protestbarrick.net is now an archive of Protest Barrick's work from 2007 until 2016.
For updates on Protest Barrick's current work, go to: https://protestbarrick.org

  Protest Barrick
Home About us Issues International Campaigns Press Actions

Acid Mine Drainage and Heavy Metal Contamination


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.
A recent report by the University of Nevada found startlingly high mercury concentrations in the air around a number of northern Nevada gold mines. The highest concentration was measured at Barrick�s Marigold Mine (3120 ng/m3).


�Please tell people about this:� London students� horror at Dominican Republic mines
by Mark SpowartMetro
October 27th, 2014
Three London students were shocked by what they found last winter during a trip to the Dominican Republic. Canadian mining companies, they say, are destroying lives in the country.

Philippines: Marinduque 'pushed to the wall' by Barrick Gold
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/miningwatch/2013/10/philippines-marinduque-pushed-to-wall-barrick-gold
October 22nd, 2013
In the Philippines, the island province of Marinduque is known as a cautionary tale about the ravages of irresponsible mining. It took Canadian mining giant Placer Dome a couple of decades to wreak environmental destruction on major coral reefs in Calancan Bay and to severely contaminate the Mogpog and Boac Rivers with toxic mine waste -- none of which has ever been cleaned up. The ongoing environmental impacts are only part of the story.

Shifting Prospects
by Tim ElliotSydney Morning Herald - Good Weekend
In the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, the locals are largely locked out of the wealth of a lucrative goldmine. Tim Elliott meets a few brave young men determined to claim just a tiny piece of pie.

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)

New Report! "Debunking Barrick"
by multiple authorsProtestBarrick
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.

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.

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.

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 SiegelAlaskans 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.

Surviving Rape in Papua New Guinea
Human Rights Watch
August 11th, 2011
What Would You Choose � Prison or Rape? This is what may women in Porgar, PNG are up against when they encounter Barrick Gold security guards. A report by Human Rights Watch

Pay Dirt?
by Michelle SlaterCastlemaine Independent
July 27th, 2011
Can gold ever be ethical?

Barrick Contaminates Water Resources
Latin American Press
June 16th, 2011
High levels of heavy metals have been detected in water resources near the Veladero and Pascua Lama gold projects, both owned by Canadian giant Barrick Gold, according to a recently published study by the Center for Human Rights and Environment, an Argentina-based nongovernmental organization.

Barrick Accused by Governor�s Brother of Mingling in Argentine Election Politics
Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA)
May 4, 2011 � In a highly unusual interview[1] with a national radio station, the brother and would be gubernatorial candidate of the incumbent Governor of San Juan Province attacked his brother (Governor Jos� Luis Gioja) and Barrick Gold of maintaining a lucrative and economically abusive relationship for the province. It seems Barrick�s profits are causing a stir in local politics that has miners and ruling family members at odds with one another.

Barrick Threatens Legal Action Against NGO � Over Publication of Contamination of Gold Mining Projects in Argentina
May 16th 2011 � Argentina. Barrick Gold threatened to file legal actions against the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA), for publishing a report that uses Barrick�s own water monitoring data and concludes that the Veladero and Pascua Lama projects are contaminating San Juan�s rivers and streams.

Gold mine saga sign of things to come
by Mobhare MatinyiThe Citizen - TANZANIA
June 2nd, 2011
Once again, Tanzanians are mourning the deaths of five of their fellow citizens shot dead by police on May 16, at the African Barrick Gold�s North Mara gold mine in Tarime District, Mara Region.

Landmark decision gives miners exclusive land rights in Papua New Guinea
Post Courier
A SENIOR lawyer has predicted that a recent landmark decision of the National Court giving Porgera Joint Venture Company exclusive rights of occupancy to its Special Mining Lease will affect thousands of landowners living in major resource development project areas throughout the country.

Request to the Supreme Court of Argentina - immediate cessation of activities in Pascua-Lama
No a Pascua-Lama [Spanish]
Buenos Aires, May 13, 2011 : Barrick Gold violates the law

Solicitan a la Corte Suprema Argentina el Inmediato Cese de Actividades de Pascua-Lama
No a Pascua-Lama
Buenos Aires, 13 de mayo de 2011: El emprendimiento de la empresa Barrick Gold incumple la Ley de Glaciares

Tanzania: Killings and Toxic Spill Tarnish Barrick Gold
by Zahra MolooToward Freedom
The Thigithe River in North Mara, Tanzania meanders through scattered villages and clumps of trees in a vast expanse of land ringed by hills close to the Kenyan border. Nearby, an enormous, sprawling mound of rocks and stones several meters high reaches up from the earth. This is the region's notorious gold mine, operated by African Barrick Gold, a subsidiary of the Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corporation. The mine has a reserve of an estimated 2.95 million ounces of gold.

IMPACTED COMMUNITIES SPEAKING TOUR
May 7th, 2011
It is shareholder's season once again, and for mining-impacted communities all over the world that means it is time to confront their corporate at these companies' annual general meetings. It also means that impacted communities are converging in Canada to share their truth and make alliances to help them hold these corporations accountable!

Act on abuses, Papua New Guinea activists plea
by BJ SiekierskiiPolitics.ca
A pair of Papua New Guinean activists are in Ottawa for a fourth time hoping a recent report will help them succeed where earlier pleas have failed.

Tribesmen ask Canada to force changes at PNG mine
AFP
OTTAWA � Two members of the Ilipi tribe of Porgera in the Papua New Guinea highlands on Thursday appealed to Canada to clamp down on abuses of mining companies abroad.

MEDIA RELEASE: Indigenous Papua New Guinea Leaders Protest Ongoing Abuses at Barrick�s Porgera Mine
Ottawa, May 5, 2011- For the fourth year in a row, Indigenous Ipili leaders from Porgera in Papua New Guinea (PNG) are in Canada to protest ongoing severe environmental impacts and human rights abuses associated with Barrick�s Porgera mine.

Informe narrativo: Manifestaci�n contra reuni�n de accionistas de la Barrick, movilizando en apoyo a comunidades afectadas
El equipo ProtestBarrick.net est� actualmente en Toronto, Canad�, para la reuni�n anual general de la Barrick Gold y nuestra quinta gira con comunidades afectadas. Este a�o participan representantes de comunidades de Papua Nueva Guinea, y esperamos (si logren sus visas) que se sumar�n desde Tanzania y las Filipinas tambi�n.

