Pascua-Lama mining project

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Coordinates: 29 ° 19 ′ 10 ″  S , 70 ° 1 ′ 9 ″  W

Pascua Lama Territory.JPG

The Pascua-Lama mining project was a mining project in the South American countries of Chile and Argentina near the towns of Lama and Pascua in the Valle de Huasco in the Atacama region, 660 kilometers north of Santiago de Chile . The next larger city is Vallenar, 150 kilometers away, with 44,000 inhabitants.

On the border between the two countries, larger gold , silver and copper deposits are suspected under various glaciers . The Canadian company Barrick Gold , so far the third largest gold producer in the world, wanted to mine parts of the Toro I, Toro II and Esperanza glaciers in an open pit together with its subsidiary Empresa Nevada and rebuild them at another location. The Chilean environmental commission Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CONAMA) made the resettlement a condition for approval as part of the environmental impact assessment . 80% of the occurrence is in Chile and 20% in Argentina.

Satellite imagery suggests 499 tons (17.6 million ounces ) of gold, 18,000 tons (635 million ounces) of silver and 5,000 tons of copper under the ice . The gross value of the deposits is approximately $ 15 billion. Barrick calculated investments of $ 1.6 billion.

Environmental groups fear serious effects of arsenic on the Huascotal, in which 70,000 small farmers operate irrigation. In addition, numerous residents, especially members of the Huascoaltinos , descendants of the Diaguita , claimed the land for themselves.

The project was suspended in 2013.

Individual evidence

  1. Barrick Gold - Litigation in Chile settled for $ 20 million. In: goldinvest.de. October 6, 2017, accessed October 16, 2017 .

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