Barrick Gold Mine Accused for Spilling Toxins Into Water Supply

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Barrick Gold Corporation’s Veladero mine in Argentina has been accused of releasing toxins into local water supply. It must be noted that the mine had faced similar allegations before, which in turn had led to temporary closure of mining activities. The mine is operated by Barrick Gold and is jointly owned along with Chinese Shandong Gold.

As per media reports, the reported levels of mercury, lead, aluminum, manganese, nickel and other contaminants in the water supply near Jachal town in Veladero have reached extremely high levels. The contaminant levels exceeded all previous incidents. This is with reference to water analysis was conducted by specialists at the National University of Cuyo in Mendoza. A protest rally was held by industry watchdog Mining Watch Canada in downtown Toronto recently.

The concentration of copper, chromium, nickel, lead, zinc, arsenic and mercury all were detected at levels that exceed the limits under Argentinian hazardous waste law.

The mine had to undergo temporary closure in 2016 following three incidents of effluent spills into the local water. The company had invested $500 million towards an improvement plan, after which the mine was reopened.

The mine’s production had totalled around 92,000 ounces of gold in the initial quarter of the current year.

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