REPORT BACK: Barrick shareholder protest, mobilising in support of impacted communities
The ProtestBarrick.net team is currently in Toronto, Canada for the Barrick Gold's Annual General Meeting (AGM) and our 5th speaking tour with Barrick mining impacted communities. This year we are joined by Papua New Guinean community and hopefully (visas permitting) community from Tanzania and the Philippines.

PHOTOS: Activist Protest Against Barrick Gold
On Wednesday, over 100 activists protested against Barrick Gold outside the Metro Convention Centre, where Barrick Gold was holding its annual shareholders' meeting.

African Barrick Gold Clean Up Your Act! People and Livestock Threatened in Tanzania
On Thursday 21 April Sally and Adriana handed out flyers to shareholders at the first African Barrick annual general meeting in London. The flyer focused on Barrick's North Mara mine in Tanzania and the devastating impacts on the environment and community.

Statement and Questions from Tanzania at Barrick Gold's Annual General Meeting, 27 April 2011
Pieter Blasedow read the statement and questions on behalf of the Lawyer Environmental Action Team/Friends of the Earth Tanzania at Barrick Gold's shareholder meeting, April 27, 2011

Statement and Questions from Papua New Guinea at Barrick Gold's Annual General Meeting, 27 April 2011
Unfortunately Jethro Tulin from Porgera, Papua New Guinea was held up due to plane delays to be able to get to the Barrick Gold shareholders meeting. There were also doubts that they would have let him in as his name was on a special list along with Protest Barrick co-editor and Friends of the earth campaigner, Natalie Lowrey.

Statement and Questions from Australia at Barrick Gold's Annual General Meeting, 27 April 2011
Natalie Lowrey, co-editor of ProtestBarrick.net and campaigner with Friends of the Earth Australia was denied entry as a proxy ticket hodler into Barrick Gold's shareholder meeting. This was the statement and questions she was going to ask about Barrick's Mine in Lake Cowal.

Report Back from Barrick Gold AGM: Access Denied to ProtestBarrick.net Proxy and Shareholder
Up to 200 people attended the rally to confront Barrick Gold outside their shareholder meeting in Toronto. ProtestBarrick.net shareholder and proxy were refused into the AGM and Papuan New Guinea representatives were held up in getting into Canada so missed their opportunity to make a statement to Barrick Shareholders and the Board of Directors, however, questions were asked on behalf of community in Tanzania.

[Espanol] AMIGOS DE LA TIERRA INTERNACIONAL SE SUMA A PROTESTAS CONTRA BARRICK GOLD '�Barrick Gold limpien el desastre! Derecho a la vida por encima de las ganancias del oro'
TORONTO [CANAD�], 27 de abril, 2011 � Hoy, durante la asamblea general anual (AGM) de la empresa minera Barrick Gold en Toronto (Canad�), Amigos de la Tierra Internacional apoya un fuerte llamado de las comunidades del mundo a detener la miner�a de oro y las pr�cticas destructivas de Barrick Gold. Campa�istas est�n presentes en la asamblea y se sumaron a una manifestaci�n frente al lugar. Barrick Gold, la minera de oro m�s grande del mundo, ha sido objeto de muchos estudios que documentan violaciones a los derechos humanos y devastaci�n ambiental a nivel mundial, en pa�ses como Filipinas, Tanzania y Australia.

MEDIA RELEASE: Impacted Community Confronts Barrick Gold on Human Rights Abuses, Company Lies, and Cultural Slurs
Indigenous representatives from Porgera, Papua New Guinea traveled to Canada this week to speak at Barrick Gold's annual general meeting (AGM). This year marks the fourth year that the Porgerans have visited Barrick Gold's AGM, each time raising serious human rights and food security issues.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH INTERNATIONAL JOINS PROTESTS AGAINST BARRICK GOLD 'Barrick Gold Clean Up Your Act! Right to Life Over Gold Profits'
TORONTO [CANADA], April 27, 2011 � Today, during the annual general meeting (AGM) of mining company Barrick Gold in Toronto (Canada), Friends of the Earth International is supporting a loud call from communities around the world for a halt to gold mining and Barrick Gold's destructive practices. Campaigners are present at the meeting and join a protest rally outside the meeting venue. Barrick Gold, the largest gold miner in the world, has been the subject of many documented studies of human rights abuses and environmental devastation globally, including in the Philippines, Tanzania and Australia.

CONFRONT BARRICK GOLD: mobilise in support of impacted communities
RSVP via Facebook
April 19th, 2011
Once a year, the board of Directors of the world's most powerful gold miner converge in downtown Toronto. Join us and representatives from mining-impacted communities to... CONFRONT BARRICK GOLD! WHEN: Wednesday 27 April 2011 @ 10.30AM WHERE: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front Street West, Toronto

Supreme Court issues writ on two firms over toxic waste
by Nathaniel R. MelicanBusiness World
THE SUPREME Court has issued a Writ of Kalikasan (nature) sought by residents of Marinduque province to force Placer Dome, Inc. and Barric Gold Corp. to clean up the toxic waste that spilled into the Boac River in 1996.

The hidden price behind the yellow metal's glitter: Ruthless production policies ignore poverty of indigenous people
Los Angeles Times
Naymongo, Tanzania: Barrick Gold Corp's North Mara mine near the Tanzanian border with Kenya disgorges millions of pounds of waste rock each week, piled high around communities where almost half the people live on less than 33 cents (Dh1.2) a day.

Shooting Gold Diggers at Barrick African Mine Coincides With Record Prices
by Cam SimpsonBloomberg
Barrick Gold Corp.�s North Mara mine near the Tanzanian border with Kenya disgorges millions of pounds of waste rock each week, piled high around communities where almost half the people live on less than 33 cents a day.

