Relocating Glaciers for Gold

"Barrick Gold, a powerful multinational already notorious for its dealings in North America, Australia and Africa, plans to extract an estimated 500,000 kilograms of gold (along with silver, copper and mercury) from the site over a 20 year period. Before doing so, however, the company will relocate significant parts of the Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza, three giant Andean glaciers. Barrick hopes to transfer the three glaciers to an area with similar surface characteristics and elevation by merging the three into the larger Guanaco glacier."

www.corpwatch.org...

They plan to blow up the glaciers and transport them to another mountain top by truck.

Sickening.

Sri Oracle.

Relocating a glacier. Is that even possible? I mean these things are massive. Would it take tens of thousands of truck loads of ice to relocate the mass? I mean you certainly couldn't move more than a few tons at a time.

Gold is valuable. I am sure the financing would be there.

How nice, another perverted greed laden endeavor based on the intrinsic value of metals.

Can't eat gold, but can die by screwing up the ecosystem. Let's drain the amazon while we are at it and plant coca crops, at least coca is a renewable resource.

Onward human fodder machines, all hail the gold gawds!

thats just plan DUM . Blow up the glacer then load it into trucks then dump it someware else? I mean realy what are they planing to do with these ICE CUBES when they get to were they are dumping them ?put them back toghter?

Pascua-Lama (Development)

– Reserves: 17.6Moz
– Construction Cost Estimate:
Approximately $1.4-$1.5B
– Production: 750,000-775,000oz *
– Total Cash Cost: $130-$140/oz *
– Production start-up: 2009

www.barrick.com

Idiotic plan IMHO. Greenpeace will have an aneurism when they hear about this project(that is if they havn't already lol)

After reading the source this story makes more sense to me. Simply relocating a a glacier didn't make any sense to me. Apparently the people in the arid region downstream from the mountain use the melted water from the glaciers as their water supply. I suppose the gold company would be arguing that they are keeping their water source intact by moving it to a similiar elevation. However using cyanide and releasing other toxic heavy metals to extract the gold from the mountain might cause some concern for those living downstream IMO. If the gold company is too powerful to be stopped by the locals, I feel sorry for those who might be going to get poisoned by the toxic runoff.

Allot of the poorest of the poor live in mountainous regions.....the company will surely get what it wants.....

[edit on 5-9-2005 by sardion2000]