Newly elected President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in the
northern department of Cajamarca, mobilising the army to seal weeks of protests
against Minas Conga, a mining giant. This drastic measure comes in the wake of
several cancellations of big mining and electricity projects in the year,
largely due to local protests. Minas Conga, a $4.8 billion copper and gold
project, would be the largest single mining investment in Peru's history. It
is an expansion of Minera Yanacocha, Latin America's biggest gold producer,
which is mainly owned by America's Newmont and Peru's Buenaventura. Conga
will be operational by 2015 and likely to foot $3 billion in taxes over the next
19 years, half of which would stay in Cajamarca. But the project would turn
several small Andean lakes into reservoirs or tailing ponds. Though some locals
do support Conga, there are many who are concerned about threats to water
supplies for farming. The demonstrators blocked roads and forcefully closed the
airport; causing a shutdown of public offices and private businesses. Daily
losses were estimated at US$10 million, according to the local chamber of
commerce. As the protests grew violent, the government talked Newmont into
suspending the project, pending a review. However, the government has also made
clear that it would not succumb to pressures from the people to scrap the
project. Keen to upkeep its economic growth of 6%, Peru has US$50 billion
planned in mining and hydrocarbons investment for the next five years. The Conga
incident demonstrates the governments determination to expand the mining sector.
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