Project
overview
World Bank Group
involvement
Environmental and social
concerns
Read more
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Project
Overview
The Canadian
Manhattan
Mineral Corporations
is planning to
construct an open pit mine using cyanide
based technologies in the Peruvian Valley of
San Lorenzo. The 10-year project is estimated
at $US 240 million. The company is currently
awaiting the release of the Environmental
Impact Assessment.
In the early eighties, a state owned
corporation called Minero Peru started
prospecting in the valley's grounds and
discovered several valuable metals, among
which gold. In '99, the Peruvian government
declared the exploitation of these gold
reserves a ´public necessity´. This overruled
a national security law (Art 71) that no
foreign entity was allowed to own any land
within 50 km of the national borders, while
Tambogrande is situated about 35 km from
Ecuador. Manhattan Minerals Corporation
bought the concessions. Tambo Grande is the
only project of this otherwise unknown
corporation.
Godofredo García Baca, respected
agronomist and enlightened resistance leader,
opposed any mining activities immediately in
protection of the valley's agriculture and
biodiversity. The valley is very fertile. As
a result of a successful irrigation project,
partly financed by the World Bank, the valley
has turned from a dry desert into an area
that produces almost all of Peru´s famous
lemons. It is the main mango and lime oil
exporting region. It provides about 20,000
people with sustainable livelihoods. This has
led people from all over Peru to move to the
desert valley and start a new life there. The
areanowadays has the rich biodiversity of the
rare 'dry tropics' or 'trópico seco'. It is a
green, very fertile area where people say:
´Nobody here is rich, but there are no poor
either´.
Tambogrande is an emblematic case of local
villagers standing up for the right to choose
their own development model. Farmers of the
valley fiercely defend their agriculture
against the planned gold mine. On 27 and 28
of February 2001 there was a total strike and
massive mobilization in Tambogrande demanding
Manhattan to retire. Soon after, the
encampments of the corporation were torn to
pieces. The police sent helicopters. In March
2001, Godofredo García Baca was murdered. To
date this crime has not been resolved.
The citizens of Tambogrande organized a
people´s referendum on June 2nd 2002. People
came in their best clothes to vote. An
overwhelming 98% of the voters declared they
do not want the mine in their valley. "In our
opinion, the municipal consultation in
Tambogrande was conducted in a free,
democratic and transparent manner, allowing
citizens the opportunity to express their
opinion through secret ballot with the
effective guarantee that the votes would be
counted
correctly," said two observers from Canada
(read their observation mission
report
).
Local villagers say that Manhattan has
brought ´sticks, fire, police and violence´
and is perforating the surroundings of the
city. The whole project however, is in an
impasse because the community does not allow
Manhattan to enter the village to do any
studies. Manhattan said it will contract an
independent institution to undertake the
studies. The baseline study it has already
done, is completely inadequate, if judged by
Canadian and US criteria.
An astonishing aspect toTambo Grande that
considerably magnifies the pressure on the
government to develop the mine, is the
picture of interests. It appears that many
more projects are planned and linked to the
approval of the Tambo Grande mine, including
a smelter, a phosphate project and a
fertilizer plant. Together, these are
estimated to entail investments of about $ 2
billion.
Click on the images below to view the full
size photos
World Bank Group
involvement
Manhattan Minerals Corporation stated in an
interview in Piura that it will approach the
World Bank Group for financial support as
soon as the environmental impact studies are
done. World Bank support would mean major
policy incoherence, as it would be in full
contradiction with the purpose of its earlier
irrigation project.
environmental and
social concerns
The Tambo Grande open pit mine is likely
to have negative, long-term impacts on water
quality and quantity, the general environment
and agriculture. The baseline study on
environmental impacts done by the company is
completely inadequate when judged by criteria
for opening a mine in Canada or the US.
The mine would strip the village of Tambo
Grande and displace a large part of its
population. What local residents fear most is
the destruction of the agriculture and the
sustainable livelihoods that they have so
carefully built up.
Groundwater and superficial water from the
Piura river would be used on a massive and
uncontrollable scale. Downstream water is
likely to become contaminated with metals and
dust from the activities at the mine. People
do not believe that Tambo Grande will use a
closed circuit water system that works.
Water pollution at the site is likely. The
waters from the tailings are likely to
contain high concentrations of metals,
cyanide, other toxic non-metals and possibly
radioactivity. It is very well possible that
the soil at the site contains extremely
dangerous materials like plutonium, that
would be freed by the explosions.
Strong winds in the area, as a result of
deforestation for the mine, could cover the
valley and its houses, schools, waters and
fields with dangerous contaminating dust from
the explosions. Winds of 35 km/h have been
measured.
Heavy rains caused by the El Niño
phenomenon could flood the 350 m deep toxic
pit and spread metals and chemicals
throughout the valley. Tambogrande is the
center of the El Niño phenomenon in the
region. During the ´98 El Niño, the level of
the Piura river raised more than three meters
in one night. ´El Niño has become
uncontrollable´, local people say.
All this means a significant threat for
humans, animals, fish and crops in an area of
highly valuable agricultural production.
People are strongly united and convinced that
they do not want the mine or any activity
related to it: They are aware of the
potential of their agriculture. They are
prepared to give their lives in protection of
the valley, its biodiversity and their
sustainable development. Therefore, they
oppose even any environmental studies. As
long as the murder has not been resolved,
they feel they have nothing to discuss with
the company.
Another important problem with the project
is the conflict of interest of the Peruvian
government. It owns 25% of the project and is
therefore both regulator and beneficiary at
the same time. Thus, it might be tempted to
avoid enforcing environmental requirements
that prove too costly. Such arrangements have
resulted in similar problems at other mine
sites such as the Kumtor Mine in Kyrgyz
Republic.
At the same time, the project would create
only a few hundred jobs for the 10 year
duration of the project, according to the
company.
Read more
Asociacion Civil Labor (FoE Peru) at
labor.org.pe
Oxfam America at
www.oxfamamerica.org
Frente de Defensa de Tambogrande at
www.geocities.com/frentetambogrande
Factor Tierra at
www.geocities.com/factortierra
Vida y Agro at
www.geocities.com/vidayagro
Conacami at
www.conacamiperu.org
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