Canadian mining company Barrick Gold Corporation said today that it will comply with the details of the resolution of Chile's Superintendent for the Environment (SMA) in which the authority fined the company US$ 16.4 million.
As Digital Journal reported earlier today, Chile’s SMA announced a fine of about 16,4 million dollars to Barrick Gold for violating several regulations and environmental compliance resolutions. Additionally, the authority instructed Barrick Gold to stop construction activities at the Pascua Lama project until contaminated water management systems could be implemented in the manner provided in the Environmental Qualification Resolution that approved the operations, but the company had failed to put in place.
Today the company issued a statement saying it will build temporary structures to gather, transport and discharge water into a settling basin north of the mine and will monitor the environmental variables affected by the operation which threaten Andean glaciers very important to local indigenous Diaguita communities.
""We deeply regret that Pascua Lama has suffered difficulties in its construction and we will endeavor to rectify the problems and meet the terms of the approved project. We are respectful of the institutions of the countries in which we operate, and consequently, we will act according to the resolution."" said Eduardo Flores Zelaya, president of Barrick Gold South America, and Senior VP of Pascua Lama, according to LaTercera (in Spanish).
Furthermore, the company’s website posted a declaration which includes the following statement: ""Barrick is fully committed to complying with all aspects of the resolution and to operating at the highest environmental standards." "
After reading this ,,we ask our self several questions:
How come they were can comply in Chile and Nevada but not in Dom. Rep. ?
How come that nobody says nothing either?
Why the Dominican government is not forcing them to comply with environmental issues in the last "happy agreement"?
Why they didn't talk about reforestation, jobs for the poor people in the area , water treatment facilities,hospitals for the people that eventually will get sick, etc?
How come that the Dominican government haven't seen a dime yet?
Now we certainly have more questions than answers..
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