Conga Project is a gold mining and copper mining project in Cajamarca Region of Northern Peru. It is a project of Minera Yanacocha, a company mainly owned by Newmont Mining Corporation.
The Conga Mine is a project of Minera Yanacocha, a company mainly owned by Newmont Mining Corporation and Buenaventura, a Peruvian mining company, and the International Finance Corporation, the private-lending arm of the World Bank. [1] It was expected to yield 680,000 ounces of gold and 235 million pounds of copper per year for the first five years. [2]
The Conga Environmental Impact Assessment was originally approved in 2010. [3] It was suspended in November 2011. In April 2012, President Ollanta Humala, who had been elected after promising to place "water over gold", [4] said that the project needed a number of changes to proceed. [5] Protesters expressed concerns about perceived impacts of the project on the local water supply. [6]
Farmers protested against the project. [2] Demonstrations ceased after President Ollanta Humala on December 4, 2012 granted the country's armed forces extra power for 60 days, including the right to make arrests without warrant. [2] Opponents of the project pointed to risks for ecosystem and water resources. [7] The conflict had the result that several of President Ollanta Humala's ministers resigned. [8] It also resulted in the death of several Peruvians. [9] This was the first crisis of the Humala administration. [8]
In April 2016, Máxima Acuña received the Goldman Environmental Prize for her environmental advocacy and peaceful resistance regarding the Conga Mine Project. [10]
In 2016, the project was abandoned, in part due to the environmental concerns. [4] [11]
Tambogrande is a small town in the Piura Province of the Piura Region in northwestern Peru. One of many small towns chosen as a site for mining development during Peru's mining boom in 1999, Tambogrande achieved prominence for successfully opposing the Manhattan Minerals mining development in the area. Compared to other regions, San Lorenzo has some significant advantages over its neighbors, including access to water and its location near the port of Paita. The city's main industry is the production of lemons and mangoes on the fertile land that surrounds the town, producing almost 40% of lemons in Peru and employing 65% of the population in its agricultural industry. Within the region, 70,000 inhabitants occupy it, and 16,000 inhabitants live in the town. Although there is no data that reports the poverty rate in Tambogrande, it is reported that in cities along the rural coastal area of Peru— such as Tambogrande—64% of inhabitants live on less than a dollar a day.
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, the United States and Zambia. In 2023, it produced 4.05 million ounces of gold at all-in sustaining costs of $1,335/ounce and 420 million pounds of copper at all-in sustaining costs of $3.21/pound. As of 31 December 2023, the company had 77 million ounces of proven and probable gold reserves.
Newmont Corporation is an American gold mining company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. It is the world's largest gold mining corporation. Incorporated in 1921, it owns gold mines in Nevada, Colorado, Ontario, Quebec, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Australia, Ghana, Argentina, Peru, and Suriname. In addition to gold, Newmont mines copper, silver, zinc and lead.
Yanacocha is a gold mine in the Cajamarca region of the Northern Highlands of Peru. Considered to be the fourth largest gold mine in the world, it produced 0.97 million ounces of gold in 2014. The 251-square kilometer open pit mine is situated about 30 kilometers north of Cajamarca, in high pampa, straddling the watershed. The operation is a joint venture between Newmont Goldcorp, Compañia de Minas Buenaventura (43.65%) and the International Finance Corporation (5%).
Goldcorp Inc. was a gold production company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The company stood among the largest gold producers in the world, employed about 15,800 people worldwide, engaged in gold mining and related activities including exploration, extraction, processing and reclamation. Goldcorp’s operating assets included eleven mines in North and South America.
Ollanta Moisés Humala Tasso is a Peruvian politician and former military officer who served as President of Peru from 2011 to 2016. Originally a socialist and left-wing nationalist, he is considered to have shifted towards neoliberalism and the political centre during his presidency.
Celendín is an Andean town in northern Peru, capital of the province of Celendín, in the department of Cajamarca. It is on the road between the city of Cajamarca and the city of Chachapoyas.
Choropampa District is one of nineteen districts of the Chota Province, Peru. It is located in the Northern Peruvian highlands and renowned for its gold reserves, with South Americas largest goldmine operations.
Bambamarca District is one of three districts of the province Hualgayoc in Peru, with 167 pueblos. The area is rich in mineral reserves and mining prospects, including the Conga Project, which is threatening to affect water resources such as the Namocoha lake.
Southern Copper Corporation is a mining company that was founded in 1952. The current incarnation of Southern Copper can be traced to the 2005 acquisition of Southern Peru Copper Corporation by the Mexican copper producer Minera México.
General elections were held in Peru on 10 April 2011 to elect the President, the Vice Presidents, 130 members of Congress and five members of the Andean Parliament. As no presidential candidate received a majority in the first round, a second round was held on 5 June to determine the successor of outgoing president Alan García. Former army officer Ollanta Humala narrowly defeated Keiko Fujimori, daughter of imprisoned former President Alberto Fujimori. Humala was sworn in as the 94th President of Peru on 28 July.
The mineral industry of Peru has played an important role in the nation's history and been integral to the country's economic growth for several decades. The industry has also contributed to environmental degradation and environmental injustice; and is a source of environmental conflicts that shape public debate on good governance and development.
Franco-Nevada Corporation is a Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based, gold-focused royalty and streaming company with a diversified portfolio of cash-flow producing assets. It is traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange.
The Toquepala mine is a large porphyry copper mine in the Tacna Province, Tacna Department, Peru. The mine is an open-pit mine producing copper, molybdenum, rhenium and silver with minor gold and zinc.
Salomón Lerner Ghitis, also known as Siomi Lerner is a Peruvian businessman and politician, who was the Prime Minister of Peru from 28 July to 10 December 2011 and leader of the political movement Citizens for Change (CxC). He was appointed prime minister following the 2011 general election which was won by Ollanta Humala. Lerner resigned on 10 December 2011.
Oscar Eduardo Valdés Dancuart is a Peruvian businessman and politician who was Prime Minister of Peru from 11 December 2011 until 23 July 2012. A former military officer, he was appointed as Minister of the Interior by President Ollanta Humala on 28 July 2011. Less than five months later, Prime Minister Salomón Lerner Ghitis resigned and Valdés was appointed as his successor on 11 December 2011. He was dismissed on 23 July 2012, after criticism on his handling of the Conga Mining project.
The Antamina mine in the Andes Mountains of Peru is one of the largest copper/zinc mines in the world. It is an open pit mine which had an estimated life of mine at 15 years. It also produced molybdenum. The mine is jointly owned by Teck Resources, BHP, Glencore, and Mitsubishi Corporation and independently operated by Compañía Minera Antamina S.A. It produced 390,800 tons of copper concentrate in 2006, 461,000 tons in 2013. The total capital expenditure of the mine by 2013 was US$2.3 billion. İt is located at an altitude of 4,300 meters above sea level.
Wilver Alfredo Calle Girón is a retired Peruvian army general, who briefly served as minister of interior from May to July 2012, in the Ollanta Humala administration.
The protests escalated on 29 September, when four people were killed and dozens injured in clashes between demonstrators and police, prompting President Ollanta Humala to decree a state of emergency.
Máxima Acuña is a Peruvian subsistence farmer and environmentalist, who is known for her fight to remain on land wanted for a new mine, the Conga Mine, enduring years of violent intimidation by Newmont Mining Corporation and Buenaventura, for which she received the 2016 Goldman Environmental Prize.