| So What's The Problem at Pascua? |
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Most students of the Gold market are familiar with the sordid history of Barrick Gold and their now decade-long struggle to develop their largest asset in Chile known as Pascua Lama. According to Barrick, Pascua is an extremely rich resource that represents 17.9 million ounces of Gold and 676 million ounces of silver. Once complete, Pascua Lama is expected to be one of the largest and lowest-cost gold mines in the world.
Unfortunately for Barrick the many 'hits' and halts just keep on coming, while the budget grows and their stock price falls. Last November the project was suspended on the grounds that "excessive dust might pose a health risk." And then last Friday it was announced that Barrick had been fined $16 Million failing to comply with environmental regulations and that Chile's Superintendent for the Environment had ordered that all construction activity at Pascua Lama must stop immediately. So is this the entire story?
Forbes: Barrick Gold Fined $16M For Environmental Problems
On Friday, Barrick Gold was halted around noon in New York as reports surfaced indicating the Chilean government had forced the company to "paralyze" its operations in Pascua Lama. Silver Wheaton, a joint-venture partner in the project, was halted a few minutes later.
So the stock of both Barrick and Silver Wheaton was halted due to the water management systems at Pascua Lama? Ok ...
Barrick's Chilean Representative and Executive Criminally Charged
February 6th, 2013.. the Judicial Court of Chile, has received, accepted, and processed criminal charges against Ms. Laura Phyllis Maria Emery, a Canadian lawyer, legal representative, and executive of Barrick Gold Corporation's (ABX) subsidiaries, Minera Nevada SpA and Minera Nevada Ltd. The criminal charges originate from her false testimony on December 14, 2012, stating Minera Nevada SpA's ownership of the Tesoro's concessions.
Last FRIDAY (the same day as the trading halt of ABX and SLW) the court ruled that the criminal charges against Ms. Emery will proceed The case was adjourned to June 21st.
Barrick Does Not Own Concessions At Mina Pascua, Chile
February 19th, 2013 ... Mountainstar Gold Inc. has issued the following update to its shareholders to provide a historical summary and clarify title ownership (1996 to 2013), of Mina Pascua, Chile. As of February 1, 2013, the Company's lawyer, Mr. Alan G.S. Hultman, received clean titles to the Mina Pascua, Chile, mining concessions. The Mina Pascua titles were issued by the Mines Registrar of Vallenar, signed and sealed by Vallenar's Mines Commissioner (Conservador de Minas) Mr. Pablo Cortes Olquin, for Mr. Ricardo Olivares Pizarro on January 16, 2013. The Conservador de Minas Vallenar, is the sole person in Chile, at this date, with full legal jurisdiction over the Mina Pascua concessions, their title, and confirmation of certified domain. These titles were authenticated by the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile. They have been validated by the Canadian Embassy in Santiago, Chile.
And Today We Hear ... "Chilean President gives Barrick Gold its Pascua-Lama fix-it orders"
While Barrick declined to outline the steps required to restart Pascua-Lama's construction on the Chilean side, the company acknowledged that certain components of the project deviated from construction plans and fell short of requirements for environmental approvals. Barrick has stressed that a $16-million fine levied against it by the regulator last Friday was for administrative breaches and not actual pollution.
"administrative breaches" ... ?
Could It Be ...
.. that the real reason Barrick Gold has not been able to proceed at Pascua (for 12 years) is due to a title dispute? And that Barrick has been hiding this fact from the market for many years, hoping that their lawyers could make this giant problem disappear? The man in the picture above is Jorge Lopenhadia; I took it myself at The Hotel Vancouver this past February. Mr Lopenhandia is a passionate Chilean miner with a burning desire for truth and justice. He has not backed down from Barrick, their army of lawyers, nor their heavy-handed tactics. He is very well aware of Barrick's history in the gold derivatives market and how short are the worlds banks of real physical gold at this time in history. He has signed an option agreement for 50% of the Mina Pascua concessions with a Vancouver company called Mountainstar Gold in exchange for help with his legal expenses. And Mountainstar is currently wrapping up a small financing (with a juicy warrant) that provides YOU with an extremely cheap bet on a VERY BIG prize! I have more details and the documents ... contact me if interested?
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Sovereign Exchange International Ltd.
Steven Merrill, President
www.sovereignize.net
phone:
778.835.7667
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Engage a Rich New Audience; Reconcile to your Private Account; Settle for Metal at Any Time. The Sovereign Exchange was founded by Steven Merrill and a small network of individuals from across British Columbia with a vision to embrace Austrian economic principles and provide a sound and stable payment facility than be trusted for commerce and used to store wealth.
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