Peruvian daily El
Comercio published a feature peace exploring the issues behind the social
conflict over Southern Copper’s now-shuttered Tía María mining project.
According to Southern Copper officials, this was due to basic factors:
anti-mining terrorism and the Peruvian government’s inability to act decisively
in favor of the project.
El Comercio explained the history of Southern’s operations
in the country, including the company’s spotty environmental record and its
efforts to atone and redress those past mistakes. The first strike opposing
Southern’s proposed Tía María project happened in 2010, and opposition has only
increased. Ultimately, the article closes with uncertainty: as of today it is
unclear whether the Tía María project is still viable.
On Sunday, the Confiep, a Peruvian business association, expressed
its worry regarding the paralysis
of the large mining investment projects in Southern Peru, which have severely
affected these companies’ operations in the area. Leaving no doubt as to which
side it supports in the conflict, Confiep said in a press release, “This
[strike] negative impacts the generation of employment and economic growth at the
local, regional, and national level.”
Houston-Based oil company BPZ Energy reported
mixed results for its offshore Peruvian oil exploration well, Corvina CX15-9D.
BPZ said that the well came up empty for oil, but discovered a large gas block.
The company is currently analyzing the results and will decide whether to
complete the well for gas production.
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