Pipe rupture being repaired at Barrick mine in Argentina

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The decoupling of a pipeline at Barrick Gold Corp's Veladero mine in Argentina on Tuesday posed no threat to the environment, the company said in a statement on Wednesday while local authorities investigated the incident. The rupture of the pipe carrying gold and silver solution was reported to the mining ministry of San Juan province late on Tuesday. "A detailed report will be made, explaining all the circumstances of the incident, its consequences and the measures that will be taken," a statement from the ministry said. Barrick Argentina also issued a statement saying leakage from the pipe rupture had been contained. "Occurrences of this nature are typical to this type of operation and do not cause damage to health, people or the environment," it said. Operations at the mine were temporarily suspended last September after falling ice damaged a pipe and spilled some ore saturated with cyanide solution over a berm, or raised bank. One year earlier, there was a spill of cyanide solution at the mine, due to an equipment failure. (Reporting by Maximilian Heath and Juliana Castilla,; additional reporting by Susan Taylor in Toronto; Editing by Andrew Hay)