Fearing environmental contamination of their rivers and land, Aguaruna and Huambisa Indians trekked for a week from the Cenepa community in Peru’s northeastern jungle and attacked and destroyed Dorato Resources’ El Tambo mining camp.
The unoccupied mining camp has been destroyed, said Zebelio Kayap Jempekit, an Aguaruna-Huambisa leader who claims that copper, gold and uranium extraction is likely to contaminate the Cordillera del Condor area, as well as the Sawientsa, Comaina, Marañón and Amazonas Rivers, and the Ichigkat Muja National Park.
The march was initiated on Dec. 22, days after the indigenous communities demanded that Vancouver-based Dorato put a stop to its mining activities in the Cordillera del Condor region.
Approximately 500 face-painted and spear-wielding tribe members marched on El Tambo, destroying the camp, which was abandoned by the mine workers as the protesters approached, daily El Comercio reported.
Shortly after the rampage, a Dorato representative sent Condorcanqui province Mayor Héctor Requejo a letter, stating that the mining company was conducting mineral exploration that in no way harmed the environment.
In July, Dorato announced that initial sampling — as part of its $7 million exploration campaign — confirmed the presence of widespread gold and silver mineralization on its El Tambo Property, Cordillera del Condor Project. Dorato has exploration rights to a total of 700 square kilometers, or about 270 square miles, in the region.
The Aguaruna-Huambisa make up 93 percent of the population in the province of Condorcanqui. Descended from ancient jungle cultures that controlled a large swath of territory on both sides of the Marañon River and its tributaries, the Aguaruna-Huambisa are one of the largest indigenous jungle tribes and among the poorest groups in Peru. Their people suffer chronic malnutrition, extreme poverty and high infant mortality.
Though deforestation caused by migratory agriculture has had the biggest negative impact on the environment, mining and the contamination it is likely to generate now greatly concern the Aguaruna-Huambisa.
