Barrick Gold’s Perfect Storm Peter Munk on Resource Nationalism and the Changing Global Paradigm

The origin of problems according to Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold’s Perfect Storm Peter Munk on Resource Nationalism and the Changing Global Paradigm



“Please understand” … pleaded Peter Munk several times to shareholdersgathered in Toronto on April 24th for Barrick’s annual shareholdermeeting (AGM) as he laid out the reasons why Barrick Gold has lost nearly three-fourths of its company value, why projects are being closed due toenvironmental contamination, and why all of a sudden gold, and Barrick Gold stock in particular, doesn’t look so attractive. The speech is a revelation of what really drives the gold miningindustry and one of the most controversial industry leaders in particular.

Munk was clearly referring to Pascua Lama, the multi-billion dollar goldproject on the Argentine-Chilean border that has become a constant headache forBarrick Gold. The project is riddled with environmental problems and unpredictedand escalating costs, and suffered as a result of the collapse of the financingscheme Barrick hoped to build with subsidized public money from EDC (Canada)and EXIM bank (USA). Today, the mine remains closed in Chile for failure tocomply with environmental regulations. Barrick’s legal appeals have had noinfluence on the Chilean authorities.



A year ago today, Munk boasted that the fundamentals were brilliant.Barrick was on the verge of launching two of the most spectacularly unique goldmines, Pascua Lama in Argentina/Chile and Pueblo Viejo in the DominicanRepublic. Both projects would be characterized by exceptional production, longlife, and some of the lowest average operating costs per ounce. This yearthough, Munk was reduced to asking, “What can I say to you? ...The fundamental stoday could not be more different than they were a mere twelve months ago. Our two mines are both in trouble”. (AGM Speech: Minutes 43:00-44:00)

At both Pascua Lama and Pueblo Viejo, Barrick has run into significant problems.Munk attributed this to growing resource nationalism, which he referred to numerous times throughout his speech. He says it’s a global phenomenon and the underlying characteristic of the new mining paradigm.

He posed the following hypothetical situation to the audience: “You’rethe new president of a small Latin American country… You have two choices, keepon taxing the people… or go after that big multinational huge globalcorporation with billions of dollars of assets. … This is totally understandable, it is the essence of this enormously rapidly growing resource nationalism… It is the ultimate threat to the very lifeline of the mining industry, which ultimately will cause an enormous spike in commodity prices. (Minutes46:00 - 47:00)

He pointedto leaders such as Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Evo Morales of Bolivia … suggesting that “there’s a whole slew of new modern populist leaders that may not follow the rule of law as we expect them to do”. (Minute 48:00)

While never explicitly stated, it was clear that his critiques were no tso much about Chavez and Morales, but rather referred to his frustration with Argentina and Dominican republic

Ironically, the venting and frustration over host government rule-bendingquickly vanished when Munk came to the issue of executive pay. There, Munk pointed to the impressive CV of newCo-Chairman John Thorton, former Goldman Sachs chief, as a justification for awhopping US$11.9 million pay package from the gold giant to have Thorton takeover Barrick, which has dropped in value by nearly 75% since its recent marketpeak.

In his closing comments, Peter Munk reached out to the essence of whatsustains the gold industry. Companies mine, process and sell gold not forsocial or economic development, not for social progress and not for the benefitof the needy or the poor communities in the countries where Barrick Gold isinvested




So, the conclusion of BG speech:

• Dominican president is as radical and keep the same political lines of as Chavez and Morales
  

• The most important mines of BG are Pascua lama and Pueblo viejo have a populist leader that "dont follow the rules of law"

• BG always follow the rules of law
  

• BG is not in DR for social progress or the needy poor communities of Cotui.
  

• BG never mention pollution, smuggling cyanide, fines, etc so all those "rumors" are probably a lie

• Barrick Gold has lost nearly three-fourths of its company value, shareholders are VERY scare
  

• It's ok to pay somebody a bonus of $11.9 millions made from dominican gold , but not a single dime yet to dominican people
  

source: www.gowebcasting.com/events/barrick/2013/04/24/2013-annual-meeting-of-shareholders/play/stream/7102

These are the personal words of BG president Peter Munk in the last shareholder meeting..
Personally I am speechless ..

You make your own conclusions..

Barrick Gold in Chile: ‘We regret environmental problems, we’ll comply’

Barrick Gold in Chile will comply in enviromental issues, not in Dominican Republic

 

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..

Barrick agrees to pay fine to Chileans, nothing to Dominicans

Barrick Gold pays $11.6-million Pascua-Lama fine ...

Santiago — Reuters

Published Friday, May. 31 2013, 6:30 PM EDT



Barrick Gold Corp. has paid a discounted $11.6-million (U.S.) fine for serious environmental violations at its suspended Pascua-Lama gold project, a spokesperson for the company said on Friday.

Last Friday, Chile’s new environmental regulator ordered the controversial $8.5-billion project be halted and fined the world’s biggest gold miner around $16-million.

