It appears Peru may descend into economic chaos in an orgy of anti-mining foot-shooting. 65% of Peru's economy depends on mining. This news below may send a message that it is a bad idea to try to start a mine of any dimension in Peru. I do agree with the protestors that water is important. Potable clean water for human consumption is important. Water for fish is important, and water for agriculture is important. Traditionally and for 100's of years of the pre colonial and post colonial tradition, agriculture has used irrigation. I agree too that water is important for mining. I think it need not interfere with other uses, nor does it need to pollute these water sources. Recirculation, pumping from the sea and impounding water for multi-usages are all possible. Agreements can be struck and engineering can be done. Water can be purified by filtration or carbon aerogels. Generally this goes a lot better if they use trona or na2co3 rather than lime to adjust Ph. There are such chemicals on the Nazca plain. There is no need to go to the barricades.
I don't agree that Santos, the president of Cajamarca is at all correct in demanding the project's complete closure. He sounds too left wing to be an effective representative of all the people's long term interests.
Lima sounds like it is taking the right tack, in trying to appease people. I wonder if it will make much difference.
These fatal protest have to stop. On both sides. They may come close to doing such damage to Peru's future economy that not much good will be able to be done to improve the peasant's lot as there will be no money to effect any improvements. Generally improvement in peasant's situations come from better government infrastructure, improvements in agriculture and industry. There really are no other choices. Manna will not fall from heaven. Peru won't start making computers, cars and aerospace equipment overnight. They won't even start making steel overnight. They wont' make roads into peasant villages. Combine harvesters won't be combing the country anytime soon to upgrade peasant agriculture to a more paying basis. The peasant looks to taxes from some mythic other mining company not in their backyard to give Lima more money to hand to them, or at least we think they are looking. I suspect they are not looking to far anywhere however.
The tragedies unfolding in Peru have unfolded here in Canada in no lesser a manner while the electorate slept. In 1979 as I am fond of saying, there were 300 mines in Canada. Today there are 75 mines. Back then 11 percent of the Canadian workforce worked in mining and related industries. Today I believe that is less than 3%. What happened in Canada happened for slightly different reasons. But the effect is the same. A shrinking of the industry. Canada could to a certain extent replace mining over time. To a certain extent. In reality our economy underwent a degree of stagnation due to our lack of foreign exchange. Peru will not have those choices so the lessening of this vital industry to their economy will result in much more severe consequences.
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Peru mine project shut after riots (UKPA) – 1 day ago
A 4.8 billion US dollar gold and copper mining project, Peru's biggest such investment, has been closed after increasingly violent protests by highlands peasants who fear for their water supply.
At least 20 people, including eight with gunshot wounds, were injured in clashes between opponents of the Conga project and police who used firearms, Cajamarca state regional health director Reynaldo Nunez told Canal N television. He said one person was in critical condition and the injured included police.
"After discussions with the government, it was agreed that to help restore public order, the project would be suspended," said Newmont Mining spokesman Omar Jabara.
US-based Newmont is the majority owner of Conga, which was to begin production in 2015 and is an outgrowth of Yanacocha, Latin America's biggest gold mine. However, leaders of the open-ended protest against the planned mine that began on Thursday in the northern state bordering Ecuador said they would not halt the action until the project is cancelled.
Cajamarca's president, Gregorio Santos, said that opponents want "a legal document that definitively eliminates" the project.
At a Lima news conference, prime minister Salomon Lerner did not answer a reporter's question of whether the suspension was temporary or definitive. The protests have been increasingly violent, including vandalism on the mine's property.
The Yanacocha consortium, which includes the Peruvian company Buenaventura Mining and the International Finance Corporation, said in a statement that the suspension was "required" by the government "for the sake of re-establishing tranquillity and social peace".
Mr Lerner, appearing at a the news conference with Newmont Vice President Carlos Santa Cruz, said the government would involve the local population in decisions involving mines to "dispel all doubts and guarantee, as a priority, water for human consumption".
Local protest leader Milton Sanchez was not appeased. He said: "We regret that the government's reaction came after the spilling of blood in which today we have 17 wounded. We peasants of Cajamarca feel tremendously defrauded by (President) Ollanta Humala and really consider him a traitor."
Mr Humala, a centre-left politician, had told Cajamarca residents before his June election that he would guarantee their water supply and said it was more important to him than gold.
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