Court charges Minera Alumbrera executive over alleged pollution

The federal appeals court in Argentina's Tucumán province has placed Julián Rooney, the VP and manager of sales and corporate affairs at Minera Alumbrera, on trial without detention, local press reported. The court has charged the executive with responsibility for the crime of dumping dangerous contaminants into waters that empty into the Termas de Río Hondo reservoir, according to the reports. "It has been confirmed that the act of pollution - the result of industrial activity by the company Minera Alumbrera - has created a danger that is not approved for production," the court was quoted as saying. THE COMPANY'S DEFENSE Alumbrera rebuffed the court's decision to put Rooney on trial, saying that "the company has been and still is respectful of the law and of justice but feels obligated to express its utter disagreement with this decision," according to reports. It also clarified that "Rooney's area of responsibility at Minera Alumbrera is that of institutional relations, which plays absolutely no part in the details involved in the trial." Gold-copper producer Minera Alumbrera is 50% controlled by Anglo-Swiss resources company Xstrata (LSE: XTA) while Canadian companies Goldcorp (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) and Yamana Gold (NYSE: AUY) hold 37.5% and 12.5% of Alumbrera, respectively.