Chile’s President says Barrick Gold Corp. must follow 23 steps to comply with orders from his country’s environmental regulator, a message that underscores the tough road ahead for the company to get its crucial Pascua-Lama gold project back on track.

Sebastian Pinera, in Ottawa to discuss Canada-Chile economic relations, admonished Barrick for its handling of the $8.5-billion (U.S.) mine development so far.






So, let me see If I understand:

• Barrick Gold agree to pay to Chile the fine ( nothing to the Dominican counterparts)

• No foreign investment run away of Chile because of the fine

• The did have resources to pay a fine , despite what their executives were saying recently

• Dominicans haven't seen a dime yet after the famous agreement

• Barrick Gold will keep polluting the environment, the rivers, dams and air with tons of cyanide and mercury as they always do everywhere in the world...

• We, Dominicans , are the most naive human beings on planet Earth

Nobody is going to do nothing? Nobody is going to say nothing either?What the hell I am missing over here?

Unfinished business

The Barrick Gold issue



Everyone is happy about the big agreement of the Dominican government  with Barrick Gold related to Pueblo Viejo Gold mine in Cotui, but there are certain issues not finished yet..
 In a press conference after a meeting of several hours between senior officials and Barrick Gold executives in the National Palace, the government announced the pact to amend the contract, to be submitted to Congress as soon as possible.

 Among other points, the agreement will raise Government revenue by more than US$1.5 billion over the project's duration, in addition to the US$10.0 billion projected in March 2013, and raises the profit split from 37.1% to 51.3 % for the country, and lowers Barrick’s from 62.9% to 48.7%

Everything looks clear in the agreement..except for a couple of things:

• We haven't seen a dime yet..

• We haven't get clear what is going to happens with the millions in fines of BG that they already owe to the Dominican state.. ..

• 
  Do BG have any plan to employ Dominican people instead of bringing more peruvians?

• What is going to happens with the cyanide and mercury? How are they going to clean that mess?

• What is going to happens with the crops of cocoa beans, coffee beans and fishing infrastructure that we had before..?   Any reforestation plans either?

• Did anybody realize that we are pushing for more marginality of Dominican people by allowing the eviction of 600 families?

• So far, instead of bringing prosperity to Cotui area, BG only brought misery , illness, cyanide, evictions, and poverty..
  What the government, in charge of protecting its people ,is going to do about it?

• Is there any plan study to analyze the horrendous environmental consequences of Barrick Gold in DR?

2000 years later..I still hearing Jesus saying, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing. .

Barrick Gold to seal reviewed Dominican mine contract next week

 

Santo Domingo.- Several senior executives of Barrick Gold Corp. will visit the country in the next few weeks to endorse the contract renegotiated with the Dominican Government.

The announcement comes two weeks after Barrick Gold capitulated before president Danilo Medina’s stern warning to review the gold mining contract to give the country a faire share of the income.

Once the preliminary agreement signed May 8 is ratified, it would be submitted to Congress, which is expected to approve the amendment.

The government officials who participated in the talks to rewrite the contract for the mine at Pueblo Viejo (northeast)  have continued holding meetings to hammer  out some details.

A source quoted by hoy.com.do said despite the announced preliminary agreement, it’s a complex negotiations involving several new financial aspects, especially for the Canadian miner.

The source also notes that while gold’s price of US$1,600 an ounce was used as the reference in the renegotiation, what should be done regarding its current downward trend must still be established.
 
 ________________________________________________________________________

 The source didn't mention that BG keeps the same operational cost as it was in 2008, so it keeps a VERY good deal for BG.

The conversation of BG and the government were about the financial issues.They haven't talk about pollution, eviction ,unemployment, cleaning the cyanide and mercury from the rivers and dams, , water treatment program , health issue, dead crops and what are they going to do with the 600 families they left without water in that area.

The situation now is unbearable for those people living in the second poorest area of Dominican republic


The government was supposed to be protecting their people. So far it seems like another scam to me.


Time to be good Dominicans and support our brothers and sisters in that deprived area.We need to be proactive and keep our natural resources.

Time to say no to Barrick Gold !

Barrick Gold Fined $16M For Environmental Problems At $5B Pascua Lama Project In Chile

Chile blocks Barrick Gold mining project

 

Diaguita Indians celebrate victory in seeing mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation fined for environmental violation.

More bad news for some embattled gold miners. On Friday, Barrick Gold was halted around noon in New York as reports surfaced indicating the Chilean government had forced the company to “paralyze” its operations in Pascua Lama, one of the largest gold and silver resources in the world into which Barrick has poured nearly $5 billion in. Silver Wheaton , a joint-venture partner in the project, was halted a few minutes later.

According to Chilean daily El Mercurio, Barrick will be fined about 8 billion Chilean pesos, or $16.4 million, given the company’s failure to comply with environmental regulation. Beyond the fine, Chile’s Superintendent for the Environment, Juan Carlos Monckeberg Fernandez, has established that all construction activity at Pascua Lama must stop immediately.


