La contaminacion de la Barrick

SDE.-"La República Dominicana enfrenta un doble peligro con la explotación de los sulfuros de la mina de PuebloViejo, Cotuí, que lleva a cabo la Barrick Gold", afirmó ayer ingeniero Químico Rafael Solano Liz, quien narró las ocasiones en que esta transnacional canadiense ha sido multada en Estados Unidos y Chile por daños al medio ambiente.

Dijo el ingeniero Solano Liz, que el país está expuesto a que sus riquezas de oro, plata, cobre y otros metales que se encuentran en la mina de Pueblo Viejo, Cotuí, sean saqueados por la Barrick Gold, que logró agenciarse un contrato altamente lesivo a los intereses nacionales.


A juicio del experto el país y, específicamente la provincia Sánchez Ramírez y zonas aledañas, están expuestas a las graves consecuencias de una severa contaminación ambiental, por el ejercicio irresponsable de la transnacional Barrick Gold, en materia de explotación minera.

Recordó que recientemente, la Barrick Gold fue multada en Los Estados Unidos y Chile, por agresión al medio ambiente, lanzando durante varios años consecutivos, en forma clandestina, químicos tóxicos al medio ambiente, axial como por no proteger una amplia zona de glaciares en Chile, donde la transnacional minera explota yacimientos minerales.

De acuerdo al ingeniero Rafael Solano Liz, en Reno, Nevada, Estados Unidos, la Barrick Gold ocultó que contaminó con mercurio, cianuro y plomo.

Y asimismo, de igual manera, a un mes de que la dirección de Aguas de la Región de Atacama, en Chile, solicitara que Barrick Gold Mines Corporación sea multada por incumplir con la protección de los glaciares situados dentro del proyecto binacional chileno-argentino Pascua Lama, la minera acaba de ser multada en Reno, EEUU, recientemente, por la liberación de sustancias químicas tóxicas.

La Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EEUU ha ordenado a tres minas de oro del norte de Nevada a pagar un total de 618 mil dólares por no informar la liberación de químicos tóxicos, incluyendo cianuro, plomo y mercurio desde 2005 hasta 2008.

Dijo que si la Barrick Gold ha sido capaz de llevar a cabo esta práctica en países que cuentan con sólidas instituciones que velan por la protección del medio ambiente, como es en caso de Los Estado Unidos y Chile, en este país será peor.


Lamentó que el Ministerio del Medio Ambiente dominicano este en pañales y que esto obligue a prepararse para estar vigilantes ante los crímenes medioambientales en que pueda incurrir la Barrick Gold en la provincia Sánchez Ramírez y zonas cercanas.

En el ultimo contrato, el acuerdo no menciono absolutamente nada acerca de contaminacion, desalojos y plantas de tratamientos de aguas..La Barrick Gold tampoco ha pagado nada todavia a las autoridades dominicanas..

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?

The new dark deal between Barrick Gold and the Dominican state

Pact: Dominican Republic gets 51%; Barrick Gold Corp. 49%
 Pact means US$1.5 billion more for the country 

 
 Meet the new pirates of 21st century!

"CEO: We’re here to stay, unless we’re expelled"
 

Santo Domingo.- After months of talks, protests and proposals, Dominican Republic and Barrick Gold Corp. on Wednesday reached a new agreement on the contract for the mine at Pueblo Viejo, Cotuí (northeast).

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.

"The objective of this review was to achieve a more balanced agreement for both parties and more in line with the Dominican reality, so we will sign a memorandum of understanding between the parties," said Presidency chief of staff Gustavo Montalvo.

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%
According to the document read by Montalvo, the projected tax revenue is US$11.6 billion, of which Pueblo Viejo will provide US$2.2 billion during the 2013-2016 period, subject to a gold price of US$1,600 per ounce. "The parties agreed to eliminate the 10% internal rate of return for the tax on the stake of net income to take effect."

The agreement eliminates Barrick’s privilege of starting payments to the State when the investment of capital is completed, for which tax payment tax would be immediate.
With the provisions, it will now take the Canadian miner until 2026 to recover its investment, and not bu 2016 as was stipulated.

Barrick Gold Pueblo Viejo CEO
 
For Barrick Gold Pueblo Viejo CEO Manuel Rocha the agreement is evidence of the miner’s commitment with Dominican Republic, from where he affirms will leave only if expelled. “We believe in the Dominican Republic ,we believe the democratically elected government here, what’s needed now is that we both do our part, it’s clear that Barrick Gold didn’t come just for a bit, we came to stay. We will work to stay unless we are expelled.”

