The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition Barrick is in talks with state-owned Chinese miner Zijin Mining Group to form a partnership on the botched Pascua-Lama project. The Post's Peter Koven quotes Felipe Saavedra, Mining Minister of Argentina's San Juan province, as saying in a local radio interview Zijin is interested in coming into Pascua as an investor, and has visited the site several times. Barrick spokesman Andy Lloyd noted Barrick said in the past that it was "open to considering a partner on Pascua-Lama." The minister's comments were not a surprise. Barrick is keen to share the enormous financial burden of Pascua-Lama with a partner or two, and Zijin has been named as a potential buyer of other Barrick mines. Barrick chairman John Thornton has deep links to Asia and has talked about forming partnerships with Chinese mining companies. Barrick decided to search for a partner on Pascua-Lama after it bungled construction in spectacular fashion, with its costs nearly tripling in four years. Barrick also ran afoul of Chilean regulators, who halted the project last year amid concerns about the water management system. Last year, Barrick recorded a $5.1-billion (U.S.) writedown on Pascua.