Tambogrande Gold Project Implodes In Peru
Citizens of Tambogrande and an active network of human rights and environmental advocates hailed this news as a major precedent for community rights.
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| Citizens of Tambogrande demonstrating against the proposed gold mine. The series of official community consultations about the proposed mine were suspended in November 2003. In December the government of Peru told the mining company, Manhattan Minerals Corporation, it had not complied with financial requirements to carry out the project. By: Ernesto Cabellos ©Guarango Cine y Video |
Opponents of a proposed mine in Tambogrande, Peru learned this week that the government would block the project. The mining ministry informed the Canadian mining company Manhattan Minerals that it had failed to meet financial criteria necessary for digging the proposed open-pit gold mine.
Citizens of Tambogrande and an active network of human rights and environmental advocates hailed this news as a major precedent in their push for recognition of community rights in places where multinational corporations seek to operate.
The town of 16,000 residents is located in the heart of one of Peru's most productive agricultural areas. The mine was opposed by many in the area who objected to potential environmental pollution. "Now the area's farming economy can flourish without the immediate threat of mine waste contaminating precious water supplies," said Payal Sampat of Mineral Policy Center.
"This is really a win-win situation," said Keith Slack of Oxfam America. "The people of Tambogrande get to protect their way of life and the global mining industry avoids a big black eye."
The Tambogrande proposal gained notoriety in June 2002, when 93 percent of voters in a community referendum voted against opening the area to gold mining.
Residents have been united against the project since it was first proposed in 1999, due to concerns about mine waste polluting the San Lorenzo Valley's water supplies and rich agricultural economy. The area's agricultural production is valued at approximately US$2 billion, employing 15,000 locals. Residents also opposed Manhattan's plan to relocate 1,500 families in order to make way for the enormous open-pit mine.
A peaceful three-day strike was held in November by community residents to express continued opposition to the project. The strike culminated in a massive rally attended by 10,000 people in the main square of Tambogrande.
In order to retain its ownership option in the project, Manhattan was required to demonstrate by December 1st its possession of US$100 million in assets and an operating plant with processing capacity of at least 10,000 tons per day.
"This case offers valuable lessons for the mining industry and reveals that poor industry practices are not a thing of the past," said Jose de Echave of Oxfam America's partner CooperAccion. "The population's defense of its rights, buttressed by national and international solidarity, prevented Manhattan from developing a project that would have trampled on human rights."
Oxfam America has assisted organization in Tambogrande to collect information the citizens need to make informed decisions on the proposed mine, and funded a technical study to examine the water resources and likely effects of mining on agriculture. Funds were also devoted to the support of a technical committee exploring alternatives to mining for the region, and for the popular referendum on the mine staged in June 2002. Oxfam America supporters in the US sent 7,000 emails to Manhattan Minerals, urging the company to respect the results of the referendum.
Tambogrande's story builds on a trend of communities throughout the developing world demanding prior informed consent before multinational mining companies can start mining. Other communities are taking inspiration from Tambogrande's struggle. Residents of a community in Argentina's pristine Patagonia region recently rejected a mine proposed by US-based Meridian Gold by means of a public vote modeled on the referendum in Tambogrande. These cases will help build an international precedent that requires local consent for mining projects.