The Ministry of Energy and Mines has reportedly narrowed down to two locations in Sánchez Ramírez province the site where Barrick gold would build its second tailings dam. Sánchez Ramirez is the present location of the Barrick Gold Pueblo Viejo gold mine and the first tailings dam. Barrick says the second tailing dam is necessary to continue gold mining. The DR exported US$1.8 billion in gold ore in 2021, as reported in Diario Libre.
A previous site chosen by the company in Yamasá, Monte Plata province was actively protested and rejected by the community.
Barrick Gold Corporation announced on 8 April 2022 that the Dominican government had completed its strategic review of the location of the new Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) for the Pueblo Viejo mine. The company explains the TSF would support annual production in excess of 800,000 ounces. The $1.4 billion Pueblo Viejo gold mine expansion project will extend production at the Tier One asset beyond 2040.
Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said the final location and construction of the facility would be subject to the completion of an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) in accordance with Dominican Republic legislation and international standards. Once completed, the ESIA would be submitted to the government for evaluation and final decision.
As reported in Mining.com, Barrick’s CEO, Mark Bristow, has previously stated that once completed, the project will deliver a “super mine” capable of producing more than 900,000 oz. of gold over most of its remaining life. The mine plan even calls for two years where production above 1 million oz. is forecast. Pueblo Viejo is a 60-40 joint venture between Barrick and Newmont.
Dominican environmentalist Luis Carvajal criticizes the lack of transparency with which he says the Ministry of Energy and Mines is handling the case. As reported in Diario Libre, Carvajal says: “The law is very clear. In a project of this type, the mining company is the one that has to make a presentation of the alternatives with a primary analysis of those alternatives and the role of the state is, based on that request… to establish if it is pertinent or not.”
Carvajal criticized that the location for the new tailings dam has not been presented and that there is no primary study, contrary to the procedures established in Environmental Law 64-00.
A feature in Tree Hugger explains that tailings are a type of rock waste from the mining industry. When a mineral product is mined, the valuable portion is usually embedded in a rock matrix called ore. Once the ore has been stripped of its valuable minerals, sometimes through the addition of chemicals, it is piled up into tailings. Tailings can reach immense proportions, appearing in the form of large hills (or sometimes ponds) on the landscape.
The tailings dam is a high risk proposal. In recent years there have been several catastrophic mine tailings dam failures, including those in Canada (Mount Polley), Brazil (San Marco and Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Rondonia) and Peru (Ananea, San Pedro de Coris), Mexico (Canelas). There have also tailings dam failures in Australia, Israel and the United States.
Read more:
El Dia
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold
Mining
Science Direct
Wise Uranium
11 April 2022