Canadian venture to pay more for Dominican gold

Published May 08, 2013

Associated Press

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic –  A Canadian company says it has reached an agreement in principle with the government of the Dominican Republic to alter the terms of a disputed contract for a large gold mine in the Caribbean country.

Barrick Gold Corp. says the changes announced Wednesday are expected to provide an additional $1.5 billion to the Dominican government over the life of the Pueblo Viejo mine.

Toronto-based Barrick is the majority partner in a venture that operates the mine. Goldcorp Inc. of Vancouver is the other partner. Pueblo Viejo reopened last year and is among the world's largest gold mines.

The government has sought to re-open the contract to help close a budget deficit. Previously, the venture was expected to pay about $7 billion over the 25-year life of the mine.

View the original article here

300 injured in highway wrecks in Canadian blizzard

Published March 21, 2013

Associated Press

EDMONTON –  A blizzard sweeping across the Canadian plains caused a chain of traffic wrecks involving a bus, semi-trailer trucks and cars south of Edmonton, Alberta, sending about 300 injured travelers to hospitals on Thursday, officials said.

Four people were seriously hurt, said Sharman Hnatiuk of the Alberta Health Services office. Many victims were taken to hospitals in nearby communities including Edmonton and Red Deer, she said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police closed part of Highway 2, the main road between Edmonton and Calgary, and were directing traffic away from the collision scene, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Grant MacDonald.

He said the crash involved several vehicles, including a large passenger bus and several semi-trailer trucks.

View the original article here