 ________________________________________________________________________




Let's do some quick math here
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
__________________________

Silver: U$25.- per oz

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

___________________
Total taken by Barrick gold till now :
U$531 Millions in 6 moth of operations

Based on previous numbers: Forecast a year of BG; U$1,062 millions


So, according to 7dias.com.do the dominican state will get U$11,600 millions for the life of that mine for 25 years .
U$11,600 / U$1062: : 10 years to achieve that goal for Dominicans.. the other 15 years are Barrick Gold 's time.
So the deal is not 49 %-51% as they initially said before.

The other open questions are these..

• -What happens with the retroactive payment?Is there going to be any as Danilo promised?

• -When is going to be the first payment and for how much?

• -Any serious reforestation plans for the future?

• -Are they going to pay the fines for smuggling dore?

• -When are they going to pay the millions they already owe to Dominican state? Arent they?

• Are they going to have a water treatment facility to clean the cyanide and mercury?Do they talk about it?

• What about any plans for clean water and sanitation for the community, the second poorest one in DR??

•  Three years ago , people used to have their own water, now they dont have water or  river because it's so polluted, so they are allow to take only 2 gallons of water per family from a water truck, because BG is using their water for the mercury and cyanide  procedure.

• What can expect the people from Cotui in the next 25 years? Eviction of everybody?

• How are they going to clean their toxic mess in Hatillo dam, and the rivers of Cotui?

• -Are they going to provide employment for Dominicans? To have 97% of foreign crew is against dominicanl law..Right?

-How are they going to measure the already taken dore from DR? What is the procedure to put a value on the millions already taken away..? Or the one is going to be taken away in the future? Or our gold don't have a value no more?

I have to agree that there is a big improvement over the last contract,and some people are super optimist, but not everything is clear.
Again.. Now we have more questions than answers..

Great deal for Barrick, not for DR

Great deal for Barrick, not for DR



 Deputy Environment Minister Eleuterio Martinez has told Clave that the contract the Dominican government signed with Barrick Gold is good business for the company because it awards them the benefits of the exploitation of the gold deposits, considered among the largest in the world, but relieves them of responsibility for the pollution of the Cotui area where the Pueblo Viejo mine is located. Clave reports that the negotiation of the contract originally sought to tackle the severe pollution in the area. But in the end, as Barrick Gold was able to negotiate, the Dominican government is again responsible for dealing with the pollution.

"As a person and as a Dominican, Barrick scares me, because there is no guarantee that they will show concern for this land," said Martinez. "That was a great business deal for them, but not for us."

Clave reports that it is estimated that the work to tackle the effects of the exploitation of the mine from 1975 to 1999 will cost US$75 million. In the contract with Barrick Gold, the company agreed to cover 50% and up to a limit of US$37.5 million for tackling the pollution, but delegated this responsibility to the Dominican government. He said the Dominican government does not have money for tackling these environmental problems.

Luis Carvajal from the environmental team at the UASD state university says that in the contract, instead of the Ministry of Environment reviewing Barrick's environmental plans and approving them, the government is required to submit their plans to the mining company for approval.

Martinez says: "The key words are follow up, who is going to follow up with Barrick; first because it is a monster and the authorities will require a great deal of money in order to comply, not only with the contract, but with what is established by the law." He described some of the conditions in the contract as "scary".

Martinez says that future mining operations will cause even more pollution. He said that Barrick is operating with the license granted to Placer Dome, but it is opening new fronts.

Clave reports that Rosario mine operated from 1975 to 1999 and exploited the oxide but left the sulphur oxides behind, creating serious pollution problems. Carvajal said that when the Placer Dome contract was under discussion the main objective was to tackle the sulphur pollution in the area.


Cotui mayor against Barrick Gold


The mayor of Cotui, Bienvenido Lazala is accusing Barrick Gold of causing an ecological disaster in Sanchez Ramirez province through water pollution and the disappearance of aquatic and land species. He called on the government to revise the contract that he defined as "against national interests in the economic and social aspects".

Lazala visited El Nacional newspaper and complained about the Ministry of Environment's indifference in demanding environmental conservation practices. He said that the extraction of gold in the Pueblo Viejo area has polluted the waters of the Yuna, Maguaca and Chacuey rivers and those of the Hatillo Dam. He said that Barrick Gold is using the waters of Hatillo Dam for their operation with dangerous substances such as cyanide.


 Lazala says that groups in Cotui are joining forces to press the government to secure a revision of the contract with Barrick Gold.

