Tru cost of Gold Mines in Third World Countries!

[MommC]

Thought this news item from my hometown newspaper might be of interest.

An in person presentation on the realities of gold extraction and refining in a third world country by a Canadian mining company.......

More reason why the recent re-opening announcement of the Dominican gold mine bears watching.......

The North Bay Nugget - Ontario, CA

Note to Mod - this maybe should have been posted in the environmental forum???

 

[leekiv]

Read this today too

Not sure if this can be used to help in the DR but maybe someone will know who to contact in order to get what should be $$ for the people of the DR

TheStar.com | Business | Who's who of Hollywood glitterati hits town

if the mine is reopening then I am sure that the DR will qualify for funds.

 

[fightfish]

As the government awards the concessions and controls the environmental standards by which a mining company must operate, hopefully they will act as a good steward for the people and the environment. The econimic feasability of any mining operation depends not only on the value of the deposit, but also on the methods used to obtain the sought mineral. The Dominican government is in complete control of these parameters and I certainly hope that they can find a good balance between foreign investment and the benefits and negatives that come with that investment, employment and environmental impacts.

 

[Keith R]

We can certainly hope, fightfish, but if the past is any guide to future performance... the Dominican government -- no matter which party is in office -- has had a poor track record in enforcing environmental standards in the mining sector.

 

[fightfish]

I agree. As is the case in even the most developed nations, huge mining entities who have relationships with the powers that be are given the green light and sometimes too little oversight. And when it comes to buying out the folks living on top of the deposit, the big boys can drive a hard and educated bargain, paying a tiny sum for the alluvial land. The government gets their concession money, and whatever else, the locals get a few dirty jobs, and the company?s stock skyrockets on the new access. But in all fairness, throughout history and today, mining is a fairly closed sector with little sunshine in their dealings, even though they invariably work with the national governments. A great read on this is a book called the Oppenheimer Empire, which is a history of the South African De Beers saga. Incredible. And today, with the global price of gold even junior companies which couldn?t have hoped to make a profit ten years ago are finding themselves sitting on the proverbial goldmine. Operations in Ecuador of certain juniors have been stalled due to environmental activism. But as in many developing nation scenarios, more is to be seen than meets the eye in the mining sector, and the motives are tipically not what they seem regarding local input and government sanctioning of projects.

 

[Funnyyale26]

Prefiero que nos quedemos con nuestro oro enterrao, que regalarselos a esos buitres Canadienses. Total, nuestros esclavos no ganan na', y destruyen nuestra tierra y nuestros rios. Mejor sera que el gobierno haga mas para que la poblacion encuentre otras formas de trabajo.