Spain
Boliden Ltd.
The 1998 failure of the tailings dam at the Los Frailes mine wreaked widespread environmental havoc. The toxic mine wastes that were released caused a massive fish kill, damaged thousands of acres of farmland,[1] threatened a United Nations World Heritage Site[2] and eliminated 5,000 local jobs.[3] The Government of Spain spent $275 million cleaning up the waste.[4] The company is challenging a high court decision awarding the government $74 million in compensation and damages.[5]
[1] Patterson, Kelly. Into the Final Frontier: in the race for resources, Canadian mining firms are leading the charge into environmental hotspots. The Ottawa Citizen. October 2, 2005 (hereinafter Patterson).
[2] United Nations Environment Programme Mineral Resources Forum. http://www.mineralresourcesforum.org/incidents/Losfrailes/index.htm>
[3] Ibid.
[4] Patterson.
[5] Ibid.