But critics, local and in the faraway capitals of Buenos Aires and Santiago, fear the project - located in virgin territory amid glaciers that feed several rivers below - could also wreak long-term environmental havoc if chemicals make their way into the river systems or the glaciers are damaged.
According to Barrick, the mine will use up to 38 tonnes of explosives a day to blast mountaintops into rocks, then up to 27 tonnes of cyanide and 33 million litres of water per day to extract the gold.
Some critics, like the mayor of Vallenar, Chile, who was once a miner himself, said it's not safe for anyone to work with heavy machinery and toxic chemicals at that altitude, where winds can gust up to 300 kilometres an hour and rockfalls, electrical storms and avalanches are a danger
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