Pakistan Supreme Court considers petition against Reko Diq copper-gold mine development
by Lawrence WilliamsMineweb
The Pakistan Supreme Court is considering yet another challenge to the big Barrick/Antofagasta Reko Diq copper-gold development project in Balochistan

Munk�s dubious mining morality
by John McKay, Liberal MP, OttawaThe Star.com: CANADIAN PRESS
Re: Lack of support for mining bill, Letter Oct. 31 Barrick Gold Corp.�s Peter Munk raises three very dubious moral arguments in his triumphalist celebration of the defeat of C-300. The first is that mining is important to our economy. True. Apparently as long as it is generating wealth for Canada, abuse of basic human rights, degradation of the host country�s environment, and criminal code offences are okay. Interesting moral equation.

Border Mining Projects Before Ethics Tribunal
by Daniela Estrada*IPS
Latin American activists who want to call attention to mining developments located in border areas will gather in Chile to "pass judgement" on projects they regard as detrimental to local communities, the environment and national security.

Students abandon school for gold, prostitution in Tarime
by Damas MwitaThis Day
August 24th, 2010
The future of many students in Tarime remains bleak as they continue to drop out of school due to various reasons such as early marriages, pregnancy and gold mining.

Analysis: Argentine glacier protection bill could shut mines
by Luis Andres HenaoReuters
An Argentine bill to protect glaciers by banning mining in ice zones could hinder a new multibillion-dollar gold mine, shutter some projects and slow investment, although some mining provinces seeking to circumvent the measure are passing their own laws.

Barrick Gold confirms deaths of 2 miners in Nevada mine shaft
by Martin GriffithAssociated Press
Searchers in Nevada found the remains of two miners at the bottom of a gold mine shaft, company officials said Saturday, after crews worked for more than 32 hours to safely access the area 1,300 feet underground.

Argentine lower house passes glacier bill
by Luis Andres HenaoReuters Africa
Argentine lawmakers on Wednesday approved a glacier-protection bill that would ban mining and oil drilling in the country's Andean ice fields.

Testimony before Canadian Parliament re Barrick & Porgera JV (Papua New Guinea)
Business and Human Rights Resource Centre
In October & November 2009, the Canadian House of Commons' Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs & Intl. Development held hearings on "Bill C-300, An Act respecting Corporate Accountability". The following statements were made regarding issues including allegations of killings, rape & other security problems involving personnel at the Porgera Joint Venture in Papua New Guinea, as well as the Porgera mine's environmental impacts. (Barrick Gold holds a large majority stake of the Porgera Joint Venture.)

DECLARATION OF BINATIONAL MEETING CHILE AND ARGENTINA:"LOS ANDES MINING WITHOUT BORDER"
July 15th, 2010

Espejitos por oro / Mirrors for gold
A video by a young activist film maker from the Dominican Republic, Jose Maria Cabral, highlighting the concerns of Dominica peoples about Barrick Gold's operations on their lands. [The video is in spanish only]

Breaches of Freedom of Association Rife at AngloGold, Barrick Gold Mines in Tanzania
ICEM in Brief
The International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions workshops in Tanzania on 12-13 March reveal blatant abuses of freedom of association by subsidiary mining enterprises of AngloGold Ashanti and Barrick Gold. The workshops were done specifically for ICEM affiliate Tanzania Association of Mining and Construction Workers� Union (TAMICO), under the auspices of ICEM�s Sub-Saharan African Regional Organisation (SSARO), with ICEM President Senzeni Zokwana and ICEM/SSARO staff person Fabian Nkomo leading the important sessions.

Papua New Guinea Government Passes Law to Protect Industries from Indigenous Law Suits
Cultural Survival
The Papua New Guinea legislature on May 28 amended sections of the country's Environment and Conservation Act to shield corporations from any responsibility for environmental damage caused by their operations, whether intentional or accidental.

Barrick Supported Police Who Carried Out Fiery Evictions in PNG
by Valerie CroftThe Dominion
Amnesty report confirms links between cops & Canadian mining company - Amnesty International (AI) recently made waves in human rights circles, publishing a new report focusing on Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold's role in violent forced evictions in the Porgera region of Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Barrick Gold year in Review: One Company, 9 Countries, Countless abuses
by Sakura Saunders, editor protestbarrick.net
April 26th, 2010
From mass poisonings and mass mobilizations in the Dominican Republic, to damning reports in PNG and Tanzania to lawsuits in Chile and the US, Barrick has had its hands full this year in dealing with mounting opposition to its mines. In this Year in Review, you'll find out the ways that Barrick has damaged communities around the world and the many ways that communities are fighting back and demanding justice.

Dominican Republic: Opposition to Barrick Gold Mining Operations
by Rocio DiazGlobal Voices
March 28th, 2010
In 2009, the Dominican people stood up to fight against a cement factory that would be installed in the Los Haitises National Park. In 2010, it appears that another cause is mobilizing thousands of young people and adults - the presence of the mining consortium Barrick Gold in Cotu�, the head municipality in the province of S�nchez Ram�rez, which is home to one of the largest gold mines in the world: Pueblo Viejo (Old Town), with estimated reserves of 24 million troy ounces of gold. Activists are concerned about the terms of the agreement with the Dominican State, as well as environmental impacts on the region.

Investigation of trace metal concentrations in soil, sediments and waters in the vicinity of �Geita Gold Mine� and �North Mara Gold Mine� in North West Tanzania (with Barrick Response)
by �sgeir R. Alm� s, Charles Kweyunga and Mka bwa LK Manoko Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Between October and November 2009, the Interfaith Group in Tanzania launched a study report that had been commissioned to look into metal sediments in soil, water, and plants. Barrick Gold Corporation issued a counter-report. Here are the original report and the Response to Barrick in which the consultants defend their findings. There is also a link to all statements from Barrick Gold Corporation.

Once Upon a Water Source
by Jessie Boylanhttp://jessieboylan.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/once-upon-a-water-source/
Freelance photojournalist, Jessie Boylan visits community impacted by Barrick Gold�s North Mara Mine in Tanzania after their land and lives were dramatically impacted by toxic contamination from a leakage at the mine site in May 2009.

Ban Barrick: Organizations demand to stop construction of Pascua Lama
Radio Mundo
Feminist, religious and environmental organizations in Chile issued a declaration on the extractive project Pascua Lama, carried out by Canadian mining transnational corporation Barrick Gold in Huasco province, Chile and San Juan province, Argentina.

