DomRep residents, NGOs call for Barrick's tailings plans to be stopped

Residents and NGOs opposed to Barrick Gold’s planned tailings facility for the Pueblo Viejo mine held a protest on Sunday in the Dominican Republic’s capital, Santo Domingo, in a sign opposition to the plan may be building.

Television footage showed crowds of demonstrators, with some holding placards calling for the proposed tailings dam in Yamasá municipality to be scrapped.

Some protestors, who included members of local social groups and NGOs, called for Barrick to leave the country, with others saying mining operations were causing environmental damage, local network telesur TV reported on its website. The protestors marched from Parque Independencia to the national palace, it added.

Barrick needs to increase tailings capacity as part of its US$1.30bn expansion at Pueblo Viejo, Latin America’s top gold producer, a 60:40 JV with Newmont.

The project, which also includes an expansion of the processing plant, will enable production to continue into the 2040s.

But the plans have been met with local opposition, with planned talks on the proposals sparking violent protests in April.

Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said at the time that the protests were by a handful of detractors.

The company needs the new tailings facility to be operational by 2025 to avoid delaying its expansion plans.

The government has appointed independent consultants to evaluate Barrick’s tailings plans, who will consider two possible locations for the facility in a bid to ease opposition to the proposal.