The Pascua Lama project is located in the Andes Mountains, between Chile and Argentina. Barrick had already announced its operations in Chile were halted in its latest earnings release, as the company was assessing environmental and regulatory requirements, while negotiating with a court of appeals. Barrick has invested nearly $5 billion in Pascua Lima, which holds almost 18 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves and 676 million ounces of silver.

The main problem appears to be the water management systems at Pascua Lama, El Mercurio reported. The open-pit mining project has the potential to contaminate water in the area, and according to the Chilean government, Barrick hasn’t taken the proper precautions, precautions it had agreed to previously.

It hasn’t been a good year for gold, or anything related to it. Major mining companies have all suffered steep stock price declines. Barrick Gold is among the worst performers, down more than 40% in 2013, but others like Newmont Mining NEM -0.78% and Goldcorp are also well in the red, down more than 20% each. Gold prices have also taken a beating, with bullion currently trading below $1,400 an ounce.

                                 Diaguita people

 People from the Diaguita indigenous group whose community lives downstream from the mine allege that their water supply and glaciers have been contaminated by the construction work.

The Diaguita people who live in small towns along rivers that flow down from the mine were feeling a sense of victory on Friday.

"Even though we seem so small, we could beat Barrick, which is a giant," said one community member Osvaldina Guzman Villegas.

 
______________________________________

Barrick Gold  couldn't fix the contamination issue in Chile, so they lost their mine.Now we are having the same issue in Dominican Republic, but in way worst situation because we are a way smaller country that can not hold so much cyanide, mercury and led.

We need to take care of our people as well, specially the ones that lives in the small towns along the rivers of Cotui.

Eventually we are becoming the Chernobyl of the Caribbean.

The question is: Is BG REALLY trying to stop the pollution in DR?

Nixed nickel mine is Dominican environmentalists’ 3rd major victory

 
Santo Domingo.- In the heels of the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) report that Xstrata Nickel Falcondo’s plan to mine Loma Miranda isn’t feasible, civil society groups were quick to demand its designation as a National Park.
 
The report against the planned mine marks the third major victory for the country’s environmental movement, after the ban on development of the Bahia de las Aguilas beach, and the construction of a cement plant near the Los Haitises National Park.

The UNDP said of evaluation of the environmental impact assessment by the firm, said the Falcondo’s project neither meets environmental, social nor sustainable development requirements.

In a press conference Thursday, UNDP officials headed by country representative Valerie Julliand listed the deficiencies found in the Falcondo study, noting that the miner didn’t take into account the growth in water consumption nor an analysis on the project’s impact on rivers. "Given the deficiencies in the environmental impact study, it’s concluded that the Loma Miranda project doesn’t meet the environmental and social requirements and therefore, the country’s sustainable development."

The UNDP official said relevant issues were omitted, such as ecosystem services and risk, and were considered only those relating to mining activity and not those of social biophysics.

Technology

The report notes that aside from those considerations, Falcondo did submit a novel project with new mining technologies in areas of sediment and runoff management and the reforestation process in the affected areas.


 
 Academy of Sciences

Dominican Republic Academy of Sciences president Miltiades Mejia said once again its technicians showed they possess the knowledge to express objections on topics such as Loma Miranda, when they called the project as unsustainable and counterproductive while taking into account the population’s views.
"Our proposal today is to designate Loma Miranda a National Park and ask Environment minister Bautista Rojas to enforce Law 64-00 in the case of Xstrata Nickel’s operation, to start restoring the mined areas, as the Law stipulates," Mejia said.

Bonao supports
The Bonao City Council yesterday issued a resolution to support the city of  La Vega’s demand that Congress declare Loma Miranda a protected area, according to a proposal submitted by Senator Euclides Sanchez.
 
Falconbridge willing to dialogue and to improve
Meanwhile Xstrata Nickel Falcondo said it would carefully analyze the UNDP’s report on mining viability of its project near La Vega.

                                                            Conclusion
So far it's a great achievement by the Dominican society to stop this private sector threat, but people haven't stop thinking about the environmental impact of having Barrick Gold pouring tons of cyanide on the tiny island of Santo Domingo and the impact of the wild life, the crops and the human being  living there.

Everything is happening little by little in front of our noses, till it would be to late.

The situation in DR will be simply unbearable.

It will be like having a major atomic dirty bomb in the middle of the island, with a complete devastation and deadly chemical and mineral pollution everywhere.
 
People is waiting for a report of the department of public health and what are they going to do about it.

It's time to preserve our legacy and national patrimony .

It's time   to learn  the repercussions and to be aware of the great danger that we have as a nation Cyanide pollution could be lethal..We need to stop them!
We need to put our grain of sand  for our future generations..

Let's do it!

Organizations keep claiming 5% of the benefits from the Barrick

About 106 organization of Cotui demanded 5% of the benefits from the Barrick Gold
They deposit yesterday a document in the Palacio Nacional with their claims




Santo Domingo.Representation of 106 organizations and unions of Sanchez Ramirez deposit yesterday a document in the National Palace about their position of what they understand should be included in the agreement between the government and the Barrick Gold

Between the issues they want the 5% of the benefits of the exploitations , an improvement over the the environment issue, they want to have an open union of Barrick employees,warranty for the supervision, accounting and transportation of the production, and that the dominican state should have more control, between different issues.