TANZANIA: Community Still Worried By Mine Contamination
by Jessie BoylanInter Press Service News Agency (IPS)
December 30th, 2009
Solomon, 55, has been farming here near Nyangoto village, in Tanzania's rural Tarime district for a long time. "I was farming rice before," she said, "but I can�t anymore because of the chemicals." Solomon's farm was contaminated by a leak in May from Barrick Gold's North Mara mine - just 100 metres away. In large sections, the grass has completely died, and plants and some vegetation have off-coloured stalks. The stream running from the mine site has green growth covering it; there is no sign of insects, tadpoles or frogs, and some crystallised plants stick out of the water, as if frozen or covered by salt; no other streams in the area looked like this.

Sediment Study: Heavy Pollution found at Barrick Gold's mine in North Mara.
Norwegian Church Aid
November 7th, 2009
Here are the key findings of the study conducted by The Norwegian University of Life Sciences in cooperation with the University of Dar es Salaam to investigate the environmental impact of the mining activity in Geita (Anglo Gold Ashanti) and North Mara (Barrick Gold)mines. "Extremely high levels of arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, copper, crom, nickel and zinc at the area around the spill. The environment has been seriously contaminated".

Bunge braces for North Mara acid spillage report
by ORTON KIISHWEKODaily News (Tanzania)
November 2nd, 2009
MORE details on the findings of a study on possible water contamination due to acid seepage from the North Mara Gold Mine will be known when the final report on the matter is presented in Parliament in Dodoma next week.

Xstrata sells El Morro to Barrick for US$465-million
Rueters
October 15th, 2009
Mining group Xstrata PLC agreed to sell its 70% interest in the El Morro copper-gold project in Chile for US$465-million to Canada's Barrick Gold Corp., Xstrata said on Monday.

Independent researchers detect high levels of pollution around North Mara gold mine
by DAMAS MWITA This Day Tanzania
July 14th, 2009
INDEPENDENT experts have confirmed the presence of high levels of toxic chemicals in the area surrounding Barrick Gold Corp's North Mara gold mine in Tarime District, Mara Region.

Download the full report here.


Govt under pressure to close down Barrick mine
This Day Tanzania
July 10th, 2009
PUBLIC pressure is mounting on the Government to shut down operations at Barrick Gold Corp�s North Mara Gold Mine in Tarime District, Mara Region pending an ongoing investigation into reports of potentially deadly health hazards caused by the mine.

Tanzania Government bans water use near Barrick mine
Intercontinental Cry
July 9th, 2009
The Tanzania government has banned the use of water from the Tigithe River, which may be contaminated with Sulphiric acid used by the Canadian company Barrick Gold at their North Mara Gold Mine in the Tarime discrict.

Barrick's Tanzania N Mara Mine Probed On Pollution Allegation
by Nicholas BariyoDow Jones Newswire
July 7th, 2009
Tanzanian lawmakers have started investigating allegations of pollution made against Barrick Gold Corp.'s (ABX) North Mara Gold Mine, officials said Tuesday.

Mine expansion delayed by Indigenous owners
by Simon ButlerGreenLeft Weekly
July 4th, 2009
The NSW Supreme court of appeal ruled on July 1 that a planned expansion of the Lake Cowal gold mine in the central-west of NSW cannot go ahead for up to three months.

EDITORIAL: Call for Bunge to probe North Mara gold mine deaths timely
by EDITORThis Day Tanzania
July 4th, 2009
SULPHURIC acid is an extremely potent liquid. Used carelessly in its concentrated form it kills any living thing, dissolves stones and similar things. The acid is used by mines, such as the North Mara Gold Mine in Tarime District, Mara Region in the process of purifying gold.

Guards accused of assaulting workers
by Nick O'MalleySydney Morning Herald
June 10th, 2009
VILLAGERS are keeping a list of the dozens of people they say have been killed or assaulted by police and security forces guarding a goldmine in Papua New Guinea run by the multinational, Australian-based Canadian mining company, Barrick Gold.

A walk through the valley of death
by Nick O'MalleySydney Morning Herald
June 9th, 2009
Violence surrounding a PNG mine raises questions about the company's responsibility, writes Nick O'Malley.

Barrick Gold colonel invites Baluch ire
by Ahmar MustikhanNewsvine
June 5th, 2009
The De Jure Ruler of Baluchistan, Khan of Kalat Suleman Daud, and national hero Hairbyair Marri have expressed their deep resentments over the remarks of a Pakistani army colonel working for Barrick Gold Corporation against the Baluch struggle for their national rights.

Bill C-300: A step forward on corporate social responsibility
by  Marie-Claude PoirierVue Weekly (Edmonton)
May 27th, 2009
In the autumn of 2005, Norway's Council on Ethics began investigating the use of a natural river system to transport and dispose of mine waste in Papua New Guinea. Accused of far-reaching environmental destruction, Canadian mining company Barrick Gold and its Porgera mine's tailings disposal system were placed under close scrutiny.

** BARRICK MINING DISASTERS - Emergency Funds Needed **
May 21st, 2009
This has been a crazy past few weeks to be watchdogging Barrick Gold. Within the first week of starting our annual ProtestBarrick tour in Toronto, a Barrick-recommended military force in PNG started to torch hundreds of houses, allegedly to clear way for mine expansion. SO... we changed plans a bit, MiningWatch Canada sent an Urgent Appeal to several United Nations Special Rapporteurs and now we are now attending the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York! Amnesty International has also made a public statement on the recent events at Porgera.

Families want payout from gold firm
by Patty Magubira, Mwanza The Citizen
May 20th, 2009
The North Mara Gold Mine (NMGM) has been given ten days in which to compensate members of 30 households claiming to have been affected by its poisonous heavy metals.

Tanzania Government Probes North Mara Gold Mine Over River Pollution
by Nicholas BariyoDow Jones Newswire
The Tanzanian government is investigating the operations at North Mara Gold Mine following a chemical spill at the mine last week which polluted the nearby Tigithe river leaving thousands of residents without water for domestic use, a government official told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

Tanzania: Seeping Water from Mine Stokes Health Scare
Trading Markets
May 18th, 2009
Water from a storage pond at Barrick Gold's North Mara mine in Tanzania is seeping through containing walls, leading local villagers to fear their water sources are contaminated.

