“Barrick Gold under fire by UN for toxic spills from Veladero mine in Argentina”, Published Nov 17, 2022

…[T]he United Nations released letters that three advisors to its Human Rights Council — independent experts known as special rapporteurs — wrote in September to Toronto-based Barrick, the Canadian government and others, expressing concern about toxic spills from the Veladero mine in Argentina, which it owns jointly with China’s Shandong Gold Group.

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[I]n June [2022] the Financial Post reported that members of nearby communities and local journalists leveled accusations of new spills of mercury and other heavy metals into local waters, in 2021 and 2022, citing data collected by scientists at a university in Mendoza.

The UN special rapporteurs’ letter to Barrick characterized the accusations as “sufficiently reliable” and expressed concern about the impacts on the local population’s health and to the environment.

Letters were also sent to Shandong Gold, which purchased a 50 per cent stake in the mine in 2017 for US$960 million, to the Chinese government, and to the joint venture company, Minera Argentina Gold SRL, that operates the mine.

The UN releases letters 60 days after receipt but Barrick provided the Financial Post with a copy of its response, which denies nearly all the allegations.

The company said in its reply that it did not spill any contaminants into the environment in 2022, and added that the impacts of three historical spills were overstated because they “did not impact the environment or human rights.”

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Still, Saúl Zeballos, who lives in San José de Jáchal, a community of 21,000 about 200 kilometres downstream from the mine, said he blames Barrick for breaking its promises to protect the local water supply. [...]