Óscar Pérez Núñez,speaker of the group say they were concern because in the agreement signed between the government and Barrick Gold they barely mention the people from Cotui affected by the mining company


He mention that after the beginning of the exploitation, Cotui is suffering from a big pollution, situation that make people get sick with fever, vomit and diarrhea.

Pérez Núñez said that they are thinking leaving the province and everything behind due to the high contamination int the area

Pérez Núñez, mention in the letter, addressed to the president Danilo Medina, they suggest to give Cotui a 5% of the resources for an institution that would be concern with the problems of the province of Sanchez Ramirez



We have mention this before, over and over.. And people haven't pay attention of some of the inner problems of the community: health, contamination, employment ,water, clean environment,etc.

These affected communities is going to be a reflection of what is going to happens to the rest of the Dominicans.

We can keep talking , and Barrick gold keep taking gold out of DR,we keep their cyanide and mercury and we haven't seen a penny yet of BG.

Somehow, this drama remind me the biggest claim of Jerry Maguire: Show me the money

it's like a never ending situation with BG, when some people come from over seas assuming how naive are Dominicans, while they keep taking the gold away, over and over and over again.

Is there something that we don't know yet?

When this is going to stop?

Edited on 5/23/2013 9:08 AM by ohhhvictor.

The dark business of Barrick Gold





I was reading the news about the new agreement with Barrick Gold and the government., and I could tell that a lot of people were already celebrating the great achivement but certain things cached my attention.

• In the last interview with the 400 intoxicated Peruvian miners, they were complaining that BG took their passports and documents..Why is that?
  They are forced to work, no option whatsoever outside of BG, they are violating Dominican immigration laws because so far, none of them have working papers by the Dominican state, as some Haitian does.
  No employment for dominicans whatsoever in one of the areas of DR with the highest unemployment rate !!

Of course, if they don't like their job no more, they are not cover by Dominican law or any labor department.No money whatsoever..

• How come that Barrick Gold have the power for the eviction of 600 families of Cotui? isn't the government the first one that were supposed to protect them?

• With the last contract , people is very happy but they haven't stop thinking about the island in 25 years.
  The waters and land of the Cibao is already very contaminated, the heart of agriculture in the Caribbean..And it's only the first year! .
  Does it worth it? How come BG never reimburse them?

All Dominicans will be eventually a victim of that dark contamination: rich, middle class , poor as well.
They are going to leave over here a pool of cyanide, a simple Chernobyl of the Caribbean.

People will struggle over here for surviving!

Every penny we ever build in tourism or agriculture will be lost !




This is why not even reforestation can work:

• When you cut a tree for wood purpose , you still have land for the next tree.

• When you cut a tree for open  mining you use explosive to remove the vegetable lawyer of soil , living only caliche behind ( nothing can grow up out of there)

• They already use the water for cleaning their cyanide and mercury ..not for water thousand of acres of land..And that water can not be used for ANYTHING either

No water, no soil, no reforestation capacity, no will..NO WAY








 


In other countries , like Colombia, mining companies before they start operations, they have to pass an auditing for environmental impact by the government.And a third private party auditing the mining companies and the government as well.!
I 've never heard anything like that in the last speech of BG or the government

The level of contamination in our country is already very high.And when the water is over , the amount of money offered by Barrick Gold will be worthless.People is going to be fighting them for their right to live !.

If people think it twice about these topics that I mention before, they wouldn't be so happy celebrating.
If people think it twice , they would realize that Barrick Gold so far has only bring destruction , evictions, illness, contamination and misery to dominicans

So you, as a conscious dominican..What are you going to do now?

Barrick Gold Pollution

 Pollution of Barrick Gold in Dominican Republic



Everybody is happy with BG agreement with the government last week , everything happily settle down for financial issues, but there is anything made to shrink the environmental impact ?
Barrick Gold has been accused of a number of environmentally unsound practices by environmental groups.
The company has countered accusations by activists, challenging the accuracy of criticisms.

Criticisms include poisonous spills of cyanide , mercury and other heavy metals in Hatillo and Margajita and Yuma river, leading to environmental damage and the poisoning of human populations.



The director of Corporación del Acueducto y Alcantarillado de Santo Domingo (CAASD), architect Alejandro Montás, declared that the Hatillo dam is contaminated by Barrick Gold and can not be used no more for human consumption




Dead fishes from Hatillo dam.

Water depletion is a major negative consequence of gold mining, not to mention the poisoning of thousand of fishes, cattle and crops.. The large amount of water required to run a gold mining operation exacerbates its impact on local communities of Cotui and Cibao valley, many of which are already experiencing drought.

Last year not 106 as they claim, but 400 peruvian miners show up at Centro médico Ureña Hernández of Cotuí, in DR with symptoms of intoxication.

