OLCA PRESS RELEASE

Barrick buys governments open up the exploitation of Pascua Lama

We denounce the interference of the transnational Barrick Gold mining in the internal decisions of the Republics of Chile and Argentina, after which senior executives of the two Canadian mining sustain top level meetings to press for the mandatory two nations, for the sole purpose unlock of the binational project Pascua Lama resisted.

This is part of the pressures that executives of the mine had to explain to the annual shareholders meeting that Barrick made in Toronto, Canada, and nine years ago, has had to explain the reasons for delaying the construction of the project star of the transnational. This is because almost ten years ago that was environmentally Pascua Lama, and still can not draw an ounce of gold. Something not right with the Chilean-Argentine border to the giant gold.

As broadcast by the media, the meeting between Barrick and Bachelet was held at the Palacio de La Moneda in camera and without making statements to the press on Saturday April 25 at 18 hrs. The President received the Executive Director of the Canadian transnational, Aaron Regent, the Deputy Director of the company, José Antonio Urrutia, accompanied by Chilean Minister of Mining, Santiago González.

The same happened on April 15 in the neighboring Republic of Argentina, where the founder and current president of Barrick, Peter Munk, also held a meeting behind closed doors and no statements to the press with President Cristina Fernandez at the House Rosada, accompanied by one of the staunchest defenders of Barrick, the governor of San Juan, José Luis Gioja, alongside Aaron Regent.

Munk had left the company last year, but according to the press, will not leave until Barrick announced the initiation of construction of Pascua Lama, who is the star of the transnational project and now looks more like the karma of the company. Munk is why the announcement of plans to make long-awaited construction of the binational project these days.
For the ninth time he had to explain at the annual shareholders meeting on April 29 last, the governments of Chile and Argentina had taken a further step in the tax agreement, but were awaiting the final agreement to announce the holding power Project which threatens the life of the valley in Huasco Atacama. Somewhat vague so that the actions do not fall much, but keep the expectations for future economic returns.

Unpresentable is a visit of its kind, behind closed doors and without statements, when spreads on the new law on transparency of the state, labeled as scandalous that the senior executive of Barrick Gold have taken the opportunity to meet with the President of the Republic of Chile, where organizations are opposing the mining project, after almost ten years of struggle, only to have the Minister of Environment, Ana Lya Uriarte, who did not have the courage to review documents and government of the same company that realize the decrease in proceeds from the glaciers thousands of transnational intervention in the area. The same happened with the refusal of MEPs to vote on an inquiry by the Pascua Lama, who just retired and returned to vote not to approve other motions of the day. Happened five times in the National Congress of Chile. Neither the President has the will to receive the community Huasco valley at the government house, as it deserves in a "citizen government".

The only note that participation in this meeting, is an illegal action of a private company with the State of Chile, and thus with all citizens. Perhaps our President of Chile, think that the Director of Barrick Gold is a mining Chile ", such as the Mining Council advertised for people to believe that these are, indeed chilenas. However, the only company that provides truly Chile Codelco is in this guild, the other, almost do not pay taxes, and stop pollution, death, alcoholism and prostitution for where they spend. Responsible Mining Is that it?

The president of Barrick, Peter Munk, released from prison to an arms dealer, his former partner Adnan Kasshoggi. Today, global issues by Munk is a leading company that has run human rights where they have installed. It did so recently, Norway, who after a tough report, Barrick Gold excluded from pension funds by the human and ethical issues involved have a shareholder to a company in Papua New Guinea has been polluting a river with heavy metals, without evaluation of water quality, and hence he has been leaving the population susceptible to serious illnesses. ¿Meanwhile, in Chile it is at the Presidential Palace?

Unpresentable that Bachelet is not receiving the community to resist against this policy submissive in our national soil. The President could have asked for 15 workers killed in the operation of Pascua Lama that have occurred since 1994 in Chile, could also have requested information on the conditions that were laid off over 180 workers Huasco valley that excited by a better future were pressured to resign "voluntarily" after CONAMA approved the mining project. Could also ask why the only border crossing that has a "restricted" in Chile and is called Pascua Lama is coincidentally in the area of the mining project.

Denounce finally, that it is no coincidence that Munk has been through Chile and Argentina to try to unlock Pascua Lama, while Sebastian Bowen, assumed command as General Coordinator of the Coalition for a presidential candidate, Eduardo Frei (DC). Because while he was President Frei of Chile has signed next to the Carlos Menem trans Integration and Cooperation Treaty between Chile and Argentina mining in 1997, legal instrument that allows mining projects on the border, as the Pascua Lama project. But also, because last year Bowen appeared on November 2 with the executives of Barrick to hold the line on what they called "Atacama Commitment," and that has been damaging to the community of the valley Tuesday.
We can not fail to mention that Frei is also in the Political Committee to Belisario Velasco, father of the founders of Extend Communications, a strategic advisory firm that Barrick in Chile.

Is it possible to think that this reunion would have committed money to the presidential campaign of his coalition in exchange for the exploitation of the mining project resisted most of the last time called Pascua Lama?

Coordinator Against Pascua-Lama Santiago
Semillas de Agua