The Vancouver Sun reports in its Thursday edition that the B.C. government faces a big shortfall in the costs of cleaning up mines when they close. The Sun's Gordon Hoekstra writes that B.C. law requires mines to post security to cover the costs of reclamation and often continuing treatment of tailings pond water when mines close. An Auditor-General's report released earlier this month, however, said there is a $1.2-billion shortfall in funding. Barrick Gold, which has several shuttered metal mines in B.C., including the Eskay Creek gold and silver mine in Northern B.C., has put up financial security of $6.5-million on total estimated reclamation costs of $218-million. That means according to 2014 figures -- the most recent available -- the B.C. government holds an underfunded liability of $212-million, 97 per cent of the total reclamation cost. Barrick spokesman Andy Lloyd said the company had reduced its unfunded liability to $110-million by 2015. "Barrick will absolutely meet its environmental reclamation commitments," said Mr. Lloyd, noting the company had $2.3-billion in cash at the end of first quarter in 2016. B.C. also has an underfunded liability of $73-million on several closed mines owned by Glencore.