Citizens of Vallenar and other communities in Chile´s Valle del Huasco came together yesterday and held a protest march which began in the city plaza and continued through the center of the downtown district of Vallenar. The purpose of the march was to protest against the exploitative gold mining project being pushed through by the Barrick Gold Mining company in allinace with mining interests in bothj Chile and Argentina.Many people believe that the project, known as Pascua-Lama, will be a serious environmental disaster
, since it will cause major disruptions to the high regions up in the Andes that will require the destruction of three glaciers which are the source for the waters which the communities down stream in both Chile and Argentina depend on for personal and commercial uses. Besides the destruction of these essential glaciers, citizens are concerned that the chemicals that will be used in the gold extraction process will not be adequately contained, nor will the sterile discharges from the process be kept from polluting the valleys below. One of the protester´s signs pointed out that the choice was between "Agua Limpia u Oro Sucio" (Clean Water or Dirty Gold).
, since it will cause major disruptions to the high regions up in the Andes that will require the destruction of three glaciers which are the source for the waters which the communities down stream in both Chile and Argentina depend on for personal and commercial uses. Besides the destruction of these essential glaciers, citizens are concerned that the chemicals that will be used in the gold extraction process will not be adequately contained, nor will the sterile discharges from the process be kept from polluting the valleys below. One of the protester´s signs pointed out that the choice was between "Agua Limpia u Oro Sucio" (Clean Water or Dirty Gold).It was interesting to see so many young Chileans actively protesting against Barrick and their plans to extract this gold from high up in the Andes. I do hope that there is some way to bring the governments to their senses to stop this exploitation, which will doubtless cause great problems for the people, not only those who live down from the mining project in the Valle del Huasco, but in all of Chile and Argentina as well. I for one intend to raise a little hell at Barrick´s Elko offices when I get home to Nevada, and I would encourage others to do so as well. The people of Vallenar are frightened that their way of life will become severely impacted and I believe that they have every reason to feel this way.
Sorry if today´s message is so blatantly political, but there is a real issue here, and I suspect that many people outside of Chile are not aware of it.
Today I am heading out to the Parque Nacional Pan de Azucar, on the Chilean coast northwest of where I am now, which is in Copiapo. Next post will be from Taltal in a few days. Chao amigos.
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