Environment |
Gold mining is a highly consumptive and environmentally destructive industry. In addition to the landscapes that is destroys, gold mining (especially open pit gold mining) creates massive amounts of toxic waste that often causes acid mine drainage and heavy metal contamination. |
| Water Depletion Water depletion is a major negative consequence of gold mining. The large amount of water required to run a gold mining operation exacerbates its impact on local communities, many of which are already experiencing drought. |
| Acid Mine Drainage Open pit mining creates great waste for a small yield. On average, it takes 79 tons of waste to extract one ounce of gold, according to a conservative estimate by the No Dirty Gold campaign, a project of EarthWorks and Oxfam. The process involves grinding up ore, and then exposing it to cyanide in order to extract the gold. Sulfides in the crushed rocks interact with air and water to create sulfuric acid, which in turn creates acid mine drainage (AMD). In and of itself, AMD is harmful to ecosystems because it makes water too acidic to support life. Additionally, the sulfuric acid in AMD leaches out other substances from the waste ore, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, which can have disastrous health effects, and can contaminate both air and water. Gold mining has been linked to 96 percent of the world’s arsenic emissions. |
| Cyanide Cyanide is the chemical-of-choice for mining companies to extract gold from crushed ore, despite the fact that leaks or spills of this chemical are extremely toxic to fish, plant life and human beings. Cyanide is a deadly chemical, used in the gas chambers of the Second World War and on death row in the United States between 1930-1980. The chemical has caused havoc in water systems across the world with over 30 spills in the last five years. |
| Fly Over of Barrick Gold's Mine in Lake Cowal by Natalie Lowrey, Special to protestbarrick.net February 4th, 2013 On Monday 4th February 2013, Wiradjuri Traditional Owner, Nevillle 'Chappy' Williams and ProtestBarrick.net co-founders and editors Sakura Saunders (Canada) and Natalie Lowrey (Australia) took a cessna plane from Forbes to Lake Cowal in central western New South Wales, Australia to document a gold mine in the lake. The slideshow video of the recent flight over Lake Cowal shows Barrick's mine pit in the lake bed surrounded by water. On the flight there were hundreds of birds seen in the 1km square toxic tailings dams. Many of these birds have flown great distances to get here and cannot differentiate the difference between the water of Lake Cowal and the tailings dams of the mine. The contamination of water with cyanide and heavy metals by the mine is of major concern to Wiradjuri Traditional Owners and environmentalists. |
| New Zealand Superannuation Fund excludes Barrick Gold and subsidiary African Barrick Gold on responsible investment grounds New Zealand Superannuation Fund May 13th, 2013 The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has excluded global mining company Barrick Gold Corporation and its subsidiary African Barrick Gold from its $22 billion investment portfolio on responsible investment grounds. |
| Q&A: Sen. Allende on Barrick Gold’s controversial Chilean mine by Kalynne Dakin, Santiago Times May 8th, 2013 The Socialist Party senator addresses constituent and worker concerns as US$8.5 billion Pascua-Lama mine faces shutdown. |
 | Barrick’s mea culpa
by Christian Pena, Now Magazine May 2nd, 2013 If spirits were low inside the venue, outside the mood was buoyant. Activists cheerfully propped up a monster puppet of Munk with a Pinocchio nose to illustrate their view of the company’s claims to social responsibility and drew attention to Barrick’s incursions on indigenous land and its reaction to alleged gang rapes and abuses by company security in Papua New Guinea. |
| Barrick’s environmental foes jump on wobbly miner by MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT , Globe and Mail April 25th, 2013 The long term outlook for Barrick shares hinges on many factors: the gold price is obviously the biggest driver, but the company also faces vociferous opposition from environmentalists and many residents around its mine sites, which should be a long term worry for shareholders. |
| Barrick AGM Protest in pictures protestbarrick.net April 24th, 2013 Protesters braved the rain to send a message to shareholders of Barrick Gold: "Barrick is a toxic asset, invest in life!" (all photos Allan.Lissner.net) |
| Chile rejects Barrick’s appeal to resume work at Pascua Lama by Cecilia Jamasmie, Mining.com April 23rd, 2013 Chilean appeals court rejected Canadian Barrick Gold (NYSE, TSX: ABX) subsidiary Minera Nevada's plea to reverse the order to suspend construction on the troubled Pascua Lama gold and silver project. |
 | New Report! "Debunking Barrick" by multiple authors, ProtestBarrick April 23rd, 2013 As Protest Barrick completes its sixth year of working with communities impacted by Barrick Gold, we are publishing a different kind of alternative annual report. We have noticed over the years that despite some of Barrick`s major abuses coming into light, the company has been able to maintain – within select circles – a reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Meanwhile, around the world, Barrick’s name is still associated with corruption, abuse and environmental harms. |
| Dominicans Protest Against Canadian Miner Barrick Gold Latin American Herald Tribune April 22nd, 2013 Dozens of people marched Thursday in this northern Dominican city against Canadian miner Barrick Gold, which is developing the massive Pueblo Viejo gold mine in the Caribbean nation. |