The battle between Barrick Gold and dominican goverment..and their negotiators

Losses by Barrick Gold increase value of Pueblo Viejo
Issue of judicial security divides business community

SANTO DOMINGO. The exploitation of the gold mine which the Barrick Gold mining company is administering in Dominican territory is one of the businesses which the Canadian company is betting on to improve it earnings, given the decrease in earnings in 2012 and the demands of investors for a change in the gold industry.

Peruvian miners in front of Barrick Gold installations in Cotui, Dominican republic


In a report published by the mining company on its webpage, dated 14 February, which contains the results of the company's behavior in 2012, the company reports a net loss of US$3.06 billion (US$3.06 per share) in the fourth quarter of the year, "including a US$4.2 billion after-tax impairment charge primarily related to our copper business unit."

For all of 2012 Barrick reported a net loss of US$0.67 billion (US$670,000,000) and US$0.66 a share, "including after-tax impairment charges of $4.4 billion." (NT: "Adjusted net earnings of $3.83 billion ($3.82 per share) were the second highest in the company's history.

The high costs, beyond what was foreseen, are taking the company to the decision to sell Barrick Energy and not expand the copper mine at Lumwana, Zambia.

In the meantime, the company is focusing on the 1.5 million ounces of gold of the average annual production of Pueblo Viejo and Pascua-Lama. Pueblo Viejo, in the Dominican Republic has gold reserves of 25,300,000 ounces and is one of the largest undeveloped gold deposits in the world. Pascua-Lama, on the border between Argentina and Chile has proven and probable reserves of 17.9 million ounces of gold.

in other words, Dominican republic have to be the one that help Barrick Gold to avoid the same net  loss at ANY COST.That includes you , me and everything you know so far in DR.




"We have a number of world class mineral resources around the world that have considerable economic potential, but at the present time they do not comply with our investment criteria. In the meantime, we are going to spent the minimum amount of capital needed to maintain the economic potential of these assets," says the Barrick report by Jamie Solkalsky, the CEO of Barrick Gold Corporation.

On 27 February, President Danilo Medina issued a "last" call for Barrick Gold to sit down with the government to revise the fiscal aspects of the contract for the exploitation of Pueblo Viejo, since he considers the current scheme of distribution of the income from the sale of gold to be "unacceptable."


The mining company has stated its willingness, but says that it faces limitations due to the commitments undertaken with the institutions that are financing the project.

The specialist in mediation and a negotiation consultant, Nelson Espinal Baez, said that the fact that the mining company lowered its global earnings "is not an objective criteria for opposing a renegotiation (process) with the Dominican government."

this is the profile of the negotiator from barrick gold:Nelson Espinal Báez


Associate MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program at Harvard Law School. Abogado, Mediador y Consultor en Negociación
Dominican Republic Alternative Dispute Resolution
Summary

CIC - Cambridge International Consulting,Abogado, mediador, consultor en negociación, árbitro y profesor universitario, Associate MIT- Harvard Public Disputes Program at Harvard Law School, consorcio universitario formado por la Universidad de Harvard y el Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) para la investigación y desarrollo de la teoría y la práctica de las negociaciones complejas, la mediación de conflictos públicos y la construcción de consenso en políticas públicas.

Do you think the government officials have such an expert in negotiations as well?



And this is the expert from the government..


who would you choose?


Vincho Castillo advierte Barrick debe medir consecuencias ante negación
Publicado por Noticias SIN en marzo 7, 2013

SANTO DOMINGO, República Dominicana.- El director general de Ética e Integridad Gubernamental, Marino Vinicio Castillo (Vincho), advirtió este jueves a la Barrick Gold, medir las consecuencias que pudieran desprenderse ante la negación al diálogo con el gobierno, el cual busca una salida racional y equilibrada a favor de los intereses colectivos de la nación.

Castillo se refirió al tema durante su discurso en acto de juramentación de la Comisión de Ética del Ministerio de Hacienda, al explicar que se han analizado las variables del precio en el mercado del oro desde el momento en que se estableció contrato y cómo han surgido factores de rigor que exigen una revisión justa y equitativa, porque se han transformado los beneficios.

“El precio del oro se ha enmendado y se ha encargado de desquiciar el contrato, de desajustarlo, de hacerlo inicuo; razón por la que se le ha pedido tomar medidas razonables en base a la equidad, de lo contrario, creo que el gobierno debe estar pensando en las consecuencias y en la ley para fijar los impuestos”, apuntó el funcionario.


En el acto estuvo presente Simón Lizardo, ministro de Hacienda quien también destacó la importancia de reviste el cumplimiento ..

I am sure we will see a nice fight but at the end, we hope we will see the Dominican people wining..