Activists Try to Block Start of Pascua Lama Mine
by Daniela Estrada Inter Press Service News Agency
May 18th, 2009
As Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold gets ready to start construction at the Pascua Lama mine, straddling the Argentine-Chilean border, activists in Chile are scrambling to block the ambitious mining project while calling for an investigation of supposed irregularities committed in the approval process.

RoyalOr Stakes a Claim on Mont-Royal
May 15th, 2009
RoyalOr is composed of members of various communities around the world confronting projects developed by Canadian mining companies � including Barrick Gold, Goldcorp, New Gold, and Osisko. Affected community representatives came to Montreal from the Valle de Siria, Honduras; Valle de Huasco, Chile; Porgera, Papua New Guinea; San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and Malartic, Quebec.

Under Andean ice, a golden prize
AFP
May 15th, 2009
An ambitious gold mining project in northern Chile, high up in the Andes close to ancient glaciers, is finally getting underway amid the economic downturn despite fears from environmentalists.

Porgera mine area landowners need relocating, says PNG Enga Governor
by Peter Ipatas Radio New Zealand International
May 8th, 2009
The Governor of Papua New Guinea�s Enga Province says the national government and operators of the Porgera gold mine need to look at relocating people who live within Porgera�s Special Mining Lease, SML, area.

MEDIA RELEASE: Indigenous Leaders from Papua New Guinea, Chile Raise Serious Human Rights and Environmental Concerns Around Barrick Gold Operations
Mining Watch Canada
May 6th, 2009
Even as houses near Barrick's mine in the highlands of Papua New Guinea are being burned down in a joint military and police action, Jethro Tulin is in Canada to address shareholders and government officials, whom he considers complicit in the suffering of his people as a result of Barrick's Porgera Joint Venture mine.

MEDIA RELEASE: Indigenous Leaders confront Barrick Gold
April 29th, 2009
Indigenous leaders from Papua New Guinea and Chile traveled to Canada this week to attend the April 29 shareholders� meeting of Barrick Gold. Here, they will confront Barrick about human rights abuses and environmental degradation on their lands.

Western Shoshone gather at NV mountain being mined
by Martin GriffithAssociated Press
April 18th, 2009
Dozens of Western Shoshone tribal members and activists are holding an annual ceremonial event on the flank of a northern Nevada mountain that is at the heart of their legal battle against the world's biggest gold mining company.

MEDIA RELEASE: 28 peaceful protesters arrested after authorisation to occupy mine site
April 12th, 2009
28 protesters were arrested this morning at Barrick Gold's mine operation in Lake Cowal, central western New South Wales. They were authorised to enter the mine site by Wiradjuri Tradtional Owners of Lake Cowal and its surrounds.

MEDIA ALERT: Smoking ceremony, blockade and protesters occupy open cut pit halting mine operations.
April 12th, 2009
Wiradjuri Traditional Owners and supporters are inside Barrick Gold�s mine operation in Lake Cowal central western New South Wales currently halting operations. Wiradjuri are conducting a smoking ceremony inside the mine site. Over 10,000 artefacts have been stolen and kept by Barrick Gold Corporation at the mine site in a compound encircled by a 6 foot fence. Over 25 supporters are currently occupying the open-cut pit and several others are blockading the front gate to prevent shift change.

Indigenous activisits protest gold mine expansion
Radio Australia News
April 11th, 2009
In Australia, indigenous campaigners are holding a weekend-long protest to try to force the closure of a gold mine in central New South Wales.

MEDIA RELEASE: Protesters to halt mining operations - unsustainable mining harms Australia
April 11th, 2009
Concerned citizens have gathered in solidarity with Wiradjuri Traditional Owners of the Lake Cowal area to halt Barrick Gold Corporation�s mine operation in the lake. The campaign to Save Lake Cowal has been running for 10 years, this is the seventh gathering at Lake Cowal to protest the mine.

Enga Governor opposes PNG military presence at Porgera
Radio New Zealand International
April 10th, 2009
The Governor of Enga province in Papua New Guinea says the government�s decision to deploy members of the Defence Force and police to Porgera is not in the best interest of the local people.

MEDIA RELEASE: Wiradjuri and Supporters Say No to Mine Expansion
April 10th, 2009
What: Lake Cowal Gathering: No Expansion! Shut Barrick Gold�s Mine Down! When: 10-13 April 2009 Where: Lake Cowal, central western New South Wales From the 10-13 April up to 100 people from around Australia will make the journey to Lake Cowal in central western NSW to support Wiradjuri Traditional Owners in their 10 year campaign against the worlds largest gold miner.

PNG to boost security around gold mine
by Liam FoxABC News
April 9th, 2009
The Papua New Guinea Government is boosting security to deal with lawlessness around a gold mine in the Papua New Guinea highlands.

Porgera security ops set to kick off
by David Muri The National � Papua New Guinea
April 6th, 2009
INTERNAL Security Minister Sani Rambi says more than 300 security personnel will be deployed to the strife-torn Porgera valley in Enga province to flush out warlords and stop illegal mining activities.

UN to tackle mercury menace
by MICHAEL RICHARDSONThe Canberra Times
March 3rd, 2009
Fear sparked by global recession, strains on banks and volatile paper currencies has brought the glitter back to gold. Its value has been rising rapidly in recent months, as investors seek a safe-haven from the economic and financial storm.

PNG Govt bolsters gold mine security
by Steve MarshallABC
February 27th, 2009
Soldiers and police in Papua New Guinea are being sent into the country's highlands to help tackle a deteriorating security situation near a huge gold mine.

Blows to Barrick
by Sakura Saunderseditor protestbarrick.net
February 21st, 2009
Norway's Ministry of Finance announced January 30 that it would exclude mining giant Barrick Gold from the country's pension fund for ethical reasons. One week later, another victory against Barrick in Australia occurred when a judge ruled in favor or Wiradjuri Traditional Owner, Neville "Chappy" Williams, in granting an injunction restraining the proposed expansion of Barrick Gold's mine in Lake Cowal, New South Wales. More significant than the $200 million divested from Barrick, or the delay in Lake Cowal mine's expansion, is the context that these rulings expose: one of deliberate deceit on the part of Barrick Gold, now Canada's largest publicly-traded company.

Rees urged to ensure no Lake Cowal mine delays
ABC Riverina NSW
February 19th, 2009
Bland Shire Council will ask the New South Wales Premier to intervene to ensure no delay on the planned expansion of the Lake Cowal Gold Mine.

