The battle of the people of Marinduque to seek compensation for the damage created by Marcopper Mining Corporation, which was then owned by Placer Dome Inc., took a new turn as another corporation, Barrick Gold Corporation, took over.
BY DENNIS ESPADA
Bulatlat.com
The battle of the people of Marinduque to seek compensation for the damage created by Marcopper Mining Corporation, which was then owned by Placer Dome Inc., took a new turn as another corporation, Barrick Gold Corporation, took over.
With Malacañang turning its back on demands for environmental protection, the provincial government of Marinduque decided to file charges against Canadian firm Placer Dome, Inc. (PDI) before a court in Nevada on October 4, 2005. The case is being heard by Judge Brian Sandoval of the Nevada District Court since October 27, 2005. On the same month, the 10th provincial council declared a 50-year moratorium on large-scale mining to give reprieve to the province’s remaining natural bounty and in order to strengthen the case.
The provincial government said that PDI ran Marcopper’s mining operations since 1968 until it divested its interests from the mines in 1997 following the infamous Boac River disaster on March 24, 1996.
Ceasing to exist
Based on information obtained by the non-government organization Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (Macec) from official records of the case furnished by the law firm representing the province, on July 19, Judge Brian Sandoval of the U.S. District Court granted the motion of the province to include Barrick Gold Corporation as a defendant in the civil case originally filed against PDI.
It was learned that beginning this year, Barrick has acquired 81 percent of PDI’s shares and replaced nine of the twelve members of PDI’s Board of Directors, including the president and chief executive officer; thus, effectively taking full control of all PDI’s Nevada subsidiaries and mines.
In a press release posted on its website, it stated that as of March 15, Barrick completed its acquisition of PDI, securing its position as the world’s leading gold company. As a result, it “now operates in 27 mines around the world and it has an unrivalled pipeline of projects.”
“Placer Dome has apparently ceased to exist, or ceased to exist in any meaningful sense,” James McCarthy, lead counsel for the province of Marinduque, said. “It is no longer incorporated in British Colombia, no longer has any assets or properties in Canada or elsewhere, no longer has any ongoing operations, and has been fully subsumed by (and amalgamated into) Barrick. What Placer Dome once had (both assets and liabilities) has either been transferred to Barrick or been sold by Barrick.”
