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The Pascua-Lama Gold Mine, located on the border between
Chile and Argentina at about 5000 metres, has seen significant
controversy since operations began in 2005. The mine is located
within a biosphere reserve, which contains large glaciers that
provide water needed by 8500 farmers in the Huasco Valley.
Construction of the mine is thought to have affected glacial
melting patterns and water quality, and has led to prolonged legal
battles and petitions against the mine’s owners, Barrick Gold (ECC
Platform, 2015). In 2013, the Chilean Court ordered the suspension
of construction at the mine until adequate measures were put in
place for water management, finding that the company had 23
violations of its environmental impact agreement (A/P, 2013).
That same year, the farming communities in the Alto del
Carmen region together with the Latin American Observatory
of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA) filed a lawsuit against
Barrick Gold, alleging that dust from the mine settled onto and
accelerated the melting of these glaciers. However, in 2015,
Chile’s environmental court rejected claims that the mining
project damaged the glaciers, although the NGO who filed the
lawsuit in question accused the government of ignoring scientific
documents produced by state scientists, in favour of scientists
hired by Barrick Gold (GlacierHub, 2015; OLCA, 2015).
CASE STUDY
Mining, glaciers and water supply: The controversy of the Pascua-
Lama Gold Mine
A wall painting referring to Pascua-Lama.
Photo
©
Flickr/Amilcar