Middle East & Africa: Mining � Tarnishing Canada�s name
Ethical Corporation
February 10th, 2009
With many African mining firms about to face bankruptcy, foreign investors� ability to creating sustainable mining communities will be tested. Shielded from public view by their giant rivals BHP Billiton and AngloAmerican, a cluster of small Canadian firms has quietly revolutionised African mining.

The Real Price of Gold
by Brook LarmerNational Geographic
February 10th, 2009
Like many of his Inca ancestors, Juan Apaza is possessed by gold. Descending into an icy tunnel 17,000 feet up in the Peruvian Andes, the 44-year-old miner stuffs a wad of coca leaves into his mouth to brace himself for the inevitable hunger and fatigue. For 30 days each month Apaza toils, without pay, deep inside this mine dug down under a glacier above the world's highest town, La Rinconada. For 30 days he faces the dangers that have killed many of his fellow miners�explosives, toxic gases, tunnel collapses�to extract the gold that the world demands.

Barrick Australia says it will push ahead with plans to expand its Cowal Gold Mine at West Wyalong, despite a loss in the New South Wales Land and Environment Court.
ABC Central West NSW
February 10th, 2009
Barrick Gold has submitted a proposal to modify its development consent at the mine to almost double its size and extend its life by 11 years. Native title applicant Neville Williams started court action against the plan last November. On Friday, the Land and Environment Court upheld Mr Williams' challenge that the project is not a modification of the mine's existing development consent, but rather a radical transformation.

Norway's sovereign wealth fund drops yet another mining investment; this time it's Barrick
by Dorothy KosichMineweb
February 2nd, 2009
A dispute over the riverine disposal methods utilized by Barrick's Porgera Mine in Papua New Guinea has prompted Norway's Ministry of Finance to drop Barrick from Norway's Government Pension Fund-Global investments, valued at $188.3 million.

Is Gold the duddest of dud investments?
Commodity Online
February 2nd, 2009
Everyone is buying gold. The frantic pace with which people are buying gold have prompted some to comment that gold has lost value as a commodity. According to Merrill Lynch, gold is "the duddest of dud investments." Ever since the U.S. dollar went off the gold standard, gold has had no special value as a commodity, with only 280 tons going to industrial uses per year.

Lake Cowal Gathering 2009
Join Wiradjuri and their supporters over the easter weekend, Friday 10 - Sunday 12 April.

Super Pit mine expansion approved
Perth Now
AN expansion of the Super Pit gold mine in Kalgoorlie has won government approval but it must meet new and stringent environmental conditions.

Western Shoshone and Paiute Protests
by Brenda NorrellThe Narcosphere
January 20th, 2009
Western Shoshone gathered demonstrated outside federal court in Reno today, demanding that Barrick Gold halt destruction of the area of Mount Tenabo, their sacred mountain. Nearby at Pyramid Lake on Saturday, about 150 Paiutes and supporters gathered to protest. Paiutes said the Pyramid Lake Marina operator has held Paiutes and their cultural items "hostage."

Hearing begins in Reno on disputed gold mine
by  Sandra CherebMercuryNews.com
January 20th, 2009
Western Shoshone tribal members packed a Reno courtroom Tuesday, trying to persuade a federal judge to halt at least part of a huge gold mine they claim would desecrate a sacred landmark.

Meeting with Partners at Porgera Mine in Papua New Guinea
by Catherine CoumansMiningWatch Canada
January 2nd, 2009
In November 2008 MiningWatch Canada�s Catherine Coumans had the opportunity to meet with partners at Barrick Gold�s Porgera Mine in the Papua New Guinea Highlands (Enga Province). Our partners are the grassroots human rights group called Akali Tange Association (ATA) and the Porgera Landowners Association (PLOA). These two organizations created a joint organization called Porgera Alliance this year.

All that glitters
by Alex Felipe (photos by Alex Felipe as well)This Magazine
Admitting that I was a Canadian has never been as difficult as when I traveled to the Philippines to photograph two Canadian-owned open-pit mining sites last winter. The fact that I am also Filipino by blood didn't help.

Worst Companies in the World: US, Monsanto, Peabody and Barrick
by Brenda NorrellThe Narcosphere
The United States was voted the Worst Company in the World, followed by Monsanto, Peabody Energy Corp. and Barrick Gold

Tanzanian journalist uncovers truth about mining industry
by Cailey McDermottThe Echo
December 15th, 2008
ProtestBarrick.net supporter and investigative journalist, Evans Rubara speaks about the exploitation of Tanzanian land and people by multinational mining industries in a speaking tour in the US.

Intruders attempt to seize North Mara mine
The Guardian
December 13th, 2008
A person was shot dead when thousands of gold seekers invaded Barrick`s North Mara Gold Mine in Tarime District and destroyed equipment worth 15 million US dollars.

for context, read:

  • and "A Golden Opportunity?" an expos� on the Tanzanian mining industry, written by Tundu Lissu and Mark Curtis, published by Norwegian Church Aid in Tanzania.

Opponents file suit to stop Barrick's Cortez Hills gold project
by Dorothy KosichMineweb
November 25th, 2008
A Western Shoshone group, environmentalists and other activists seek to halt one of Nevada�s last major gold projects, Barrick�s million-ounce per year Cortez Hills Gold Project.

Shoshone Indians Sue to Stop Barrick's Nevada Gold Mine
by By Lisa J. Wolf Environment News Service
November 25th, 2008
Five tribal and public interest parties filed a lawsuit in Nevada Federal Court on Thursday, seeking an immediate injunction to stop one of the largest open pit cyanide heap leach gold mines in the United States - the Cortez Hills Expansion Project on Mt. Tenabo.

Africa Files
November 24th, 2008
Special issue on Canadian role in mining in Canada -- Resource Extraction

Dangerous Duty in Papua New Guinea
by Sakura SaundersThe Dominion
November 22nd, 2008
Community members get "the opposite of what was promised" from Barrick Gold

Barrick Gold ready to carve up Western Shoshone sacred mountain
by Brenda NorrellThe Narcosphere
November 21st, 2008
Barrick Gold, coring out mountains around the world for small amounts of gold, is ready to carve the sacred mountain of the Western Shoshone into a crater, with cyanide leaching.

