water requirement for the Pascua-Lama Project will be 370 l/s in total. This demand will be supplied from the Taguas River in Argentina.

Barrick is proposing to extract additional water in Chile for the operations of the mine and factories, with an estimated requirement of up to 42 l/s that will be taken from the Estrecho and Toro rivers. Barrick will have the corresponding utilisation rights under the legislation of each country.

There will be terrestrial access from both sides of the border. In Chile access will be from the city of Vallenar, via the road that connects Vallenar with the Alto del Carmen area, followed by a secondary road to be developed up the entire Carmen River valley.

The amount of the investment has been estimated to be 950 million dollars.

The Project has a productive life of 20 years according to the present reserve estimates, and it will produce 5,000 tons of copper in concentrates, 615,000 ounces of gold and 18.2 million ounces of silver annually.

The companies developing the project are: Company Minera Nevada S.A. in Chile, and Barrick Exploraciones Argentina S.A. and Exploraciones Mineras Argentinas S.A., in Argentina.

Glacier removal and handling

The information available in the EIA only establishes that this will have an approximate surface area of 10 hectares and that “the sectors of glacier that will have to be removed will be determined with the appropriate lead time in accord with the updated mining plan.” There are no estimates of thickness or the equivalent in water.

The lack of relevant technical expertise in removing glaciers implies an irreversible environmental impact. What is certain is that the three affected glaciers would suffer an environmental impact. Nevertheless, there is no certainty whatsoever of what the impact would be on glaciers or permafrost (frozen rock or soil) from the road network and the associated stabilization measures that generally involves the use of salts.

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