The Department of Customs has announced the completion of its new verification facilities at the Barrick Gold Mine in Cotui. Customs director Fernando Fernandez, Barrick Pueblo Viejo president Manuel Rocha and the director of governmental affairs for Barrick Mexico Angeles Lithgow made the presentation to the press yesterday, Thursday 12 December. Fernandez said that government inspectors would be responsible for determining the content of shipments onsite at the plant. He acknowledged the cooperation of the Barrick authorities in the establishment of the new installation. The new customs post will be staffed by geologists, mining experts, chemists and industrial engineers who will monitor the extracted metal for increased control over the exports.
Fernandez said that so far the company has contributed US$300 million on exports worth US$1.3 billion.
Rocha announced that by the end of 2013 the company will have extracted and exported 817,000 ounces of gold worth more than US$1 billion. He said the goal for exports in 2014 is to export more than a million ounces of gold. He said he expects the price of gold to continue above US$1,300 per ounce on international markets.