(Kitco News) - Despite Barrick Gold Corp.’s (TSX, NYSE: ABX) troubled Pascua-Lama project slapped with a hefty fine for failing to meet certain deadline requirements, Silver Wheaton Corp. (TSX, NYSE:SLW) firmly believes the project will move towards production.
The gold producing major’s project, located on the border of Chile and Argentina, was hit with a $16.4 million fine by the Chilean Superintendencia del Medio Ambiente for violations regarding the completion of a water management system which would prevent contamination around the mine site.
Silver Wheaton, the world’s largest precious metals streaming company, bought into the Pascua-Lama project in September 2009 where it would receive 25% of the silver produced during the life of the mine.
The continual problems with the mine moving towards production have not caused Silver Wheaton President and Chief Executive Officer Randy Smallwood any reason to panic.
“What I see so far are issues that are manageable and it’s a matter of just getting the systems in place, the policies and procedures in place; they’re all solvable problems,” Smallwood told Kitco News in a telephone interview. “We look at the tenor of the project, the quality of the project itself and we’re pretty confident that it’s still a core franchise of Barrick’s, and, something that they’re going to push forward.
“From a Barrick perspective, I’d be more worried if it didn’t go forward. It is such a profitable mine and it hasq such a scale; it’s a real core asset of Barrick’s,” Smallwood said. “So that’s what gives us comfort.”
Before this latest setback, Barrick announced the suspension of construction work at Pascua-Lama on the Chilean side April 10 in order to “address environmental and other regulatory requirements to the satisfaction of Chilean authorities.”
How Many SHORTS just dropped some mud?
No comments:
Post a Comment