Mining companies have accrued a hefty list of fines this year. Offences include violations of safety and environmental standards, financial regulations, and bribery.
So who are the bad kids getting coal this Christmas? Here’s a list of some of the biggest fines so far this year.
1. MMX Mineração e Metálicos S.A. – EBX Group
Amount: $1.8 billion
Reason: Unpaid taxesEike Batista | Wikimedia commons image
It’s been a bad year for Eike Batista, the mining magnate behind the EBX Group. He’s been selling off his assets due to his companies’ serious financial problems. To make matters worse, Brazil’s tax agency fined him $1.68 billion in January for unpaid taxes.
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2. Barrick Gold Corp.
Amount: $16 million
Reason: Environmental regulation violations
Chile’s environmental regulator imposed a maximum fine of $16 million this year, saying the company had committed “very serious” violations of its environmental permit and hadn’t accurately described what it had done wrong.
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3. Griffith’s Energy (now Caracal Energy)
Amount: $10 million
Reason: Bribing African officialsImage from Caracel Energy photo gallery
Calgary oil company Griffiths Energy admitted to bribing Chad’s ambassador, his wife and a couple others in return for exclusive drilling rights in two blocks of land.
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4. OGX – EBX Group
Amount: 1.3 million
Reason: Violating antitrust legislationEike Batista at an OGX event | Creative Commons image by 5 Vezes Favela
Batista, again. The miner’s oil and gas company was fined $1.3 million for ‘jumping the gun’ on the purchase of an offshore oil concession – OGX completed the deal before it was approved.
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5. Vale
Amount: $1 million
Reason: Safety violations resulting in deathSudbury mine on June 9, 2011 | Screenshot from Northern LIfe
In 2011 two miners died after being crushed by a massive run of ore and mud. The Ontario court recently issued its biggest fine ever under the Safety Act, forcing the Brazilian miner to pay $1 million.
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6. Ian Telfer, GoldCorp chairman
Amount: $200,000
Reason: “Acting contrary to the public interest”Ian Telfer, GoldCorp chairman, speaking at lecture on entrepreneurship | Screenshot from MaRS Discovery District
After a stern talking-to, the Ontario Securities Commission fined Telfer $200,000 for a private share transaction which was “contrary to the public interest.”
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