Comment:

Mining for gold takes a toll on the environment in many ways. While clean up efforts at abandoned mines remain a problem, the effects of gold mining on air, water and soil at active mine sites need to be monitored closely.

Air pollution is created in several ways. One is from the road traffic near the mines where heavy trucks carrying waste and ore generate large amounts of dust. Daily traffic is enough to cause severe air pollution in mining areas. The smelting process used to refine the ore releases lead into the air creating even more problems.

Water is polluted through a process called leaching where ore is removed from the waste using cyanide. Although the cyanide is supposed to be collected in contained reservoirs it is not difficult to imagine that unless strict controls are in place, the run-off finds its way into water systems in the mining area. To make matters worse, some mine owners intentionally dispose of waste into nearby water systems.

Gold mining leaves many toxins in the soil that create health hazards for humans and animals for years to come. Heavy metals and other toxins remain in the soil for many decades making soil pollution a major issue in mining areas.

While it is good news that authorities in Chile have fined Barrick Gold for environmental offences at the Pascua-Lama mine, the long-term damage is yet to be known.

Chile fines Barrick Gold $16m for Pascua-Lama mine

Chilean authorities have fined the world's largest gold mining company, Barrick Gold Corp, more than $16m for environmental offences.   

Construction at the Pascua-Lama mine, on the border with Argentina, has been suspended until a system to contain contaminated water is put in place. 

The news led to share trading in the Canadian-owned company being halted in New York and Toronto after a sell-off. But activists complained that the fine was only 0.1% of the total operation.

"The resolution is convenient to the offender, a derisive fine for a company such as Barrick Gold," Greenpeace said on a statement.

Despite criticism, the government said the fine was the highest possible under Chilean law.

'No environmental damage' 

The environmental authorities said the mining company committed four "serious" and one "very serious" offences. The latter was a commitment made by Barrick Gold to put in place water treatment systems to contain contaminated waste water and to prevent rainwater contamination.

The company itself reported its shortcomings to the environmental authorities, which led to an investigation. Barrick Gold Corp acknowledged the failures and promised to work on solutions.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22663432