Alto del Carmen

Alto del Carmen is a town in the Huasco Valley of the Atacama Desert of Chile, and home of the Huascoaltino Diaguita indigenous people. The community is fighting a Canadian gold mining company, Barrick, which is building a mine at the head of the valley, where several glaciers sit whose runoff feeds the agriculture there. Originally Barrick wanted to MOVE the glaciers, but resistance to this idea resulted in a change to their proposal, which is to mine right up next to the glaciers instead. The mine is unique in that it will span the border of two countries, Chile and Argentina. The community is concerned that their water source will be contaminated by mine runoff. Barrick assures them they have put all the needed protections in place to assure that doesn't happen. Adding a layer of complexity to the situation is the fact that the valley has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and many people welcome the jobs the mine will bring. Construction on the mine began at the end of September, 2009. Below are photos of evidence of resistance to the mine in Alto del Carmen. I think that there is probably quite a dilemma for Chile over the issue of mining and the environment, as mining is huge in the Atacama, and employs many people, yet there are serious envirnomental concerns over mining with long term consequences.

I'm not sure why this miner's hat says "Larrick'" as the company is Barrick. The rest of it hardly needs explanation.

The mine is called Pascua Lama, and this piece translates as, "Pascual Lama: Bread for today, hunger for tomorrow."

This one, painted on the side of the Catholic church in the town square, shows machinery chewing up the hills, trucks full of gold driving away, a river of skeletons floating back down the river. The church has strongly supported resistance to the mine.