Mining and colonial practices in Tanzania - The return of Victorian era exploitation?
by Evans RubaraAfrica Files
November 20th, 2008
Multinational mining activities are introducing another era of colonialism in Tanzania as they hold major decisive positions on the use of prime land areas, and profit greatly from the mining of valuable mineral resources. In the recent past, Tanzanians have raised concerns on how the multinational mining companies plunder the natural resources at the expense of the local people. Because of the prevalent high rates of this pillaging of the national stock of natural resources, the citizenry have woken with an uproar to question the government�s stance on ensuring land security for its people, and benefits from their resources.

Don't cry for me Argentina's glaciers
The Great Beyond
November 17th, 2008
Argentina�s president, Cristina Fernandez, has just vetoed a bill to protect the country�s glaciers, reports Reuters. The bill was passed only a month ago by Argentina�s congress.

December Court Challenge to more Mining at Lake Cowal
ABC Online
November 17th, 2008
The case against the State Government and the mine's operator, Barrick Australia Limited, made by Neville Williams, has been listed for hearing on Monday, December 17.

Caretakers of the Land
by Meg HewingsThe Dominion
November 16th, 2008
For the Western Shoshone, an indigenous nation with an unceded Treaty covering a large swath of 60 million acres of ancestral territory stretching across Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah, their traditional homeland is better described as a war zone.

Environmentalists Decry Argentina Presidential Veto of Bill That Halted $2.4 Billion Mine with Chile
Latin American Herald Tribune
November 15th, 2008
Environmental groups expressed their displeasure with the decision by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez to veto a glacier-protection bill that would have restricted mining and oil drilling.

Argentina vetoes glacier law that curbed mining
Reuters
November 14th, 2008
Argentina's president has vetoed a law protecting the country's glaciers that would have restricted mining and oil drilling, officials and environmental campaigners said on Friday.

Requiem for Reko Diq
by Mir Mohammad Ali TalpurDAWN
September 30th, 2008
Since 1947, successive governments at the centre have pursued a policy of intimidation and coercion towards the Baloch. Most provincial governments have played the disgraceful role of legitimising and lending respectability to army operations, forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, incarcerations and the acquisition of land. The goal has been to coerce the population into acquiescence so that exploitation can be conducted in a threat-free environment. Of late, much-publicised mega projects are actually depriving the Baloch of their resources and said to be adversely changing the demographic balance in the province.

Mining Prohibition Repealed in La Rioja, Argentina
by Assembly of Citizens for Life, La Riojawww.ciudadanosporlavida.com.ar
August 11th, 2008
Legislators have repealed a year-old law which had prohibited open-pit metals mining in the province of La Rioja, Argentina. Provincial laws N� 8137, 8138 were passed in March of 2007 in a widespread struggle carried out in La Rioja against a Barrick project in the Famatina mountain range in this arid agricultural province.

Meeting Crashers: Anti-mining activists confront shareholders at AGM
by Veronica Islashttp://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/1921
July 14th, 2008
It was the first time that Mexican Congressman Armando Barreiro, historian Juan Carlos Ruiz Guadalajara and hydraulic engineer Mario Martinez visited Toronto, but this trip was not a vacation.

Complaints unheard beneath Kalgoorlie mine din
by Narelle TowiePerth Now
July 6th, 2008
SAFE noise limits have been discarded so Australia's largest gold mine can expand to within 200m of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

Paul York with Students Against Climate Change defends his recent action against Barrick chairman, Peter Munk

Bachelet Protested during her Berkeley Visit
by David Moderbach
June 12th Chilean president Michele Bachelet visited Berkeley, California and was met by some 30 persons protesting Chilean treatment of Mapuche communities, hydroelectric dams, and against Bachelet's support for Big Mining and Barrick Gold.

Barrick Gold censors Indigenous Leaders' opposition to gold mining on their lands
May 7th, 2008
A delegation of Indigenous leaders travelled around the world to attend the Barrick Gold Annual General Meeting in Toronto today. They came to vent their opposition to Barrick Gold's mining practices on their lands.

ACTION ALERT: Protesters Demand Accountability Outside Barrick Gold's AGM
May 6th, 2008
On 6 May protesters gathered outside Barrick Gold's Annual General Meeting to protest the companies destructive mining operations around the world.

International Indigenous leaders attend Barrick Gold's Shareholder's meeting
May 6th, 2008
Indigenous leaders from Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the United States traveled to Canada this week to attend the shareholders� meeting of Barrick Gold. Here, they will make statements about Barrick's operations on their lands.

International Indigenous leaders attend Barrick Gold's Shareholder's meeting
May 6th, 2008
Indigenous leaders from Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the United States traveled to Canada this week to attend the shareholders� meeting of Barrick Gold. Here, they will make statements about Barrick's operations on their lands.

7th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues Agenda Item 5 on human rights: dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people and other special rapporteurs I
April 29th, 2008
ntervention of Friends of the Earth International

by Mooka and Kalara United Families within the Wiradjuri Nation, Murray Darling Basin, Central New South Wales, Australia

7th United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, United Nations, New York Agenda Item 4: Pacific/Human Rights
Joint submission by Friends of the Earth International on behalf of Akali Tange Association Inc. Pogera Enga Province, Papua New Guinea

in a joint intervention with Lake Cowal Mooka and Kalara United Families within the Wiradjuri Nation, Murray Darling Basin, Central new South Wales, Australia Western Shoshone Defence Project, Nevada, USA Laura Calm Wind, Kitchenuhmay Koosib Inninuwug, Canada Indigenous Peoples Links Centre for Organization Research and Education (CORE) Land is Life, Indigenous Environment Network (IEN)

7th United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, United Nations, New York Agenda Item 4.2: Pacific/Sustainable Development
Joint submission by Friends of the Earth International on behalf of Mooka and Kalara United Families within the Wiradjuri Nation,Murray Darling Basin, Central New South Wales, Australia in a joint intervention with

New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council Akali Tange Association Inc. Pogera Enga Province, Papua New Guinea Agence Kanak de Developpement Western Shoshone Defence Project, Nevada, USA Laura Calm Wind, Kitchenuhmay Koosib Inninuwug, Canada Comision Juridica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Originarios Andinos (CAPAJ), Andes Indigenous Peoples Links Centre for Organization Research and Education (CORE) First Indigenous Nations Civic Association of South Africa (FINCASA) Indigenous Environment Network (IEN)

Paradise Lost
The mining company Barrick Gold made millions of dollars by mining copper, silver, and gold on the tropical paradise island of Marinduque in the Philippines. The poverty-stricken local population was left with an environmental and health catastrophe. The canadian company is now fighting in the courts to avoid having to clean up.

