Placer Dome Inc. was a large

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

company specializing in

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

and other

precious metal Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high Value (economics), economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less reactivity (chemistry), chemically reac ...

s, with

corporate A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...

headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In August 2005, the company had interests in 16 gold mining operations in 7 countries; it had a market capitalization of $6.7 billion

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

(on June 30, 2005). For the year 2004, it had sales of $1,888 million, net earnings of $284 million, and cash from operations of US$376 million. The company was purchased by

Barrick Gold Barrick Mining Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper. It has mining operations and projects in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Mali, Pakista ...

in 2006, and was assimilated into Barrick.

History

Placer Dome was formed in Vancouver in 1987, by amalgamating Placer Development Ltd. of Vancouver (founded in British Columbia in 1926), Dome Mines Limited of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(founded in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

in 1910, to build the original

Dome Mine Dome Mine is situated in the City of Timmins, Ontario, Canada; and was developed during the Porcupine Gold Rush. Last operated by Canadian company Goldcorp, before it became a subsidiary of American company Newmont, it is one of three mines ( ...

), and Campbell Red Lake Mines Ltd. of Toronto (founded in Ontario in 1944).Frequently Asked Questions
hosted by the Internet Archive (August 15, 2005 snapshot) Placer Dome was heavily invested in mines in South Africa prior to the end of apartheid. Sensing that their ability to continue owning mines in post-apartheid South Africa would diminish, they started investing in Australia and Papua New Guinea, and briefly became Australia's biggest landlord. Placer Dome operated the Detour Lake gold mine before selling the property in 1988 while it was being decommissioned. Placer Dome acquired several mining companies over its lifetime: Kiena Gold Mines Ltd. in 1988 (0.92 shares of Placer Dome Inc. for each share of Kiena Gold Mines Ltd.), Sigma Gold Mines Ltd. in 1988 (0.97 shares of Placer Dome Inc. for each share of Sigma Gold Mines Ltd.), Placer Pacific Ltd. in 1997 (0.066 shares of Placer Dome Inc. for each share of Placer Pacific Ltd. held), Getchell Gold Corporation in 1999 (2.45 shares of Placer Dome Inc. for each common share of Getchell Gold Corporation held), AurionGold Ltd. in 2003 (17.5 shares of Placer Dome Inc. for every 100 AurionGold shares, plus US$0.28 per AurionGold share), and East African Gold Mines Ltd. in 2003 ($252.4 million in cash). In 2002 the first 3.6 tonne, 17 kW, hydrogen-powered

hydrail In transportation, the original (2003) generic term "hydrail" includes hydrogen trains, zero-emission multiple units, or ZEMUs—generic terms describing rail vehicles, large or small, which use on-board hydrogen fuel as a source of energy to po ...

mining

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

for Placer Dome was demonstrated in

Val-d'Or Val-d'Or ( , , ; meaning "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,752 inhabitants according to the 2021 Canadian census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Reputation

Placer Dome was generally perceived as more progressive than its competitors in terms of community engagement and environmental concerns, although its rushed context analysis and community engagement in the set up of

Porgera Porgera (also spelled Pogera) is a town in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. It lies to the east of Porgera Gold Mine. It is administered under Porgera Rural LLG. {{Authority control Populated places in Enga Province ...

Gold Mine resulted in misunderstandings and community tension that led to "war" between the local population and Placer Dome, and also later

, once they bought Placer Dome.

Operations

In August 2005 Placer Dome had interests in 16 mining operations in seven countries: Campbell, Musselwhite, and Porcupine in Canada; Golden Sunlight, Turquoise Ridge, Cortez, and Bald Mountain in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

;

Zaldívar Zaldívar (originally Basque Zaldibar) is a Spanish/French family name of Basque origin. Zaldi, meaning "horse" and Ibar, meaning valley. Zaldivar, means "valley of horses". People with this surname include: *Adolfo Zaldívar (1943–2013), Chile ...

and La Coipa in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

; North Mara in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

; South Deep in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

;

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

; and Osborne, Henty,

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie-Boulder (or just Kalgoorlie) is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder as the surroundi ...

, and

Granny Smith The Granny Smith is an List of apple cultivars, apple cultivar that originated in Australia in 1868. It is named after Maria Ann Smith, who Fruit tree propagation, propagated the cultivar from a chance seedling. The tree is thought to be a Hybri ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia, Placer Dome obtained ownership of the defunct

Timbarra Gold Mine The Timbarra Gold Mine was a highly controversial gold mine located on the Timbarra Plateau, at the head waters of the Clarence River, near Tenterfield, New South Wales, Australia. The gold ore body consisted of a greisen type granite. The pro ...

, where it achieved some local acclaim for setting new, higher State standards for mining rehabilitation. In

, at the

Porgera Gold Mine The Porgera Gold Mine is a large gold and silver mining operation near Porgera, Enga province, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Located at the head of the Porgera Valley, The mine is situated in the rain forest covered highlands at an altitude of 2,200 t ...

, Placer Dome severely contaminated the Porgera river, surrounding rivers and the

gulf of Papua The Gulf of Papua is located in the southern coast region of New Guinea. It has a total surface area of . Geography Some of New Guinea's largest rivers, such as the Fly River, Turama River, Kikori River, Purari River, and Wawoi River flow ...

. In 2005, Akali Tange Association published their report ''The Shooting Fields of Porgera Joint Venture'' which documents allegations of murder of local residents by mine security contractors. Porgera-1-

Controversy

Placer Dome (and now

) are defendants in an ongoing court battle over the highly controversial

Marcopper mining disaster The Marcopper mining disaster is one of the worst mining and environmental disasters in Philippine history. It occurred on March 24, 1996, on the Philippine island of Marinduque, a province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. The d ...

, which took place at the Marcopper Mine (run by Marcopper, a Placer Dome subsidiary) on the island of

Marinduque Marinduque (; ), officially the Province of Marinduque, is an island province in the Philippines located in Southwestern Tagalog Region or Mimaropa, formerly designated as Region IV-B. Its capital is the municipality of Boac, the most popul ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Takeover

acquired 100% of Placer Dome shares on January 20, 2006, and integrated the company into its own. Once Barrick gained over 90% of the company shares it could force people to sell their shares to gain the 100% which it required. March 8, 2006 was the final day for trading of Placer Dome's common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.

References

{{reflist

External links

Placer Dome official site
(snapshot from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

; August 15, 2005)
Barrick official website
Defunct mining companies of Canada Barrick Gold 2006 mergers and acquisitions Gold mining companies of Canada