The Spanish Ministry of the Environment has raised a claim against Boliden's Spanish subsidiary Boliden Apirsa for 45 million Euros for costs of the recovery works after the dam failure in 1998. Boliden Apirsa does not accept the claim and would like to comment as follows:
- Boliden's Spanish subsidiary Boliden Apirsa was acquitted in November 2001 of all responsibility in the comprehensive criminal investigation following a dam failure at the Los Frailes mine in Spain. The dam failure was caused by defects in the construction and mistakes made in the preliminary geological studies and not in the operations of Boliden Apirsa.
- Boliden has no intention of taking further responsibility for the terminated mining activities in Spain. Boliden's view of the causes and responsibility for the dam failure at the Los Frailes mine in 1998 remains unchanged.
- Claims made against Boliden, and costs incurred, will be redirected against those who are ultimately responsible for the construction of the dam.
- Boliden has assumed a great responsibility in connection with the dam failure, not least concerning the recovery of the site and compensating people affected. In December 2001, Boliden Apirsa reached an agreement with the regional Andalusian government as well as with the workers' union at the Spanish mine concerning the closure of the mine. One of the matters agreed is that the Andalusian government takes over the responsibility for the decommissioning of the mine.
For further information, please contact:
Ulf Söderström, Vice President Public Relations, telephone +46 8 610 15 57 or +46 70 618 95 95