Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Polluting Mining Company Finances Public Universities

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIERS, Jun 22 2009 (IPS) - The Foundation for the Defense of the Environment, in the central Argentine province of Córdoba, reported that a mining company whose vice-president has been indicted for polluting is handing out millions of dollars to public universities. “After learning about the denunciation, various strata within the university expressed that they were never informed that the funds existed,” Foundation president Raúl Montenegro told Tierramérica.

He said the consortium that includes Minera Alumbrera and other companies that mine the Agua de Dionisio deposits in the northwestern province of Catamarca distributed 14 million dollars to 40 public universities in 2008 and nearly 10 million dollars so far this year.

The environmentalist called on the National University of Córdoba — one of the beneficiaries — to refuse the contribution this year and to investigate where the 2008 money went.