Osisko Mining Corp. (OSK), a Canadian company, was ordered to halt its gold exploration project in La Rioja province on July 18 after Judge Daniel Flores ruled thatGoogle Inc. (GOOG) (GOOG)’s digital satellite images showed four glaciers in the area.
“Google Earth clearly shows that there are glaciers in the area and thus I ruled to halt any kind of mining activity,” Flores said in a telephone interview from La Rioja city. “I granted the injunction without hearing arguments from Osisko or the government of La Rioja because thanks to the Google images I found veracity in the claims.”
The injunction sets the stage for environmentalists to use similar images on gold mining projects such as Xstrata Plc (XTA)’s Alumbrera and Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX)’s Pascua-Lama project, on the border of Argentina and Chile, said Enrique Viale, president of Argentina’s Association of Environmental Lawyers.
No comments:
Post a Comment