Puno’s Extorsiónistas

June 16, 2011
Violence, lawlessness, destruction of property and intimidation are proven effective tools against Perú authorities as they back down and Puno terrorist leader Walter Aduviri walks free.
===============

 

PUNO TERRORISM

No different than an old Mafia movie. The wealthy, hard working and legitimate business man moves into a rough area to start up a new business. Then next he is visited by the local Mafia thugs wanting to extract protection money for the mob. They tell the businessman, “You have violated the neighborhood rules by moving in without talking to the folks around here. You understand, don’t you? The neighbors say they don’t feel like you fit into our little neighborhood. You could be subject to violence and your family may be in danger. But don’t worry. We’re here to help you out. You just have to give us some of your profits and we will keep these awful people off your back.”  That’s Puno. Yes, I know, many of these people are holding the false flags of agriculture and environment. But since neither of these concerns are realistic nor would be impacted by the new Puno, Santa Ana mine, I think it is safe to say that monetary reparations would rip the heart out of anymore riots near term. And would most assuredly assuage the criminal, Walter Aduviri. But it would set a horrible future precedent.

The Truth:

The Santa Ana (Puno) property, of Bear Creek Mining, in dispute is located 140 km (87 miles) south of the city of Puno, 20 km (12.5  miles) south of the paved highway connecting to the port of Ilo, Peru. It isn't even in the same drainage basin as Lake Titicaca nor Puno‘s water supplies. There are already to other highly functioning mines in the area. Two of them are the Cuajone and Toquepala mines. Neither of these mines have neglected nor destroyed the environment. They have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to protect the environment. Does anyone truly believe that the Peruvian government, which has difficulty containing corruption and managing itself, would make those kind of investments, if the mines were turned over to them? Let’s not be absurd!

SOURCE

Factual not Emotional:

The Cuajone mine, located in the rugged Peruvian Andes at 12,000 feet, was the largest single copper mine and smelter complex ever built. Fluor provided detailed engineering, procurement and construction management services along with training for 7,000 peak “local” workers.
SOURCE


Reporting from Peru in 1992, Nathaniel C. Nash of the New York Times wrote that Southern Peru Copper's 5,000 workers and their 20,000 dependents received free housing, education, electricity, water, medical care, and food at the mines and Ilo. The company also was subsidizing college education for the children of its workers. 'A tour through both Cuajone and Toquepala,' he continued, 'found them to be more like modern rural United States towns, with manicured lawns, clean buildings and streets. The hospital in Cuajone is considered perhaps the most modern in Peru.' Nevertheless, he noted, 'Recent surveys have found that 75 percent of the residents do not like the presence of this American corporate giant, dubbed by some as the `gringo octopus.'
SOURCE

During its long history, Southern has continued to modernize and improve its operations but not only to increase production. The company has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on environmental controls including modernization of the Ilo copper smelter which represents the largest environmental expenditure in Peru's history ($600 million).
SOURCE


University training and involvement: The 2005 edition, was for the second time (after the 2002 edition) completely devoted to the geochemical and geomicrobiological aspects of mine waste management. During the six days of lectures, a broad overview about the environmental problems of mining activities with special focus on the formation, control and prevention of acid mine drainage was given.

Toquepala porphyry copper deposit and the remediation approach at the Bahía de Ite tailings deposit (Southern Peru Copper Corporation) were visited to show the complete mining process from the mineral extraction in the open pit, through crushing, milling, flotation, to the tailings disposal, and mine waste remediation in these world class deposits.
SOURCE

Back to Puno:

We have wealthy, hard working, legitimate and ethical Bear Creek Mining Company, that has followed the laws and regulations, and has committed to (and in some case surpassed) the world’s most stringent environmental controls, moving into the rough Puno area. The privately owned mines in Perú are largely the impetus behind Perú’s astounding rise in world status, societal wealth and reduced poverty. Bear Creek Mining Company wants to move into an area already occupied by successfully functioning and environmentally responsible mines. They have spent millions already in feasibility and environmental studies. Now the Puno criminal Mafia, with the aid of activists from outside of Perú and ignorant Puno residents (with the mentality of lemmings), starts waving around fictitious  claims of environmental concerns and damage.* What some of these criminals really want is to extort money from the local mines. Others, are just baseless xenophobic haters of the “gringo octopus.”  The Puno criminals threaten that if they are not appeased they will “radicalize” and endanger the prosperity of every resident in Perú. Why is this rebellion not crushed? Legitimate protests present the public with proof and facts, not violence. 

* The media has failed purposely, I suppose for reasons of ideology, to question any of the Puno rioters’ and terrorists’ claims or to present any actual mining facts or figures. Shameful!

Keep in mind that the terrorist leaders of the Puno riots are demanding that "ALL" mining and drilling operations be permanently shutdown.

Fear Mongering:

The one mine I hear brought up over and over again, as an example of an environmental disaster within Perú, is the La Oroya polymetallic smelter (now owned by Doe Run Mining). Nearly 90 years old, the government owned La Oroya mine for 23 years, during which time the pollution grew to unmanageable levels. The mine was then sold in a “too little too late” attempt to clean it up. It was established by the American Cerro de Pasco Corporation in 1922, was nationalized and became the property of Centromin in 1974 and was then privatized in 1997 when Doe Run bought it for US$247 million. It consists of a copper and lead smelter and zinc refinery.

When Doe Run bought La Oroya, it took over Centromin's PAMA, (Programa de Adecuación y Manejo Ambiental or Environmental Remediation and Management Program), an environmental contract requiring environmental remediation measures. The measures required new sulfuric acid plants, elimination of fugitive gases from the coke plant, use of oxygenated gases in the anodic residue plant, a water treatment plant for the copper refinery, a recirculation system for cooling waters at the smelter, management and disposal of acidic solutions at the silver refinery, an industrial wastewater treatment plant for the smelter and refinery, a containment dam for the lead mud near the zileret plant, a granulation process water at the lead smelter, an anode washing system at the zinc refinery, management and disposal of lead and copper slag wastes, domestic waste water treatment, and domestic waste disposal.

Because of the difficulty, and potential impossibility of the task, Doe Run Peru has been indemnified by Centromin (and guaranteed by the Peruvian Government) against any environmental liability arising out of Centromin's prior operation. Doe Run's original commitment to this program was US$107 million but it is now expected that it will cost at least US$244 million. The cleanup process continues today.

SOURCE

Related Post 1
Related Post 2

No surprise. Government owned companies are always a disaster.

Comments posted here may be copied to the Peru-N-English Discussion Group site.