The base of Cotui economy is not mine activities but agriculture production, mostly exportation of pineapple

There is a very delicate balance in Dominican ecosystem , and now everybody seem unfriendly to the natural resources situation.






 A lot of people are complaining about the pollution left behind by the Rosario, but the super negative impact of Barrick Gold is unbearable..Once the gold oxide was processed, the sulfides were exposed and the mine was abandoned to its fate, allowing acidic waters from the Margajita River to drain away to the Hatillo Dam.

The acidic water is the result of a mixture of rainwater and the minerals from the gold sulfides that have remained exposed.

Another legacy of negative environmental impact from Rosario is the accumulation of heavy metals like iron, copper, and mercury , but now is way worst with Barrick Gold new damn El llagal and at at the site of the old plant and the sludge from Mejita and Margajita Rivers.


 



El Llagal , new illegal dam made by Barrick Gold




The contaminated Margarita river
 

Maguaca river


 Contaminated Margajita River by Barrick Gold according to the  president of Miguel de Peña García Fundation

There must be a serious environmental  plans to clean the cyanide and mercury from DR , because the damage could  be intolerable for any kind of vegetable animal or human life.Otherwise, get ready to start pointing fingers, as we did a couple weeks ago..

Somebody have to take the responsibility for no taking care of our natural resources, because once they  are lost, they will be lost forever.

Somebody better be responsible for the ecological mess in our fragile ecosystem!

The gold have some value but our land and our people health is worthless?

Is it ok that we get our rivers and lakes full of cyanide and mercury and nobody complains about it?


Are we conscious that no fish, animal life or  vegetable life  can ever grow up in such poisonous conditions?

Did we ALL get insane?

Barrick says they don't know the reason for their shipment retention

RE: Say no to Barrick Gold pirates

06 de mayo del 2013
Barrick says they don't know the reason for their shipment retention
Barrick Gold dice desconocer razones de retención de nuevo embarque
ww.7dias.com.doSanto Domingo06 de mayo del 2013







En un comunicado emitido este lunes, la empresa desmiente que el retraso en el embarque obedezca a la detección de irregularidades en los documentos de declaración que deben ser llenados.

“Toda la documentación de los embarques realizados a la fecha ha sido inspeccionada y aprobada por la propia DGA. Cada vez que la DGA nos ha comunicado algún cambio en cuanto a los trámites de exportaciones, hemos procedido a acogerlos. En dos de los embarques tuvimos inconvenientes debido a limitaciones del propio sistema SIGA de la DGA”, apunta Barrick Gold.

Insiste en que, hasta ahora, no ha sido notificada por la Colecturía de la DGA en el Aeropuerto Internacional de las Américas de que hubiera error o irregularidad en la declaración, por lo que ignora las razones de la medida de las autoridades.

En algunos círculos se comenta que con este tipo de medidas el gobierno del presidente Danilo Medina ejerce presión para lograr la revisión del contrato.


In some circles, people comment that these are measures by the goverment of the president to force a long waited revision  of the contract -scam


“Reiteramos que en todos los aspectos de nuestras operaciones, perseguimos el cumplimiento a cabalidad de todas las leyes y normas establecidas por la autoridades nacionales por lo que esperamos que se normalicen los trámites para poder proseguir con la exportación como se ha hecho con los 27 embarques anteriores, todos debidamente autorizados por la DGA”, concluye la minera.

The Customs Agency instructed its Punta Caucedo Port office at Las Americas Airport (AILA) to retain Barrick’s gold cargos until it reaches a new agreement with the Government.

Esta misma mañana, autoridades aduaneras informaron que procederían a tomar nuevas muestras del retenido embarque número 28 de oro y plata para comprobar la correspondencia entre lo embarcado y lo declarado.

The information was provided  at Las Americas, from where a detailed report was sent to president Danilo Medina , after inspections conducted on Barrick’s exports found alleged irregularities.
The Government reportedly instructed Customs to slap the mining company with more than US$96.0 million in fines for its doré shipments.
______________________________________________________________________________

Poor Barrick Gold, so naive and innocent..Maybe if some employee would ever read a dominican newspaper and see what EVERYBODY in DR is thinking about them ,
-about smuggling gold in front of the authorities

-the eviction to hundred of families,

-the disrespect to the Dominican president


-the TOTAL IMPUNITY while breaking dozens of dominican laws

-the problems with the government,

-scams ,

-the arrogance with the press, the government and the Dominican people,

-illegal dams constructions,

-why they were expelled from Chile last month,

- illness and cyanide pollution in a bunch of rivers of Cibao valley,

-how they bring misery to the communities that they touch,

-and most of all, how Barrick Gold get the pinnacle of infamy ,They would get an answer..
But of course..Barrick Gold didnt know anything about it !

"Poor Barrick Gold.. Such naive and innocent` " !

After 500 years , the gold exploitation continues at ANY cost..!

Barrick gold final warning in Dominican Republic

 Barrick Gold ships US$496M since Dominican leader’s warning
 

Santo Domingo. - Barrick Gold’s gold and silver exports ?? 11 topped US$496 million since November, ratcheting its shipments after president Danilo Medina issued the April 30 deadline to start talks to review the mining contract to give the country a bigger share.

