Mining company Barrick Gold said that the option of renegotiating the contract to exploit the Pueblo Viejo mine, suggested by President Danilo Medina on 27 February, “is not on the table,” and in response to the President’s threat to submit a tax on unexpected earnings, they said that “they hope that they (the government) are considering the consequences.” The company’s stance was outlined by Communications director Jorge Esteva, who said that Barrick was willing to talk but not to change the rules of the game, and that they wished to seek “alternatives in order to contribute to easing the state’s deficit,” as they have said on other occasions.
“We do not understand the need to renegotiate a contract that was signed by the Executive Branch, ratified by the Chamber of Deputies and the senators, and then promulgated by the Executive Branch for twenty-seven months. What is going to happen next year, in the next administration? We need to have clear rules,” declared the executive in an interview for the El Informe TV program with Alicia Ortega, which was broadcast last night, Monday 4 March on Antena Latina.
In his 27 February address to the joint sessions of the National Assembly, President Danilo Medina described the current conditions of the contract as “unacceptable”, where for each US$100 of income from the sale of gold, the state will receive US$3 and Barrick will receive US$97. In response, Esteva said, “while it is true that the state receives three point two percent (3.2%), Barrick is going to pay the operating costs. We have to pay for energy, employees, all the operational costs, including fuels. In addition we pay the loans and financing that we have incurred.”
http://www.noticiassin.com/2013/03/barrick-gold-no-tiene-sobre-la-mesa-la-renegociacion-de-su-contrato/