Protests in Peru restarted on Monday against the $4.8 billion Conga gold mine. Local residents are worried that if the mine is developed it will spell disaster for their water supplies.
Close to 2,000 Peruvians took to the streets in a protest march in the city of Cajamarca with signs reading “Let’s defend our sources of water, now or never.”
The protest ended peacefully as anti-riot police stayed vigilant in the northern city of Cajamarca. The mine in question is a gold, copper, silver mine in which Newmont Mining Company has a major stake. The locals are afraid that if the US based mining firm decided to develop the mine it will affect a major aquifer.
The government on the other hand says that the mine will create thousands of jobs in the region and improve the economic situation as well. The US company’s local Peruvian partner, Buenaventura has been trying to eliminate the opposition to the mine. However the protests had become so violent that in December President Ollanta Humala had declared an emergency to bring the situation under control.
Gov. Gregorio Santos is helping to lead the protests in the state saying that he wanted the population to keep defending its water resources. They want a new study of the environmental impact that the mine will have and wants the government to assist them in facilitating this.
Newmont spokesman Omar Jabara said in reply that the government had already seen the company’s environmental study and was satisfied. He added that the company would welcome the government’s effort to review the assessment which has been performed by various government agencies on the mine’s impact.