Pascua Lama - Legal Background

Legal Background

There is a long-running Court action (Action No. C-1912-2001) in Chile found on the Court's website, initiated in 2001 by a professional mining agent, one Mr. Villar, regarding mining rights for a 3,100-hectare plot of land in Chile next to Barrick's Pascua Lama mine. The lone road to Barrick's Pascua Lama mine snakes through Mr. Villar's claim, however even if Barrick doesn't win the appeal against Mr. Villar, Barrick can still continue to use this road to as Mr. Villar would only control mining rights to the disputed territory, not surface rights. The Court case is now moving to a final conclusion at the Supreme Court level in Santiago's 14th District Court.

The project formerly became possible with the adoption by Chile and Argentina of the Mining Integration and Complementation Treaty, signed by the presidents of Chile and Argentina in 1997 and ratified by their legislatures in 2000. This treaty permits investors to explore and exploit mineral deposits that straddle the border between the two countries. In 2000, an appeal was filed with the Chilean Constitutional Court to rule the treaty unconstitutional. Alcayaga, Luna, and Padilla, analyzing the treaty, have concluded that, "both in terms of content and form, contains provisions that violate Chile's constitution". Nevertheless, nothing came of the lawsuit, and Chile's National Environmental Commission (CONAMA) issued its final approval for the Pascua Lama project on 13 June 2006.