Chile's environmental regulator SMA imposed Friday a fine of 8 billion Chilean pesos (about 16 million U.S. dollars) on a Canadian mining company, the highest ever for environment violations in the country.

The hefty penalty is to punish Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold miner, for failing to build a water management system before excavation work, the SMA said in a statement. The company has been operating a project in Pascua Lama near the Chilean-Argentine border since 2004 to extract gold, silver and copper.

The Canadian gold miner also failed to meet safety standards and did not fulfill obligations stipulated in Chile's Environmental Quality Resolution, especially on environmental inspection and reports' validity, the statement said.

The SMA also ordered Barrick Gold to stop the operation in Pascua Lama until it builds the water management system as required by the resolution. Endi

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