Pascua_Lama_protest_2005
Barrick is a Canadian company in which there is major British investment (see http://moneytometal.org/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=Barrick&go=Go).
Barrick’s Pascua Lama could wind up costing US$10bn, analyst says
Canadian Barrick Gold’s Pascua Lama project on the border of Chile and Argentina could wind up costing US$10bn to build, according to Credit Suisse analyst Anita Soni. The situation at the troubled Pascua Lama project is one of the reasons that the bank has downgraded Barrick to “neutral” from “outperform,” analyst Anita Soni wrote in a note, adding that she was cutting her price target 44% to US$20/share. If the company pushes ahead with Pascua Lama, in addition to the significant capex increase, Soni anticipates startup around mid-2016 at the earliest. The other possibility is a complete suspension of the project. The suspension of construction on the Chilean side of Pascua Lama has led Barrick to come to an agreement with three of the project’s unions for the dismissal of 400 workers, local paper El Mercurio reported.
See http://web6.bnamericas.com/news/mining/barricks-pascua-lama-could-wind-up-costing-us10bn-analyst-says/363106779.
Chile’s court launches probe on why Barrick’s Pascua-Lama fine was reduced
Chile’s supreme environmental court has ordered the country’s environmental watchdog (SMA) to explain why the sanctions imposed on Barrick Gold in relation to environmental violations at the Pascua Lama project were reduced from the original $16 million to $12 million, among other issues. The court resolution follows a complaint filed by indigenous communities, who claim the SMA’s resolution on the gold and silver project involved several illegalities, especially in relation to the total penalty imposed to Barrick.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=12354.