Argentina suspended Canadian mining company Barrick Gold on Thursday after the firm admitted to a new spill at a mine in the Andes mountains, its third in two years.

Barrick said Wednesday that a pipeline at its Veladero gold and silver mine had sprung a leak the day before, spilling liquid used in the mining process.

It insisted there were no toxic chemicals in the spill, but environmental groups called for the company to be banned.

The governor of the western province of San Juan, Sergio Unac, ordered Barrick to halt metal separating operations until the pipeline is repaired.

A local judge backed that up in a separate ruling, saying the repeated spills at the mine suggested a "failure of its hydraulic system."

In September 2015, the Veladero mine was hit by a million-liter (260,000-gallon) spill of cyanide solution.

Nine Barrick directors were charged over that spill, and the company had to pay a fine of $9.3 million.

A year later there was another cyanide solution spill, though the company insisted none of it came into contact with water sources or drainage channels.

The Argentine environment ministry has sent a team of experts to investigate the latest spill.

ls/jhb/rlp/jm

BARRICK GOLD

Tweet

California prepares for war with Trump over environment
Los Angeles (AFP) March 29, 2017
California, one of the most progressive in the US on climate issues, is heading toward a legal showdown with the Trump administration over its environmental policies. The battle is shaping up as President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday rolling back key Obama-era measures to combat climate change. Trump insists the order will benefit American workers, notably coal miner ... read more

Related Links
Our Polluted World and Cleaning It Up

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only