Canadian mining giant Barrick Gold was forced this month by a Chilean court to halt construction of its massive, US$8.5 billion Pascua Lama gold mine after a lawyer for local Diaguita indigenous communities filed a suit over environmental damage allegedly caused by the company. The April 9 Copiapó Court of Appeals decision to issue a preliminary injunction suspending work on the mine is a serious setback for the project, which straddles the Chilean-Argentine border 150 kilometers (93 miles) southeast of northern Chile’s town of Vallenar. The ruling rekindles questions about the viability of the project, even though the company says it already has invested US$4.8 billion in construction since it received environmental approvals from Chile and Argentina in 2006. The lawsuit relies... [Log in to read more]