SANTIAGO: An ambitious gold mining project in northern Chile, high up in the Andes close to ancient glaciers, is finally getting under way amid the economic downturn despite fears from environmentalists. Assurances the vast project will create some 5,000 badly needed jobs, have failed to overcome skepticism that the project, more than 16,000 feet above sea level, could impact on the vast mountain wilderness. Mining officials have said glaciers Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza will not now be removed, as had been called for in the initial proposal put forward some 15 years ago by Canadian company Barrick Gold. The glaciers cannot be