| 2012-13: A bad year for Barrick excerpt of "Debunking Barrick", an alternative annual report on Barrick Gold April 18th, 2013 Before you think about investing in Barrick, check out this timeline of actions against Barrick's operations around the world since last July. |
| Barrick Gold: Is Pascua-Lama A Mine That Should Not Be Built? Seeking Alpha April 16th, 2013 The uphill struggle for Barrick Gold (ABX) to finally bring the Pascua-Lama mine into production hit another snag last week when a Chilean court ordered all works on the Chilean side of the project to cease pending a decision on a complaint filed by a group of native indigenous people. Court sources quoted by Reuters anticipate the dispute to go to the Chilean Supreme Court, which could mean delays to the order of several months. The suspension is the latest in a series of setbacks to the Pascua-Lama project. Target dates for initial production have been delayed, and cost estimates had to be corrected at least twice. |
 | CONFRONT BARRICK: 2013 AGM Protest and Alternative Annual Report! Once a year, the board of Directors of the world’s most powerful gold mining corporation converge in downtown Toronto. This year, we're releasing a report that chronicles Barrick's lies and highlights the true stories behind their false CSR spin. Help us ensure that these stories don't get ignored. |
| Chile court suspends Barrick's Pascua Lama mine by LUIS ANDRES HENAO, Associated Press April 10th, 2013 A Chilean court on Wednesday suspended Barrick Gold Corp's Pascua Lama mine after indigenous communities complained that the project is threatening their water supply and polluting glaciers. |
| Agro leaders to protest Barrick Gold contract on Friday Dominican Today April 9th, 2013 The country’s agro producers grouped in CONFENAGRO on Tuesday called for a series of protests on Friday April 12, in rebuke of Barrick Gold’s contract, which calls for only 3% of the profits from the gold mined at Cotuí, in Dominican Republic’s northeast. |
| PASCUA LAMA: Charges filed against the controversial project for failing to meet the environmental standards, conditions, and measures. by SEBASTIAN MARCHANT, 24 Horas The Environmental Superintendent of Chile filed charges on Wednesday against Nevada Mining SpA, who is the owner of Pasca Lama project in Chile, because the project fails to meet the conditions, rules and measures established by the Environmental Qualification Resolution delivered in 2006. Chilean authorities also found Barrick's self-reporting did not meet the requirements of Article 41 of the Organic Superintendency Law, which requires the provision of accurate, truthful and verifiable facts by the holder. |
| Fury over alleged toxic leaks in Barrick mine; Tarime residents want probe, amends by Beldina Nyakeke , The Citizen (Tanzania) March 26th, 2013 The Tarime District Council chairman, Mr Amos Sagara, has asked the government to form a task force to investigate challenges facing villages surrounding the Barrick North Mara Gold Mine and come up with a lasting solution. |
| Economic Displacement + Water Depletion + Long-Term Pollution ≠ Sustainable Development ProtestBarrick editor Sakura Saunders distributed this fact sheet at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto on March 5, 2013. It is just the tip of the iceberg regarding Barrick's abuses, but enough points to prove a point that Barrick does not promote sustainable development at their mine sites. The fact sheet was distributed after Saunders spoke during the question period of the CEO panel which featured Barrick CEO, Jamie Sokalsky. |
| Gold Mine Planned for Southwest Alaska Threatens Environment and Local Communities http://ecowatch.com/2013/gold-mine-alaska/ February 27th, 2013 The Kuskokwim region is at a crossroads. A massive gold mine is planned at Crooked Creek, a tributary of the Kuskokwim. With an estimated 27 year production run churning out more than one million ounces of gold per year, the Donlin Gold mine would require an open pit two miles long, one mile wide and 1,800 feet deep, plus the largest pipeline built in Alaska since the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.While it promises jobs in a region with few employment opportunities, the mine as currently proposed could have serious consequences for subsistence livelihoods. |
| Gold Mine Planned for Southwest Alaska Threatens Environment and Local Communities by Rebecca Siegel, Alaskans For Responsible Mining February 27th, 2013 The Kuskokwim region is at a crossroads. A massive gold mine is planned at Crooked Creek, a tributary of the Kuskokwim. With an estimated 27 year production run churning out more than one million ounces of gold per year, the Donlin Gold mine would require an open pit two miles long, one mile wide and 1,800 feet deep, plus the largest pipeline built in Alaska since the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.While it promises jobs in a region with few employment opportunities, the mine as currently proposed could have serious consequences for subsistence livelihoods. |
 | The Globe and Mail as Corporate Apologists by Sakura Saunders, protestbarrick.net February 15th, 2013 Last week, a remediation program proposed by Barrick Gold was criticized by Mining Watch Canada and other human rights organizations for forcing victims of gang rape to sign away their rights to sue the company in exchange for receiving redress. Barrick's offer came two years after a 2011 Human Rights Watch report exposed a "pattern of violent abuses, including horrifying acts of gang rape". Mining Watch's report also criticized the fact that Barrick was offering no compensation to women who were gang raped by PNG Police, despite the fact that the police were housed, supplied and fed by Barrick during their time in Porgera. |
