The Pascua Lama gold-mining project

The Pascua Lama gold-mining project
in northern Chile threatens one of the richest farming valleys in the region of Coquimbo, which is also the area in the country most heavily affected by desertification. The mining giant’s plan is to extract 615,000 ounces of gold, 30 million ounces of silver and 5,000 tons of copper annually over 17 years. However, the deposits lie under three Andean glaciers that provides clean water for numerous indigenous communities.