Citing a Customs Agency source, elnacional.com.do revealed that Medina will receive today the full report on the review of Barrick’s 27 gold and silver shipments to date.
Barrick’s 27 shipments since Nov. 11 were reportedly 9,040 kilos of gold and 24,357 of silver.


 Our personal math
Barrick’s 27 shipments since Nov. 11 were reportedly 9,040 kilos of gold and 24,357 of silver


kilo = 35.27 oz
Gold oz price :US 1600

9,040 kilos x US1,600.00 x 35.27=


U$510,145,280.00
__________________________

oz silver: U$25.-

US25 x 35.27 oz x 24, 357 kilos=
U$21,476,784

___________________
Total taken by Barrick gold till now :
U$531 Millions
_______
Total paid to the Dominican state:

US 0 Dollars
______
Total they are planing to pay to the Dominican state:

US 0 Dollars
______
Total paid in Fines for smuggling:

US 0 Dollars

____
Dominican Republic offers Barrick Gold a “final” deal

Dominican Republic on Tuesday made to Barrick Gold what it calls the final proposal to amend its mining contract, the Presidency’s Press Office said in a statement.

"We have presented today (Tuesday) a final proposal and we expect an answer in the coming days," the document says.

"In any given scenario the government will demand compensation to the country for mineral exports payable retroactively," it said, noting that any decision the Executive Branch agrees to will affect the mining company’s total exports "since the first ounce of gold that left the country, November 13, 2012."

He said the commission designated for the talks underwent an intense process in recent weeks, "which should lead to a definitive definition, in the short term.


The Dominican government already gave them their final warning.So far Barrick gold  has always a last nasty trick under the sleeves.

They have pretend to ignore the government about renegotiate the contract-scam they made before.

under that scam, they dont have to pay a single penny to the government.

Barrick Gold already have nasty relationship with governments all over the world,. Specially in Latin America.

They were ordered to halted operations in Chile this month and to pay a big fine in Nevada  , USA for contamination..

Their idea of not paying nothing to the Dominican government , continue smuggling gold shameless in  front of the authorities, and heavy polluting dozens of rivers in Dominican Republic is unbearable, not to mention dead cattle, spoiled crops  and a lot of ill people.

So far, Barrick gold have only bring misery to Dominicans and the proofs are way overwhelming

The Dominican President have the support of most Dominicans.

As far as I could see, the only result is to follow Chilean steps.

Time to stop Barrick Gold!

Update..->  ->   ->. Breaking news!

US$96M fine ratchets Dominican Republic-Barrick Gold showdown 

 

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Government on Wednesday halted another precious metal shipment by Barrick Gold, just hours after offering the Canadian based minor a “final deal” to amend the contract for the mine at Pueblo Viejo.
The Customs Agency instructed its Punta Caucedo Port office at Las Americas Airport (AILA) to retain Barrick’s gold cargos until it reaches a new agreement with the Government.
The information was provided Wednesday morning at Las Americas, from where a detailed report was sent to president Danilo Medina on Tuesday, after inspections conducted on Barrick’s exports found alleged irregularities.
The Government reportedly instructed Customs to slap the mining company with more than US$96.0 million in fines for its doré shipments.


Another smuggling case, just minutes after the warning? 
So Barrick gold is above dominican laws and the President as well?
So the dominican president means nothing to Barrick Gold?

This is going to be good!

Barrick Gold Encountering Problems with USA, Chile and Dominican Republic

 Barrick Gold Problems in the americas


In Reno Nevada, Barrick Gold failed to report that it released toxic chemicals including mercury, cyanide and lead.   The Dominican Republic asked for a review of a contract it had with the Canadian mining company that could threaten the government.
 The Chilean Story

A month prior to the Atacama Water Board in Chile was to request that Barrick Gold Mines Corporation should be fined for not fulfilling its promise to protect the glaciers within the borders of its bi-national Chile-Argentina project, called Pascua Lama, Barrick was fined in Reno, Nevada for releasing toxic chemical substances.

 Days after a Chilean court upheld the injunction rendering their multi-billion dollar investment indefinitely stalled, Barrick Gold executives said in a shareholders meeting in Toronto that they might abandon the Pascua-Lama project altogether.
 
 Three high-level executives from Barrick's South America branch resigned Thursday, further complicating the mining giant’s South American operations. The resignations include the company’s regional president, Guillermo Caló. Robert Mayne-Nicholls and Rodrigo Jiménez, the director of operations and the regional vice president, also announced their departures.

In the Canadian company’s annual report, Chairman Peter Munk lamented the unanticipated financial issues at the mine, though he prioritized its rebound.

“We suffered a significant delay and a major cost overrun at our flagship Pascua-Lama project on the border of Chile and Argentina,” Munk said in the report. “Since that fact surfaced — so unexpectedly — the main focus of our company, at every level, has been directed at ensuring that this project will meet its new cost and schedule estimate.”

