At least 23 options evaluated by the mining company Old Town Barrick for the construction of another tails dam that allows it to prolong its operations in the deposit located in the Sánchez Ramírez province. Among these is Cuance, a community belonging to Monte Plata and close to the mine, one of the alternatives that the company sees as most viable.
Juana Barceló, president of Barrickand Luis De la Cruz, general supervisor of construction of the tails dam del Llagal, where the company currently deposits the waste from its operation, agree on the same point: the refusal of the residents of Cuance, who have prevented it from carrying out feasibility studies for a new structure of this type in the area.
“What we want is to do studies (in Cuance), in a transparent way, share it and see the pros and cons. We have been evaluating different options”, affirms Barceló, who declares that they are waiting for the announcement of the Dominican State on the conclusions of their reports.
He specifies that they are awaiting the decision of the State, through the evaluations made by the Ministry of Energy and Mines, to then see their conclusions. The executive states that the company would like to know the results of the official report “as quickly as possible.”
The statement of the main executive of the mining company in the country is seconded by De la Cruz, who states that one of the main problems they have faced is that they have not been able to carry out the corresponding studies, due to the community’s refusal.
He states that the company is studying some options, within its concession area, for the construction of another tails dambut clarifies that the physical conditions and resistance of soils to build a structure of this type are not formed anywhere.
“The topography of that land (of Cuance), of what we have seen and the proximity that they have with this project, let’s say that they are feasible. It has good conditions to build a tails dambut that is subject to more in-depth studies, not just topography,” he adds.
The executive of the Barrick He explains that the mining company evaluates 23 options, but that so far they are in pre-feasibility studies.
The tails dam
The actual tails dam construction began in 2008 and has been under construction until 2022 without stopping, because it is a continuous construction process. The work will be completed in 2025, lacking 30 meters of height above its current level.
“The design is that it supports it (the limitation of 30 meters). Every time it goes up one meter, it has to grow four meters outwards, to reinforce itself, to keep it standing. If after those 30 meters it continues to rise, then it would enter the Maguaca River, the main road, and that would involve important changes. In addition, while the structure is larger, it requires more safety criteria”, explains Luis De la Cruz about why the company is looking for other places for a new dam.
He adds that after 2025 the mining company only has two years left to place queues in the Llagal dam. When the construction of the dam is completed and reaches its final stage, nearly 200 million cubic meters of tailings material will have been deposited in the reservoir.
The tailings dam closure plan includes that as soon as the deposited material (crushed stone) begins to solidify, it will be covered with around 10 meters of excavation material, which was the same material that was initially in the area. Later, two meters of organic material will be placed “and this will be totally green,” explains Luis De la Cruz.
