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A report by the environmental NGO Cooperacción was released Wednesday on the social conflict caused by Peru's Las Bambas mining project in the province of Cotabambas in the southern Andean mountain ranges of Peru. Tensions are rising despite dialogue between the communities in the province, the government and the transnational Chinese corporation MMG investing in the mine.
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The Las Bambas mine is one of the largest projects in the history of Peru, with MMG investing a staggering US$10 billion dollars devoted to the extraction of copper and molybdenum as primary targets and gold and silver as secondary.
Distrust for MMG’s attempts to protect the environment grew after their cleaning damp collapsed in February of this year, only two months after its construction. Community members now fear trucks could drop their mineral load as happened in a nearby mine in the province of Espinar. Ana Leyva, director of Cooperacción, says “there have not been any statements or explanations to the population by any State entity.”
MMG trucks passing through by a populated town in Cotabambas | Source: teleSUR / Rael Mora
Communities in the area are now demanding the revision of five modifications made to the Environmental Impact in the Area by the mining project. Three of the five were made without consulting local communities.
Former Minister of the Environment, Jose De Echaves, confirmed the modifications “were made over 20 months with three of those… using a mechanism that approves (them) in only 15 days without the participation of citizens.”
Meanwhile, Rodolfo Abarca from the Defense Front of the Province of Cotabambas, said “the problem revolves around the modifications, why they have been made without consulting the population, and also what impact the plants that have been moved from Espinar to Cotabambas will have.”
The report by Cooperacción documents testimonies by local farming communities who claim their livestock are dying, the area has become less fertile and their health is at risk due to the 300 heavy company trucks circulating daily through unpaved roads. The trucks lift up dust and spread it through the area.
“There is too much dust and with it our products are disappearing,” says local farmer Guadalupe Soto.
Map of the route taken by trucks to transport minerals from Las Bambas | Source: teleSUR | Rael Mora
Odeón Huilca, president of the Community of Pissacasa, adds: “When you are by the road it smells like metal. All the animals such as sheep and cows are starting to die. Nobody is taking responsibility. It’s the same with our products on the farms—they are the products that we live out of.”
A farmer, whose name was not made public, added: “Four of my cows and 60 goats have died. When you look at them afterwards, their eyes are dry.”
Other testimonies provided by Cooperacción in the report support the claim that trucks are the main cause of contamination of the area.
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Local health worker, Gisella Perez, said there are more people now “coming with respiratory problems… Kids under 5 years old are the most affected because they are more vulnerable.”
“At night the noise and the vibrations caused by so many trucks do not let you sleep or rest at home," added community leader Juan Carlos Huilca.
“Local cars are only 5 percent and the other 95 percent of the traffic is by the company,” said local resident Ebert Buendía.
“The damp has blown up and we want to know why, what are the reasons. It seems that the plants have no guarantees and that worries us gravely,” says Buendia. “We do want the mine to operate,” he adds, but “respecting the communities and populated areas.”
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