A 48 percent decline in the company’s share price and disappointing gold prices have characterized a challenging year for Barrick, Reuters reported Wednesday.

 The court of appeals in Chile’s northern Copiapó Region granted an indigenous community’s request to suspend the mine’s operations April 10. Minera Nevada, S.P.A., the Barrick subsidiary operating Pascua-Lama, has deflected allegations of negligent environmental behavior for most of its decade-long existence on the border between Argentina and Chile.

 The American Story
According to the Huffington Post, the Environmental Protection Agency ordered three mines in northern Nevada to pay a total of $618,000 for failing to report this release of toxic chemicals, including cyanide, lead and mercury from 2005-08.

All three mines are subsidiaries of the Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. — Barrick Cortez Inc.'s Cortez Gold Mine near Crescent Valley, Barrick Gold US Inc.'s Ruby Hill Gold Mine near Eureka and Homestake Mining Co.'s Bald Mountain Gold Mine near the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, according to the Huffington Post.

The three agreed to pay a total of $278,000 in fines and spend an additional $340,000 on an environmentally beneficial project as part of a settlement for allegedly underestimating reports of their toxic release inventory required under the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, EPA officials said.
 

"Cyanide, lead and mercury used at these mines have the potential to pose a health threat," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest Region, based in San Francisco.
"We insist on accurate reporting of chemical releases so that citizens have a clear idea of the risk from the facilities near their communities," said Blumenfeld.

The supplemental project will be conducted at the Cortez mine to identify the metal compounds formed in its oxide mill process and test methods to verify the quantities of new chemical compounds manufactured during the process.

The companies also agreed to perform audits at all other U.S. mining operations Barrick owns in Nevada and Montana and to determine if any reporting violations occurred and if so pay a $10,000 penalty per violation up to a total of $250,000
"Nonetheless, to achieve regulatory certainty regarding its TRI obligations, Barrick has agreed to enter into a settlement agreement with the EPA," said Louis Schack, director of communications for Barrick Gold of North America, based in Salt Lake City, Utah.


"Crumbs for your gold, the dominican story”
Meanwhile, in the Dominican Republic, independent deputy Carlos Gabriel García commented on Barrick Gold’s Manuel Rocha’s insistence that the government must comply with its agreement with Barrick. Gabriel García referred to this as “challenging” the national interest.


According to the Dominican portal, El Nacional, Deputy García believes that Rocha aims to silence the domestic sectors that have spoken out in favor of revising the agreement with Barrick, in which the Dominican government “will receive crumbs in exchange for its gold.”

 

He said it seems that Rocha is unaware that the company Place Dome was the one that won the bid to explore for gold and that the agreement signed back in 2002 was beneficial to the Dominican government.
The author of the draft resolution of the Chamber of Deputies that asks the government for a revision of the agreement with Barrick, believes that “this agreement cannot be above the interests of the country.”

Rocha, Barrick Gold representative in the DR, defended the 2009 gold exploration agreement with the government. “Since the beginning, we have been very clear that this contract was negotiated in a process that went on for nearly 2 years, between the government and the company along with an expert brought in from Europe, France specifically, and from the Inter-American Development Bank,” he said.
But in fact that gold exploration agreement is a big scam , with so many picky details that dominicans will never see a dime out of the mine, and the dominicans see themselves in the eyes of Chile, where Barrick Gold spend  16 years exploiting a Chilean mines, and Barrick Gold NEVER pay a dime out of it.

The Chamber of Deputies decided that three commissions will present a report on the agreement with Barrick Gold. Mateo Aquino Febrillet, Rector of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD), is one of the illustrious Dominicans who also supports the revision of the agreement.

 In the Dominican Republic, meanwhile, the soaring price of gold has the government wanting more from the Pueblo Viejo mine, which has 20 million ounces of gold reserves as well as silver, copper and zinc.

Barrick owns 60 percent of the venture and Goldcorp Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, owns 40 percent. The companies reopened the mine last year after investing nearly $4 billion, the largest direct foreign investment ever in the Dominican Republic, and have estimated it will eventually pay about $7 billion to the government.

But President Danilo Medina and Congress have yet to see any money. They want to rewrite the 25-year contract, which promises royalties only after the two Canadian companies recoup their investment and the venture's profits rise above 10 percent.

Barrick's executives "have to change their attitude, because if they don't, the president has told them: 'Either you negotiate or more taxes will be imposed,'" said Ramon Peralta, Medina's administrative minister.


 President Danilo Medina’s "prudent deadline" issued to Barrick Gold Corp to renegotiate the gold mining contract expires today and has the population on edge awaiting the outcome of the standoff between the government and the Canada-based company which operates the facility at Pueblo Viejo (central), El Caribe reports.


It said Medina is expected to refer to the topic this week before leaving for the summit in Costa Rica.
The chief executive is expected to announce the result of the talks before month’s end, according to Presidency Administrative minister José Ramón Peralta.

