The do's and don't's of mining projects in Perú

In response to the ongoing Tía María social conflict and the violent protests that have accompanied it, Peruvian daily El Comercio ran a feature piece explaining how other large mining projects in the country have succeeded by first winning support from local communities.  

The article explains that mining companies have learned many lessons during the two years of social conflicts over mining projects, and have been forced to develop new strategies to win support from local communities. Projects such as Las Bambas, Cerro Verde, Tambomayo, Toquepala, Shahuindo, Quellaveco, Corani, and Ollachea all have benefited from a wide base of popular support pushing the projects forward.

El Comercio told the story of the town of La Oroya, where the large metals mine was closed in 2009. After six years of uncertainty, 90% of the town now supports mining, and the community’s leaders have been pleading for the government to stimulate mining projects in their town, where they would be welcomed with open arms. The local workers understand that “Mining is the only thing there to survive on.”

In other mining-related news, the Guardian spoke with Lima-based NGO CooperAccion’s José de Echave about his view of the Tía María project. Echave argues that the Peruvian government’s decision to send in the army to quell the protests shows that it does not know how to deal with social conflicts. He also called out the new tendency to label the protestors as not just “anti-mining” but “anti-mining terrorists.”

Echave lamented the government’s response to the Tía María conflict, as in his eyes, the conflict could have been predicted years in advance. Nonetheless, he believes that at this point, the company’s only option is to indefinitely postpone the project, as it is no backing from the local population at this point.