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Bárbara Salinas
Lawyer


Legal issues surrounding Canadian miner Barrick Gold's troubled Pascua Lama gold-silver project on the border of Chile and Argentina have been hitting the headlines in the past few months.

In addition to the suspension of work on the project pending construction of a water management system, Pascua Lama is facing two new legal challenges: a criminal lawsuit filed against the company over alleged falsification of public documents, and a new constitutional injunction that was filed in September.


Bárbara Salinas is the lawyer behind both motions, and BNamericas spoke with her to know more details about the criminal lawsuit being pursued.

BNamericas: What is the basis for the lawsuit you filed in June?


Salinas: In 2004, Chile signed a mining cooperation agreement with Argentina in order to move forward with the Pascua Lama project. One of the elements of the signed protocol is that it establishes the properties that are part of the Pascua project [the Chilean portion of the project], and there are a number of properties that Barrick claims are its own. However, a number of these properties are subject to dispute.


The company I represent, Canadian firm Mountain Star Gold, has contended several issues at these properties that have been subject to legal dispute since 2001. That year, a civil court in Santiago issued a ruling prohibiting any transaction on the mining claims and properties that are being disputed. The ruling is still in force.


So what is serious here is how it was possible that, with this limitation in force since 2001, Barrick, as well as the Chilean government, signed a protocol with Argentina. We think it should be declared void.


BNamericas: What is the current situation of the lawsuit?


Salinas: The highly complex crimes division of the prosecutor's office of Santiago's centro-norte district is currently carrying out the investigation. The lawsuit has made slower progress than we would like it to have as the prosecutor has the complete authority to determine the speed with which the investigation takes place.


BNamericas: Are there any time limits as to how long the investigation can go on for?


Salinas: The investigation stage can go on for a long time, one or two years; this stage is called pre-charge investigation. As the plaintiff we can provide the prosecutor's office with additional material for the investigation, and if the merits are there, then the prosecutor's office can proceed to charge Barrick's legal representatives.


If the attorney's office decides to charge the representatives with the crimes we are alleging, which are falsification and malicious use of public documents, then from that moment there's a maximum of two years before it goes to trial.