Argentina’s glaciers law won’t affect Pascua Lama: Barrick

Barrick Gold (NYSE & TSX: ABX), the world’s largest gold company, said a new ruling outlawing mining near glaciers in Argentina will not interfere with its Pascua-Lama mine, one of the world’s largest new projects targeting the precious metal.

In an statement provided to the Globe and Mail, Barrick spokesman Andy Lloyd said the impact of the law on Barrick “is nil,” highlighting there are no glaciers close to the company’s Pascua Lama gold and silver project, straddling the border between Chile and Argentina.

Barrick suffered a major setback Tuesday as the Argentine National Supreme Court reversed preliminary injunctions that have blocked key parts of a glacier protection law, now back in full force for all mining companies.

The National Glacier Act requires a thorough national inventory of Argentina’s remaining glaciers as well as “periglacial” areas where the ice has recently retreated but water remains below the surface.

Other companies operating in the country will also be affected by the Supreme Court’s decision, including Xstrata Copper, Anglo American, NGEx Resources and McEwen Mining.

Read more on the law that protects glaciers in Argentina >> >>

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