The  problems of Barrick Gold in Dominican Republic 

The contemporary history of the Pueblo Viejo gold mine, which produces gold oxide at the top and gold sulfide at the bottom, begins in 1975 with Rosario Resources Corporation, a company that later passed into the hands of the Dominican State under the name Rosario Dominicana, and whose operations ceased permanently in 1999 because of economic and environmental factors. In 2002, the mine found a new leaseholder, the Canadian company Placer Dome, which signed a 33-year contract before being bought by another Canadian company, Barrick Gold, in 2006. Barrick Gold has been in the sights of the Dominicans some of the details about the signed contract were made public, a contract which was approved at the end of 2009 in Congress by the vast majority of legislators.


The renegotiation of the contract with the Dominican State when Barrick Gold acquired Placer Dome followed the movement of gold prices in the stock market, which has risen substantially since 2002 in response to successive food and financial crises – both of a global reach- until it reached a price of more than US$1000 an ounce, where it currently stands.

 The original contract signed with Placer Dome held the State's profits to the price of gold, which meant that the higher the price on the market, the greater the profits for the Stage. Geologist and blogger Osiris de León explains it this way [es]:

(…) como el precio del oro ha ido en ascenso rápido y ha superado los 1,000 dólares por onza, ello implicaría una participación del Estado en las Utilidades Netas (PUN) de US$194 millones por año, fruto de que la Barrick piensa producir en Pueblo Viejo un millón de onzas de oro anualmente, y al multiplicar 1,000,000 de onzas de oro por US$775, que es el diferencial entre el precio del oro en este momento (US$1,050/onza) y el costo de producción (US$275/onza), y luego multiplicarlo por el 25%, obtenemos unos 194 millones de dólares anuales para el Estado. Y la Barrick se niega a entregar tanto dinero.

Por tal razón la Barrick Gold ha obligado al Estado Dominicano a una renegociación del contrato original, a fin de que esa participación estatal del 25% de las utilidades netas sea llevada a cero, óigase bien, a cero, mientras ellos no hayan obtenido una tasa interna de retorno (TIR) de un 10% y hasta haber recuperado los US$2,585 millones invertidos para desarrollar el proyecto, y a partir de ahí pagar un 28.75% como PUN, con lo cual la Barrick le quita 194 millones de dólares anuales al pueblo dominicano, durante al menos los primeros 6 años de operación, lo que implicaría que durante esos 6 años el pobre pueblo dominicano dejaría de percibir unos 1,164 millones de dólares, a los precios de hoy.

 For this reason, Barrick Gold has forced the Dominican State to renegotiate the original contract, so that the state share of 25% of net profits will be brought to zero, pay attention, to zero, while they have not obtained a rate of return of 10% and until they had recovered the US$2,585 billion invested to develop the project, and thereafter pay a 28.75% as PUN, which means Barrick takes away the US$194 million annually from the Dominican people during at least the first 6 years of operation, implying that during those 6 years the Dominican people would stop earning of US$1,164 million at today's prices.

 While some people believe that the contract leaves the Dominican Republic at a clear disadvantage, this is not the only reason for protest. There is concern about the effects that the operations of Barrick Gold will have on the environment, due to the bad reputation the consortium has on a global scale, which has not escaped the attention of Dominicans. Indeed, there have been public protests [es] and various groups have utilized groups on Facebook [es]The blog also provides details of the contract approved by Dominican lawmakers, forced evictions for area residents, and the work currently being performed by Barrick Gold in the readjustment of the mine, which has made headlines in recent days for the intoxication of over 300 peruvian  workers for reasons still unexplained.   While the company talks about food poisoning [es],a regular  lie) others insist that the poisoning was due a a boiler explosion  

Barrick Gold has felt a lot of pressure in the Dominican Republic that it has seen the urgent need for a public relations program, which includes the publication of statements in paid advertisement spaces in national newspapers and on national television. Their representatives leave no doubt the benefits that their presence is having in Cotuí.

Despite the public relations efforts, people are continuing to protest. For Holy Week, there is a planned 4-day pilgrimage walk that will depart from Km. 9 of the Duarte Highway towards the mining installation in Cotuí. March organizers expect more than 10,000 people to walk the 105 kilometers to protest against Barrick Gold and to protect the environment in Cotuí, which has been damaged by the operations of Rosario Dominicana, as explained by Alexander Medina, who has 30 years of experience in the mining sector [es].

Una vez procesados los óxidos de oro, los sulfuros quedaron expuestos y la mina fue abandonada a su suerte, permitiendo que esta drenara hasta la Presa de Hatillo aguas ácidas del río Margajita, producidas por la mezcla del agua de lluvia y el mineral de los sulfuros de oro que quedó al descubierto. Otro impacto ambiental negativo legado por Rosario es la acumulación de metales pesados como el hierro, cobre y mercurio en el sitio de la vieja planta y en los lodos del lecho de los ríos Mejita y Margajita.

