Barrick TailingsNews about Barrick's tailings (from yesterday) :
"Diario Libre publishes today that President Luis Abinader had issued Decree 270-22 in May 2022 whereby his administration gives Pueblo Viejo Dominicana Jersey 2 Limited five years to present feasibility studies for the expansion of the gold production in the province of Sanchez Ramirez. The Presidency has not uploaded the link to the decree on its website.
The Barrick Gold is requesting the installation of a new tailings facility to exploit gold reserves within its concession area.
The Decree 270-22 authorized the expansion of the Reserva Fiscal Montenegro by 3,115.47 mining hectares to make possible the installation of the tailings dam and auxiliary facilities needed for the Pueblo Viejo mine operation. The decree authorizes the expansion of the mining area from 4,880 hectares to 7,995.47 hectares.
The expansion area would affect the communities of El Hijo, El Rayo, Las Tres Bocas, Arroyo Vuelta, El Naranjo and Jagua Mocha in Sanchez Ramrez. The construction of the tailings dam in the province of Monte Plata had been rejected by the communities there.
Barrick Gold operation is subject to receiving the environmental approvals of the Ministry of Environment and the clearance of the approvals of the Ministry of Energy and Mines. The Ministry of Energy and Mines has invested heavily in a public relations campaign to make mining better received by Dominican citizens.
Diario Libre reports that environmentalist Luis Carvajal of the state university (UASD) considers it absurd that the mining company insist on building a tailings dam given the dangers involved. Carvajal warns that the country will inherit an environmental liability that was not taken into account in the contract because the cost of maintaining the dam will grow over the years."
So having got that out of the way, hopefully the President will turn his attentions to our long overdue permit ...