Di hamak na milya-milya ang layo ng danyos na
inalok ng Barrick Gold para maresolba lamang ang class-action suit na isinampa
laban sa higanteng kumpanya na may kinalaman sa Pascua-Lama project sa Chile: $ 140 MILLION!
Ang reklamo lamang sa Barrick ay ang hindi
nito pagbibigay sa mga investors ng sapat na impormasyon, “misrepresentations
and failures” na naging dahilan ng pagkalugi ng mga investor sa Pascua-Lama.
Samantalang kung ihahambing sa matinding dinanas
ng mga Marinduqueno tulad ng pagkawasak ng apat na major ecosystems sa isla
(kasama na ang mine site), pagkamatay ng dalawang bata, pagkawala ng mga
hanapbuhay, pagpapatuloy ng pagkalat ng mga sakit na dala ng epekto ng
pagmimina, pagsuporta sa mga maanumalyang mga gawain at iba pa ay ano ang
napala natin?
Na pagbuyungan na lamang ang $20-MILLION na
alok, na kalahati nito ay dati nang nakalaan para sa pag-rehabilitate ng Boac
River? Na mas maiging paghati-hatian na lamang ng mga abogado at kasabuwat na mga pinagkatiwalaan ng mga tawo? Dahil lamang sa isip ng kinauukulan ay kayang-kayang laruin, linlangin, paikutin ang mga tawo?
Hanggang ngayon?
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| Sa Pascua-Lama mining project |
Barrick pays $140 m to settle Pascua-Lama lawsuit
From: Mining.com
Barrick Gold (TSX, NYSE:ABX) has agreed to
pay $140 million to resolve a US class-action lawsuit that accused the world's
largest gold producer of distorting facts related to its mothballed $8.5
billion Pascua-Lama project in South America.
Barrick confirmed the agreement disclosed in
papers filed on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, adding that the settlement
is insured. In a statement the Toronto-based company said it "continues to
believe that the claims alleged by the lead plaintiffs in the litigation are
unfounded, and under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company has not
accepted any charges of wrongdoing or liability."
The lawsuit covers investors who acquired
Barrick stock between May 7, 2009 and May 23, 2013. Shares in the company lost
44% of its value over that time period, with a large chunk of the losses coming
in April and May that year. The class action alleged Barrick shareholders lost
billions of dollars as a result of the company's "misrepresentations and
failures" regarding Pascua-Lama.
After falling to 25-year lows in 2015,
Barrick stock has rallied this year and the counter was worth $18.8 billion in
New York on Tuesday, a 127% year-to-date jump.
The Chilean government approved construction
of an open-cut gold and silver mine in 2006, but held Barrick to hundreds of
conditions regarding the environment, particularly concerning glaciers
surrounding the project high in the Andes.
On April 10, 2013, an appeals court in Chile
ordered the miner to halt construction of the project over environmental
concerns. In October that year, Barrick decided to halt the technically
challenging project indefinitely citing massive cost overruns and nose-diving
bullion prices.
The company said at the time it would resume
it only if it found a cheaper way to proceed and earlier this month it revealed
it was re-evaluating plans for the project. Barrick said it wasn’t ruling out a
possible partnership to bring the project to completion.
Argentina has been an enthusiastic supporter
of the project – while only around a fifth of the deposit is located in
Argentina many of the above-ground facilities will be built on that side of the
border.
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| Pag-pollute ng Calancan Bay, Marinduque |
