Environmentalists Begin National Water March

Environmentalists and civil society groups in three Peruvian regions began on Wednesday a national water march, aimed mainly at rejecting Newmont Mining’s Minas Conga project.  The marchers plan to converge in Lima by next week. In Cajamarca region, where Conga is located, about 500 people began the march at the Cortada lake, Ideeleradio reported. Supporters [...]

Barclays: Peru Needs Systematic Solution to Social Conflicts

Barclays Capital said Peru’s government needs a systematic solution to social demands in the mining sector, rather than “putting out fires” amid opposition to individual projects. “The issue is political since we have seen social demands that need to be resolved systematically or structurally and not necessarily by putting out fires,” said Barclays Capital’s Roberto Melzi, [...]

Garcia Backs Humala’s Approach to Conga Protests

Ex-President Alan Garcia, in one of his first interviews since leaving office in July, told Radio Programas this week that he backs the government’s efforts to advance the Minas Conga gold and copper project. Garcia said that President Ollanta Humala’s cabinet chief, Oscar Valdes, was responsible and serious in seeking to restart a dialogue with [...]

Cajamarca State of Emegency criticized by Mine Protest Leader

The regional president of Cajamarca, Gregorio Santos, criticized President Ollanta Humala’s announcement Sunday evening of a 60-day state of emergency in four of Cajamarca’s provinces in order to bring under control protests against a multi-billion dollar gold and copper project. During an interview with Ideeleradio on Monday, Santos said that Peru’s new government “is lying to the [...]

Yanacocha suspends Conga gold project amid continuing protests

Yanacocha has suspended its $4.8 billion Conga gold mine project in Cajamarca, as protests by regional leaders and peasant farming communities have continued to build up.  In a joint press conference at the government palace with Prime Minister Salomon Lerner Ghitis, the senior vice-president for South America of Newmont-Yanacocha, Carlos Santa Cruz, said the company’s decision aimed to improve a [...]

Lerner Ghitis: Govt Working on Resolving Social Conflicts

Prime Minister Salomon Lerner Ghitis said Thursday that the government is working on solutions to resolve social conflicts related to mining, agriculture and other sectors, state news agency Andina reported. “We inherited a problem from the past decade, conflicts in mining, agriculture, regions,” Lerner Ghitis said. “But I think we are advancing little by little, [...]

Regional Government of Cajamarca donates 50 workstations to local university

As part of its education program, the Regional Government of Cajamarca has donated 50 state-of-the-art computers to the National University of Cajamarca, UNC, reported daily Panorama Cajamarquino on Friday. The donation – valued at 122,000 soles, or $38,000 – will provide UNC engineering, geology and computer science students with a better-equipped computer lab. “Our commitment [...]

Peru posts $176 million trade deficit for Jan. 2009, exports fall 39 percent

Peru posted a $176 million trade deficit this January, as prices for primary commodities – such as fish meal, copper and other minerals exports – plummeted by 39 percent, daily El Comercio reported. “This (disappointing) result is due to the fact that Peru’s most important exporter regions, such as Ancash, La Libertad, Ica, Piura, Arequipa [...]