Peru supports Canadian mining project in spite of local opposition

The Peruvian Prime Minister supports a proposed mining project by Vancouver-based Manhattan Minerals Corp. in spite of recent vote showing 94 per cent of local residents are opposed to the project.

On June 2, residents in the area of Tambogrande in northern Peru voted overwhelmingly against the construction of a $315-million open pit gold mine by Manhattan Minerals, which is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The project has become a focal point of opposition because it would force the relocation of about one-quarter of the town, or about 1,600 homes, in a heavily agricultural area.

Yet only days after the vote, Peru’s Prime Minister said the project should go ahead. "We can't condemn the (Tambogrande) community to backwardness and poverty,” said Prime Minister Roberto Danino in a radio interview. “We need to work to make this project happen in a way that respects people's concerns and brings prosperity to the community and to the country."

The vote was funded by Oxfam and was overseen by two Canadian observers, Stéphanie Rousseau of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, and Francois Meloche, a partner in the social investment consulting group Groupe Investissement Responsible. Meloche is also a director of the Social Investment Organization.

The company has challenged the legitimacy of the vote, saying the results of crucial environmental impact assessments are still to be released. “It is impossible for those most impacted by the project to provide an informed opinion about the viability benefits, and risks of a project, without being able to review the independent technical, economic, and social issues that are researched in the Feasibility Study and Environmental Impact Assessment,” the company in a statement on the vote.

For more information, visit Oxfam America

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