Costa Rica
Environmentalists Fear
Disaster at
Canadian-Owned Gold Mine
Environmental groups say
potential cyanide
seepage and landslides
at a Canadian-owned gold
mine in northern Costa
Rica could cause serious
environmental damage.
The open-pit Bellavista
mine, run by a
subsidiary of Canada's
Glencairn Gold Corp.,
suspended operations in
July and said experts
would monitor earth
movements. The company
then said some areas of
the mine were sliding
one centimetre daily.
Environmental groups say
nothing has been done
since July to stop the
mountain from giving way
or to prevent ruptures
in a liner known as
geomembrane used to
block cyanide from
seeping into the ground.
"The earth movements are
threatening with
breaking the geomembrane
and if it breaks, the
pollutants would end up
in the aquifers," said
Gabriel Rivas of the
Federation for the
Environment's
Preservation.
Rivas said Tuesday the
cyanide, which is used
to separate gold from
the ore, could also
reach the Puntarenas's
estuary on Costa Rica's
Pacific coast, about 14
kilometres from the
mine.
Gaston Araya, the mine's
manager, said the
company has been
submitting monthly
reports on the experts'
findings. He declined to
describe the findings.
Jose Castro, director of
Geology and Mines for
Costa Rica's Environment
Department, said his
office has been
monitoring the mine,
located in Miramar,
about 100 kilometres
north of San Jose.
He said there are
"little problems in some
parts of the mine, but
not in the whole mine."
Glencairn estimates
there are 365,500 ounces
of mineable gold in
Bellavista, according to
the company's website.
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