Medina’s deadline to Barrick Gold formed part of his speech to Congress on February 27, and has since been accompanied by the retention of several shipments of ore at Customs, on violations including the miner’s mistaken ship manifest of the precious metal’s country-of-origin ( smuggling).

 In country after country, the world's biggest miners are facing new environmental standards, confronting changing tax and currency laws and defending long-term contracts they thought were written in stone.
 

Barrick gold only provides misery  and toxic  pollution to the communities were they go.They use tons of cyanide and mercury  in their operations for gold extraction, regardless of poor peasants, crops, river and cattle in  the exploited areas.

The situation now is just unbearable for the affected communities..And there are a lot of riots every week  in different part of Dominican republic because of that.

They have a long history of scams, heavy pollution, illness, bribery and heavy metal contamination.

In a small island like Dominican Republic the consequences are simply lethal... 
They are just destroying the island, were no other kind of human, vegetable or animal kind of life can surface out of there in any circumstances...

Say no to Barrick Gold TODAY !

Government and Barrick without accord after 20 plus meetings

Government and Barrick without accord after 20 plus meetings

The negotiations between the parties entered an "accelerated process"

SANTO DOMINGO. In spite of having held more than 20 meetings between the government and the Barrick Gold mining company after the call for negotiations made by President Danilo Medina last 27 February, there is still no set date for finalizing the conversations between the parties.

These have been extended due to the company that operates the Pueblo Viejo mine, located in Cotui, Sanchez Ramirez, saying that they are operating under a contract approved by the National Contract, according to a report from a source at the Presidential Palace.

Over the last few weeks, the negotiations have entered an "accelerated process," in which Dominican officials and mining executives from the company are taking part. In some of the meetings representatives of the Canadian government have taken part.

In the talks, there are also mining technicians from the Dominican government, contracted for these talks, who in addition are working on everything related to the volume and amount of gold and silver that is extracted and exported by Barrick.

The source said that the government is keeping up permanent talks with the Canadian company, where their greatest interest will be to benefit the country.

Barrick's position

Last Wednesday, the president and chief executive of Barrick Gold, Jamie Sokalsky, revealed that the company was holding on-going talks with the authorities of the Dominican Republic regarding the mine at Pueblo Viejo.

The executive reported, likewise, through a press communiqué, that the net profits of Bardick, the world's largest gold producer, reached US$847 million, a decrease of 18.5% during the first quarter of this year in relation to the same period last year. Barrick said that their share of 60% of Pueblo Viejo provided 96,000 ounces of gold during the quarter.

The government has requested according to the Canadian company, "accelerate and increase in a significant manner their quota of earning from Pueblo Viejo," a joint operation between Barrick and another Canadian mining concern, Goldcorp.

Government's position

In his speech before the joint session of the National Congress, Danilo Medina said that under the fiscal scheme established in the contract for the exploitation of the mine, with an average price of US$1700 and ounce for gold and US$28.00 for silver, Barrick would obtain net income after operating costs for US$2.6 billion in the first two years of production, which would allow the company to recover in this time frame the total investment in the country.

And there he added that of the US$753 million from income for exports, the country would receive US$56 million.

Pueblo Viejo has huge reserves

As of 31 December 2012, Pueblo Viejo had proven and probably gold reserves of 15 million ounces, and a useful life of 25 years. It is estimated that this reserve is one of the largest in the world. With the exploitation of the gold mine, Barrick Gold is administering in Dominican territory one of the businesses where the company is betting to improve its earnings, given the decrease in its earning in 2012. The company has reported a net loss of US$3.06 billion (US$3.06 per share) in the fourth quarter of last year.

Barrick Gold have made in the past a scam bribery with Dominicans politicians .That contract is so picky  with so many small details that there is no way that dominicans will ever see a dime out of that contract.

 

The result is that now in the middle of the island we have a company that haven't pay a dime yet and is heavily exploiting a big part of territory  , and now want to convert it into a pool of cyanide and mercury.

 

 Margajita river, heavily contaminated by Barrick Gold

There is a heavy pollution as well.In that area you will NEVER see a plant or a tree grow never EVER again.

Now residents in the communities are crying with desperation because of the illness, the peasants for the dead crops and cattle and the people for their health. 

 

People start moving and there are riots almost every week against Barrick Gold ..

Economist Jaime Aristy Escuder Saturday accused the mining company Barrick Gold in exaggerating the cost of its investment in the country, in order to extend the time you have to start pay the state the profits.

Escuder further stated that while Barrick installation monies allegedly spent on the Pueblo Viejo, Cotuí mine, more monies will be needed, as the contract states that until the company recovers the initial investment, the Dominican state resources will not be paid, in respect of the exploitation.

They have being cough smuggling gold as well in AILA international airport..

 

That is a scam, after scam , after scam.. 

The plan is very simple: Not to pay a dime to Dominicans , in the same way that Barrick did in Chile for 16 years, and pour tons of  cyanide regardless of the life of 10 millions of Dominicans...

Usually, the aftermath is a total devastation.

 

We need the help of the international community..

We need to say united: SAY NO TO BARRICK GOLD!

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