On the one-year anniversary of the road blockade in Pe�a Negra and
"ouster" of Barrick Gold from the Famatina mountain range, it has been
confirmed that Barrick Gold, with the complicity of the national and
provincial government, has been secretly constructing a new entry road
into the backside of the mountain. This new road enters through
Potrero Grande near Vinchina, avoiding the widespread public resistance
on the east side of the range, and links Barrick Gold�s Famatina
project with the uranium projects under exploration along the southern
border of the neighboring province of Catamarca.
Barrick�s
Famatina project was an open-pit gold mine to be located upon the
higher flanks of the Famatina Range. Barrick�s insertion into the
beloved mountain was carried out silently and secretly during the past
few years until 2006, when residents found out and began a grassroots
campaign of education, outreach and resistance In March 2007,
residents began a round the clock peaceful blockade of the only road
entering into the mountain and Barrick�s mining camp. In an
astonishing turn of events, widespread anti-mining public opinion led
to the ouster of corrupt provincial Governor Angel Maza, a
province-wide �prohibition� of open-pit mining, and the scheduling of a
public referendum. Confronted with turmoil and resistance, Barrick
Gold announced their �withdrawal� from the Famatina project in April
2007.
Owing
to Barrick Gold�s history of lies and misrepresentations, nobody
believed them. Sure enough, in the past year, new governor Luis
Beder-Herrera reneged on his promises to stop the mining exploitation:
First he blocked the scheduled public referendum, claiming that it was
unnecessary because there were already laws in place to prohibit
open-pit mining -- months later he claimed that these very laws he had
signed were non-binding because they had never been subject to a public
referendum! The Governor has been negotiating secretly with mining
companies, including Barrick Gold, to pave the way for their return.
The
access road to Famatina has remained steadfastly blockaded by neighbors
throughout the year. And now Barrick Gold and the province of La Rioja
are now confirmed to be constructing a new road to try and insert out
the view of the firmly anti-mining residents. The truth came out in
February when a truck carrying unknown chemicals plunged off a cliff
near Potrero Grande, killing the driver contracted by a subsidiary
Barrick Gold. It still remains unannounced what chemicals were spilled
in the tragic accident.
One
thing remains certain: The Famatina mountain range provides the water
which supports the lives of all the people and ecosystems in the
region. La Rioja is an arid province which depends upon the runoff
from the mountain peaks, their only source of water and life. And the
people of this region remain steadfast in their opposition to
large-scale mining projects, be they gold or uranium.
The �self-organized neighbors� (vecinos autoconvocados)
of Famatina, Chilecito, and La Rioja have called upon their neighbors
on the other side of the mountain range (in the towns of Vinchina,
Jague, and Potrero Grande) to come forth and prevent further
construction of Barrick Gold�s cowardly rear access road. Sure
enough, on March 12, 2008, neighbors have followed their example,
carrying out a first blockade of the highway in the town of Patqu�a.
Self-Organized Neighbors of Famatina In Defense of Life
Coordination of Citizen Assemblies of Chilecito
Self-Organized Neighbors of Pituil,
Self-Organized Neighbors of Cha�armuyo
Self-Organized Neighbors of North Famatina
Self-Organized Neighbors of La Rioja capital.
To
donate funds to help the popular resistance against Barrick Gold and
other large-scale mining projects in the Famatina Range, you can donate
money to this account:
Autoconvocados de Famatina
Cta Banco Naci�n Sucursal Famatina N� 5940122759
For More Information:
www.ciudadanosporlavida.com.ar Autoconvocados de Chilecito
www.noalamina.org Site of Anti mining movements in Argentina
www.noalapascualama.org Anti Pascua Lama Chile-Argentina
www.orosucio.madryn.org anti-mining movements Argentina
www.conflictosmineros.net Latin American Mining Conflicts
www.minesandcommunities.org world mining conflicts |