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 at the site of the old plant and the sludge from Mejita and Margajita Rivers.

 

Paola Mejía Sandoval, of the group NO A LA BARRICK GOLD, BATEALA Y SACALA DEL PAIS [es] (No to Barrick Gold, bat them and kick them out of the country) summarizes the feelings from some Dominicans towards Barrick Gold:

Si no peleamos ahora por defender lo que es nuestro quizas manana dej de pertenecernos entonces, por que lucharemos??? nosotros debemos plantarnos en favor de nuestros ideales. NO A LA BARRICK GOLD EN REPUBLICA DOMINICANA.

If we do not fight to defend what is ours, maybe tomorrow it may stop belonging to us. Why do we fight?? We should stand up for our ideals. No to Barrick Gold in the Dominican Republic.

The reality of Barrick Gold in Dominican Republic

Barrick Gold contract and contamination in Dominican Republic

So we want to create some statement about what we think is Horrible for our beloved country , D.R.
it's not an super ecological movement..It's basically about the future of our nation..

Historically speaking , no nation in the world had get out of a third world situation through mining..In fact their situation has getting worst and worst..Specially with such a destructive contract made by Barrick Gold and some lobbyist in our congress..Like Tanzania, Bolivia, the frontier between Chile and Argentina,South Africa, Papua New guinea, etc, etc..do they look developed countries to you?


We are getting conscious of the damage and the poisoning they are doing to our nation , specially after they poison our waters , resources and mind ..Like they did in 1492


 Hatillo Dam, Is country’s most important freshwater source. Measuring 22 square kilometers, the dam irrigates the Cibao’s rice fields, the country’s main staple food, as well as numerous other crops both for national consumption and export.

  2010

La presa de Hatillo es la mas grande reserva de agua dulce en el pais, y asi se encuentra ahora despues de la llegada de la Barrick Gold: Usted beberia de ella ahora?


Nobody can spreed poison in Our land, Our humble people and Our concious!


What are we going to tell our future generations when they ask why we didn't do anything to stop the destruction of our beautiful land?



Be proactive!

Hatillo Dam

 La Presa de hatillo era un lugar de esparcimiento para las familias, donde estaba el agua para regar las cosechas, y un lugar de pesca, un patrimonio de la nacion..
..Ahora es simplemente uno de los basureros mas de la BG

Ni usted ni ninguno de sus hijos usara JAMAS la presa de Hatillo gracias a la Barrick Gold,. una compania que NO da trabajo, No lo beneficia a usted, No construye y solo trae muerte y enfermedades a cualquier parte del mundo a donde va..


La pregunta es : Vale la pena tener una compania asi en nuestra tierra?

They admited that they were usin a huge amount of cyanide :


"Posteriormente, y durante el programa del buen amigo Dr. Julio Hazim, el ejecutivo máximo en el país de la Barrick Gold admitió que esa empresa usará en el proceso de explotación del oro en Cotuí el cianuro, con lo cual quedaba confirmada la información obtenida, y que fuera hecha pública por quien esto escribe en conversación con el gran amigo don Álvaro Arvelo, en el programa El Gobierno de la Mañana, a quien el país debe agradecer sus valerosas denuncias públicas sobre los abusos de la empresa minera.

La información de que la Barrick Gold va a importar una gran cantidad de cianuro a la República Dominicana, debe de poner en auto a las autoridades dominicanas, en su ineludible deber de exigir que se cumplan de forma rigurosa las estrictas medidas de seguridad (conforme a las normas del Consejo Internacional de Metales y Medio Ambiente con Sede en Ontario), que eviten o reduzcan a la mínima expresión la posibilidad de un accidente que pueda generar una catástrofe ecológica, de magnitudes nunca vistas en nuestro territorio.

El peligro que acecha al país es mucho más grave cuando se examina la actitud de la Barrick Gold sobre la última experiencia de intoxicación masiva en Cotuí. En vez de declarar la realidad de lo ocurrido, se optó por otorgar una versión pública que nadie creyó, relativa a intoxicación de alimentos, lo que fue desmentido por un estudio técnico y científico dado a conocer por la UASD la semana pasada, que atribuye a una emanación de gas tóxico lo ocurrido.

Source: http://listindiario.com/puntos-de-vista/2010/3/28/136609/La-Barrick-Gold-y-el-cianuro

Que la gente sepa que hay dominicanos con conciencia y pantalones!