Mine to Pay Spain’s Farmers $6.5 Million
Boliden Ltd. said Wednesday that it will pay up to $6.5 million to compensate farmers for thousands of acres of rural land, including farms, orchards and pastures, poisoned by a toxic spill last month at the Canadian company’s zinc mine in southern Spain.
The compensation package, negotiated between Toronto-based Boliden and Spanish officials, covers damage caused after a mining reservoir ruptured April 25, discharging a torrent of toxic sludge into the Guadiamar River and surrounding land.
Spanish agriculture officials estimate that the spill has destroyed the crops, property and livelihood of 2,000 families.
Boliden’s compensation offer was less than the $10 million previously demanded by Spanish farmers groups, which have offered higher estimates of the extent of contaminated land.
Boliden has already pledged to pay the full cost of the cleanup.
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