NewsWhore
09-11-2012, 04:40 PM
The Energy Committee of the Chamber of Deputies is looking at a proposal, submitted by Deputy Carlos Gabriel Garcia, to revise the contract with Barrick Gold mining to increase Dominican government earnings from the Pueblo Viejo, Cotui gold mine.
Appearing before the Committee, Garcia said that the original agreement, signed on 25 March 2002, only gave the Dominican State 3% on sales of gold. In addition, the contract allows for Barrick Gold to only have to pay tax when it has recovered its claimed investment in the mine, and received an net rate of return of 10%, and this, he said, would allow Barrick, by means of creative accounting, to do everything possible in order to appear never to have recovered its investment nor be receiving the net rate of return specified.
He demonstrated this by saying the initial investment figure that Barrick presented was to be US$700 million, which was then increased to US$1.5 billion, then to US$2.58 billion, then to US$3.5 billion, and now they are talking of US$4 billion.
He also doubted that Barrick had spent the amount claimed, some US$450 million, on environmental improvements in the area and he suggested that they would continue to say they were spending money on investments to avoid ever paying taxes.
He finished by saying that the gold in the Pueblo Viejo mine was the property of the Dominican people and the benefits from the mine should be used for the development of the Dominican people.
The deputy said that the state could receive US$9.8 billion during the 25-year lifespan of the mine, while the mining company's profits were estimated at around US$34 billion, according to the Analysis of Economic and Social Effects of Pueblo Viejo Mining Project in Dominican Republic study published by the Center for Social Responsibility in Mining of the University of Queensland, Australia.
www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=301608 (http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=301608)
www.csrm.uq.edu.au/Portals/0/docs/En_pueblo-viejo.pdf (http://www.csrm.uq.edu.au/Portals/0/docs/En_pueblo-viejo.pdf)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
Appearing before the Committee, Garcia said that the original agreement, signed on 25 March 2002, only gave the Dominican State 3% on sales of gold. In addition, the contract allows for Barrick Gold to only have to pay tax when it has recovered its claimed investment in the mine, and received an net rate of return of 10%, and this, he said, would allow Barrick, by means of creative accounting, to do everything possible in order to appear never to have recovered its investment nor be receiving the net rate of return specified.
He demonstrated this by saying the initial investment figure that Barrick presented was to be US$700 million, which was then increased to US$1.5 billion, then to US$2.58 billion, then to US$3.5 billion, and now they are talking of US$4 billion.
He also doubted that Barrick had spent the amount claimed, some US$450 million, on environmental improvements in the area and he suggested that they would continue to say they were spending money on investments to avoid ever paying taxes.
He finished by saying that the gold in the Pueblo Viejo mine was the property of the Dominican people and the benefits from the mine should be used for the development of the Dominican people.
The deputy said that the state could receive US$9.8 billion during the 25-year lifespan of the mine, while the mining company's profits were estimated at around US$34 billion, according to the Analysis of Economic and Social Effects of Pueblo Viejo Mining Project in Dominican Republic study published by the Center for Social Responsibility in Mining of the University of Queensland, Australia.
www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=301608 (http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=301608)
www.csrm.uq.edu.au/Portals/0/docs/En_pueblo-viejo.pdf (http://www.csrm.uq.edu.au/Portals/0/docs/En_pueblo-viejo.pdf)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)