SANTIAGO, May 31 (Reuters) – Barrick Gold Corp has
paid a discounted $11.6 million 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.
Chilean law provides a 25 percent discount if the fine is
paid within five working days.
The project will likely be reactivated in one to two years
at the earliest, given the infrastructure that needs to be built
to avoid water pollution, the regulator told Reuters on
Thursday.
Barrick is due to present a plan to meet the regulator’s
requirements next week.
A Chilean court in April had already temporarily halted the
unpopular project, which straddles the border of Chile and
Argentina, to weigh claims by indigenous communities that
Barrick has damaged pristine glaciers and harmed water supplies.
The fine imposed by the regulator stems from one “very
serious breach” and four “serious breaches.” Given the
infractions, Greenpeace said the fine was “laughable.”
Barrick shares closed down 13 cents at $21.58 on Friday in
Toronto.
