It is said that as preoccupation with Elections 2016 intensifies, the more certain some sectors of the Marinduque community and beyond will continue to salivate for the USD 20-Million Barrick offer for settlement in connection with the Marinduque case against the mining giant filed in Nevada USA. It is said that they, the seemingly unstoppable deal promoters, endlessly salivate because most of the easy take-it-or-leave-it blood money goes directly into their private pockets.
Which is why the mining communities, advocacy groups, the more sensible local government leaders on this island have raised the alarm bells for the poor, the exploited poor of Marinduque to be vigilant at all times because these modern-day wolves are poised to strike and trick the Marinduque electorate by reneging on their public promises to 'reject the unconscionable offer'.
Here's an interesting bit of information that a reader came across in connection with another mine Barrick inherited from Placer Dome that was in bad shape. In this instance, due to strong pressure from the government of the Dominican Republic, Barrick has to do a clean-up to remediate the Margajita River in Pueblo Viejo.
Barrick spent at least USD 75-million! Info on this project was supplied by Barrick itself.
PUEBLO VIEJO
Environmental Remediation and Water Treatment Fact Sheet
from BARRICK INFO
At the Pueblo Viejo mine in the Dominican Republic, Barrick is remediating significant environmental damage left behind by a previous mining operation at the site, which closed in 1999 with no proper environmental reclamation.
Before Barrick’s arrival, highly acidic, untreated water was seeping from the old mine site into local rivers. Today, all water from our operations is safely treated at a water treatment plant on site before being discharged into the is safely treated at a water treatment plant on site before being discharged into the Margajita Margajita River. Water processed on site is treated in River. Water processed on site is treated in
accordance with Dominican government mining standards and International Finance Corporation (IFC) guidelines. The treatment process is closely monitored and controlled, and has already resulted in a vast improvement in the condition of the Margajita River. The river is returning to its natural color after flowing dark red for decades due to acid rock drainage (ARD) that was not properly treated by the mine’s previous
operator. Sampling shows a marked decrease in the acidity of the river and there are early signs that aquatic life is returning to the river.
Background
Barrick acquired a majority interest in Pueblo Viejo in 2006 and Margajita River today Barrick acquired a majority interest in Pueblo Viejo in 2006 and manages operations at the mine through Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Corporation (PVDC), a joint venture in which Barrick holds a 60 percent interest, with Goldcorp holding the remaining 40 percent.
The previous operator of Pueblo Viejo closed the operation in 1999 without proper environmental remediation, leaving a legacy of polluted soil and water.
After acq g j, uiring control of Pueblo Viejo, PVDC assumed responsibility for environmental remediation of areas within the mine development boundary.
The Dominican government retained responsibility for remediation of areas outside the mine development boundary, including the Cumba and Hondo areas and tailings storage facilities built by the previous operator, such as the Mejita and Las Lagunas tailings dams.
Before Barrick’s water treatment plant began operating, the Margajita River’s pH, a measure of acidity, typically measured in the 2.5 range, meaning the water was highly acidic.
The Margajita also lost its natural color, turning a dark red, reflecting the high acidity level and metal content in the water.
Today, the Margajita has returned to its natural color and its pH level has increased significantly, measuring in the 7.0-8.5 range at the point where treated water is discharged into the river. Concurrent reclamation uses biodegradable coconut fibre mats from a local women’s cooperative to control soil erosion.
Barrick’s Clean-Up Efforts
Since acquiring control of Pueblo Viejo, PVDC has re-vegetated 3,500 hectares of land, built a large water treatment plant to treat water on site before discharging it into the Margajita River and, acting as an agent of the government, removed 180,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil left from prior operations.
PVDC also agreed to provide $75 million to fund the clean-up of historical liabilities that are the responsibility of the Dominican government. The management plan for the clean-up phase is
currently awaiting government approval.
Read more on http://www.barrick.com/files/
