|
Written by Dermot Deering
|
|
Tuesday, 30 November 2004 |
Keynote speaker at Latin America Week this year was Dr. Nilton Deza from the community
of Cajamarca set high in the Andes of Peru and President of ECO-VIDA. The annual
conference hosted by LASC(Latin America Solidarity Centre) took place in the Teacher’s
club, Dublin. LASC theme this year was Health in globalised world:communities
or corporation?
Mining is a large issue in Latin America loaded with contradictions,
false promises and the hopes of the rural communities to get out of their poverty.
The Yanacocha mine in Cajamarca established twelve years ago is fourteen miles
from the city of Cajamarca as the crow’s flies. The scale of the mine is
staggering covering 10,000 hectares and taking in five mountain/valleys. The common
experience at a number of Mining Locations in Latin America and indeed across
the third world is one of contaminated rivers, fish spills and general environmental
and health degradation. Nilton Deza related a litany of mercury spills/cyanide
poisoning and environmental devastation. Cajamarca famous as the place where the
last INCA Attaphalpa was captured and held for a ransom in gold and silver (which
in the end did not save his life) has not lost its ability to attract controversy
and dissension with gold once again as the cause. The Yanacocha Mine owned by
The Newmont Mining Company of Denver Colorado the largest goldmine operators in
the world has a controlling interest in the Yanacocha Mine. The mine opened in
1993 has become known as the JEWEL IN THE CROWN for Newmont due to the enormous
profits generated for the company. In the talk we learnt of the horrific mercury
spill in 2000 which left over 900 victims including many children to deal with
serious life-long health complaints when a truck carrying mercury (a by-product
of Gold-mining) spilt over 300 pounds of mercury along a stretch of road. The
issue of Cyanide Lixivation or washing of entire hillside with Cyanide was raised
by Nilton as was the large storage batteries that are used to store the cyanide.
This is a process not acceptable in Ireland as we saw in the case of Croagh Patrick
12 years ago. The nearest equivalent would be in the Silvermines in Tipperary
where a large tailings pond containing toxic chemical is there until today twenty
years after the mine closed - a source of grave concern for local residents.
THIS brings into stark relief the different standards or rather lack of standards
being pursued by the International Mining companies in the third world. Recently
the community of Cajamarca as represented by 50 Civil Society groups protested
at the plans of the mining company to extend its activities onto El Cerro Quilish,
a local mountain which lies above an Aquifer that is main source of drinking
water for the city of Cajamarca. Such was the level of indignation and outrage
felt by the community in the face of the mines effrontery that the town was
brought to a standstill with a blockade of the mine forcing the Mine and the
Ministry of Energy and Mining to withdraw from El Cerro Quilish. This victory
is seen by the local community as a basis to build a democratic platform to
ensure that in any further mining projects the communities are treated with
respect. This is giving rise to the idea of “free, prior and informed
consent” as a principle not only in Cajamarca but in other parts of the
developing world.
In Colombia a group of indigenous people are beginning to extract and market
gold using sustainable methods. If any Jewellers want to source ethical Gold
it is available on www.greenkarat.com. Also LASC is running a nodirtygold campaign
contact LASC at 01.6760435
|