The Gold Link
A visual story of water, landscape, and people at the source of virgin gold on the border of Argentina and Chile

Wiradjuri Elder exposes mine pit collapse at Lake Cowal
Wiradjuri Traditional Owner, Neville 'Chappy' Williams, exposes a massive collapse at Barrick�s Cowal Gold Project in Lake Cowal, 45 km north-west of West Wyalong, central western NSW.

Barrick skeptical on Pascua-Lama project
by Reporting by Robert Melnbardis; editing by Matthew LewisREUTERS
Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) is not convinced there will be a resolution soon of tax and permit issues delaying its proposed $2.4 billion Pascua-Lama mine in Argentina, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Barrick Gold Secretly Building Roads to Attack Mt. Famatina in La Rioja, Argentina
by David Modersbach, Rosario, Argentina
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.

New report slams Buzwagi contract
THISDAY
March 12th, 2008
A NEW report issued by several faith-based and civil society organisations has slammed the Buzwagi gold mine deal, saying members of parliament and the general public were hoodwinked by ex-minister for energy and minerals Nazir Karamagi into thinking that the upcoming project would pay huge taxes to the government.

Tanzania activists and religious communities launch critical mining research
by Salma Maoulidi Pambazuka News
March 10th, 2008
Salma Maoulidi looks at the mining research report, "A Golden Opportunity? How Tanzania is failing to benefit from Gold Mining� and argues that it builds a powerful case for continued activism in trade and economic justice in line with various Human rights instruments that call for a country�s wealth and natural resources to benefit primarily local communities.

Spread of mine sparks fears
by Narelle TowieThe Sunday Times
Kalgoorlie's super pit may be the goose that laid the golden egg, but moves to expand Australia's biggest goldmine are being bitterly opposed by neighbours.

Goldmine swallowing historic town
by Kevin Andrusiak and Paige TaylorPerth Now
February 9th, 2008
IT is Australia's biggest goldmine, swallowing what is known as the world's richest square mile of dirt.

Section of Super Pit wall collapses
ABC News Online
February 9th, 2008
A 50-metre stretch of the wall at one of Australia's biggest open pit gold mines has collapsed.

KCGM in moves to reopen tailings dams
by Kevin AndrusiakThe Australian
THE more gold goes up, the further down the Kalgoorlie Super Pit partners want to go. Joint-venture owners Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold want to increase the heights of two controversial tailings dams, and re-open another, as part of its plans to expand Australia's biggest gold mine, the massive Super Pit operations in the West Australian goldfields capital of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.

The Wiradjuri Fight to the Bitter End
A documentary on the struggle by Wiradjuri to protect Lake Cowal from Barrick Gold's open cut goldmine in the lake bed. By Debbie Gilbert

CHILE-ARGENTINA: Pascua Lama Mining Project on Hold
by Daniela EstradaInter Press Service
January 17th, 2008
Nearly two years after winning environmental approval from the Chilean government, the controversial Pascua Lama gold mining project of the transnational Barrick Gold Corporation remains without a launch date.

Shoshone Use Film, Courts to Fight Gold Mine on Sacred Land
by Lisa J. WolfEnvironmental News Service
December 6th, 2007
The 32nd Annual American Indian Film Festival presented Western Shoshone grandmother Carrie Dann with the Eagle Spirit award for best overall contribution in American Indian cinema at an awards ceremony November 27. "Our Land, Our Life," the film that shows the Western Shoshones� determined struggle to maintain their way of life, won the festival's Best Documentary award.

PEAK MINERALS: Ground breaking report warns of resource depletion.
http://www.mpi.org.au
In an Australian first, mining data from as far back as 1829 has been collected and analysed by Monash University academic, Dr Gavin Mudd in conjunction with the Mineral Policy Institute to determine the long term sustainability of a range of Australia�s mineral resources.

Should I wear newly mined gold?
by Lucy SiegleObserver
April 1st, 2007
Every commodity seems to have a gold sobriquet now: green gold is biofuel, white gold is cotton, black gold either coffee or oil and even bananas are being referred to as yellow gold. All, of course, commodities hoping to emulate real gold's famous ability to hold its value and keep the world turning; however chaotic the economic environment it remains a symbol of stability. Some 140,000 tonnes sit around in bank vaults while just 2,500 tonnes is mined each year. Unfortunately, even mining this quantity of gold causes a disproportionate amount of ecological chaos. Firstly, open-cast mining - bear in mind some of the largest gold reserves are visible from space - uses cyanide poured on to the land, which draws out not just gold but also toxic substances such as arsenic. And while this should be a closed process, in reality the result is widespread contamination of the surrounding environment. Then there's the problem with mercury. Just last month a new University of Nevada report found 'startlingly high' concentrations of the substance in the air around Northern Nevada's gold mines (www.getthemercuryout.org).

Six Villagers Killed in Barrick's North Mara Mine
by Tundu LissuLawyers' Environmental Action Team (LEAT)
June 17th, 2006
Folks, It's bad news again. Over two weeks ago, on June 1, security guards employed by Barrick Gold Corp. at the North Mara Gold Mine in Tarime District, Northern Tanzania shot dead a villager who was alleged to have illegally entered the Mine complex.

Philippines Orders Cleanup of Mines Before Rains
by Dolly Aglay REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
MANILA - The Philippines said on Tuesday it had ordered owners of two mining areas in the country to clean up and improve their infrastructures before the start of the rainy season.

Officials stall on delivering water to users of contaminated wells
by Kathy HelmsGallup Independent
March 9th, 2006
Results of groundwater sampling conducted in September 2005 by New Mexico Environment Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show contaminants in 33 of 34 residential wells sampled, including elevated levels of uranium in 21 of those wells.

 

Join our e-mail list