Bolivian officials this month launched an extensive environmental audit of mining along the Pilcomayo River, including operations at the Laguna Pampa tailings pond in the Upper Pilcomayo region, site of a major spill of toxic mining waste in late October. Meanwhile, Mario Velasco, director of the Bolivian mining ministry’s environment unit, says the government has funds to build a larger tailings pond at San Antonio, a town near Potosí on the Pilcomayo River. Last month, the government signed an agreement under which the German development bank KfW is making a US$3.4 million grant for the San Antonio facility, which will include a water-treatment plant. Velasco says bids for the work are now being accepted, with groundbreaking slated for June and operations expected to... [Log in to read more]