Manthorpe: Peru battles widespread local hostility to mining projects: International Bl... - 1 views
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Redd Gumm on 05 Feb 13http://www.vancouversun.com/Business/asia-pacific/Peru+battles+widespread+local%20+hostility+mining/7912989/story.html Hundreds of local farmers besieged the exploration mining camp of Vancouver-based Candente Copper Corp. in northern Peru last week after clashes with police in which at least four people were wounded. The protests against the Canariaco project in Peru's northern region of Lambayeque, in which up to 20 people have been wounded by police bullets according to local doctors, is the latest in about 150 similar disputes between local people and mining operations in the last five years. But in a statement last week Candente's chief executive Joanne Freeze insisted "There are business interests working to make it look like a community issue. It is pretty well known that this is not what it appears to be." However, the unrest is so intense throughout the country's mineral belt that investment in mining in Peru, which produces about 60 per cent of the country's export revenues, is predicted to fall by 33 per cent or almost $3 billion this year, according to the Peru Mining, Oil and Energy Society. Peru is the world's second biggest producer of copper and silver, and a major producer of gold, zinc and lead. The common themes in the protests are fears of water contamination and other environmental damage, lack of prior consultation with local people, and anger that so few of the economic benefits from the mining operations are gathered by surrounding communities. The local hostility towards mining operations and other resource industries is a major headache for left-wing President Ollanta Humala, who won a narrow victory over his conservative opponent Keiko Fujimori in the 2011 election. Humala, a former army officer who led an unsuccessful coup in 2000, campaigned on promises to foster "social inclusion" and ensure a more equitable distribution of the wealth created by mining industries. However, having vigorously opposed some mining