Gold miner hit with massive environmental fine
Published:Sunday | May 26, 2013 | 12:00 AM
EL CORRAL, Chile (AP):Chile's newly empowered environmental regulator last Friday confirmed nearly two dozen violations by gold miner Barrick Gold Corporation of its environmental impact agreement.
The Environmental Superintendent, Juan Carlos Monckeberg, has blocked construction on the US$8.5 billion project at Pascua-Lama until the Canadian company keeps its promises to prevent water contamination.
Monckeberg also fined Barrick US$16.4 million, the highest environmental fine in Chile's history, saying agency inspectors found the company hadn't told the full truth when it reported failures.
INCORRECT REPORTS
"We found that the acts described weren't correct, truthful or provable. And there were other failures of Pascua-Lama's environmental permit as well," said Monckeberg.
Barrick promised US$30 million in fixes and said it remains committed to meeting the highest standards and causing no pollution.
But Chile seems determined to minimise the dangers of digging huge pits and processing ore with toxic chemicals along the spine of the Andes, causing delays that threaten the future of this top priority for the world's largest gold-mining company.