Over the weekend, Andina News Agency reported that more than 300 informal miners in the Peruvian region of La Libertad had completed the process of mining formalization and could immediately begin mining legally. La Libertad was the first province in the region to complete the process, and neighboring communities are already undergoing the training process.
Alessandra Herrera Jara, a representative of the General Directorate for Mining Formalization in the Ministry of Energy and Mines attended the graduation ceremony. She said in a speech that, “It is great to have a result as clear as today’s. The ministry continuously supports the region of La Libertad so that it can continue the process of formalization. We know that this is a complicated effort. Speaking of formalization is to speak of an activity that will bring benefits both for you and for the State.”
Despite the Peruvian government’s intense focus on formalizing the country’s hundreds of thousands of informal miners, it is important to note that informal mining is not solely responsible for polluting the environment. Late last week, La Republica reported on a denouncement issued by a group of mayors protesting the contamination of the Ramis River.
The mayors traveled to their regional capital of Puno to call on the governor to bring to justice the mining companies that tossed their waste into the river. One local leader told the press that, “During a campaign they offer everything, but now they do nothing. I would like for the authorities to consume the contaminated water and live alongside a dead river. I don’t think they’d last one week.”
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