media advisory
friends of the earth international
gold mining giant withdraws from peruvian
mount
LIMA, PERU, November 5, 2004 -- Minera
Yanacocha, a unit of the US mining giant
Newmont, admitted on November 4 that local
protests forced it to stop exploring Mount
Quilish in Peru.
Friends of the Earth International
supported local Peruvian farmers struggling
to protect their natural resources
–especially water- and to reduce the social
and environmental problems caused by
Yanacocha mining operations.
The Newmont unit – South America's largest
gold producer- publicly asked the Peruvian
government to revoke its license to explore
the mountain for gold just weeks after fierce
protests by local farmers and residents who
objected to mining operations near important
water sheds.
In newspaper advertisements on November 4
the company acknowledged that the complaints
of residents were legitimate and stated that
"...in light of the concerns and the desire
of the people of Cajamarca, we have asked the
Ministry of Energy and Mines to revoke the
exploration permit for Cerro Quilish".
Carlos Abanto of Friends of the Earth Peru
(known as Labor) in Lima said:
“Newmont's decision to give up on Quilish was
due to major protests from rural and urban
people of the Cajamarca region. We hope that
this signal is a lesson to improve corporate
behavior and help reach the point where
mistakes are acknowledged and opinions are
respected.”
During its ten years of operations in
Peru, Yanacocha has led to a range of
conflicts, many of them over the decreased
quality and quantity of water sources.
The Quilish deposit has ‘proven and
probable reserves' of 3.7 million ounces of
gold according to company estimates.
The International Finance Corporation or
IFC -the World Bank's private sector lending
arm- is shareholder of the Yanacocha mine. It
received various official complaints from
local residents and undertook a set of
investigations into the allegations.
“It is good news that the IFC will not be
involved in a project as controversial, risky
and contested as the Quilish mine. Newmont's
Yanacocha decision to respect the wishes of
local people sets an important precedent
which the IFC should notice. The IFC should
not support projects that local communities
do not want,” said Janneke Bruil of Friends
of the Earth International.
“It would be wise for Newmont to cancel
any future operations on Mount Quilish and to
always respect the will of people who ask for
a halt to exploitation in their communities,”
she added.
Friends of the Earth International is
concerned by the devastating impacts of large
scale mining on the environments, lives and
livelihoods of millions of people. Large
scale mining is an activity in the hands of
few multinational corporations that put
profits before people and the planet.
for more information:
Carlos Abanto of Friends of the Earth Peru
(Asociacion Civil Labor) in Lima: Tel + 511
261 65 15 or email:
laborlima@labor.org.pe
Janneke Bruil of Friends of the Earth
International in Amsterdam (NL): Tel:
+31-6-52118998 or email:
janneke@foei.org
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