“Barrick sign on letter final 2021”, 04 May 2021

...The undersigned organizations write in solidarity with the communities in Monte Plata that are resisting Barrick Gold’s planned expansion in the Dominican Republic…[W]e are deeply concerned about the environmental and human rights impacts of the expansion...In light of the concerns set out below and the significant community opposition to the plans, we urge the Dominican Republic and Barrick Gold to reconsider the expansion...Local social movements have expressed concern about the proposed tailings dam and organized demonstrations in opposition to it...Monte Plata – the anticipated location of Barrick’s new tailings dam – is home to many of the country’s most vital watersheds… According to environmental experts, two-thirds of the population will face acute water shortages within four years…The expansion – including the proposed tailings dam – is inherently risky…Though Barrick disputes responsibility for the pollution, media reports indicate that communities impacted by the pollution have for years depended on bottled water provided by the government and by Barrick…The expansion process has been opaque and non-participatory. Local communities have the right under national and international law to meaningfully participate in environmental decisions that affect them and to access information about those decisions…We call on the Dominican government and Barrick to make public verifiable evidence of how: The company and the government would uphold the rights of local communities…[;]...The expansion would avoid the environmental damages incurred in other Barrick mining operations...Based on the available evidence, satisfactory answers to these questions are not possible. As such, the undersigned organizations maintain that Barrick’s expansion in the Dominican Republic must not proceed as planned...