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Field trip to La Oroya:

Mining and Metallurgy in Junn

The cases of Morococha and La Oroya

5 March 2010CooperAccin - Diakonia

byTom Van den Steen (CATAPA)


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The case of Morococha

In the province of Yauli, in the Junn department, lies the city of Morococha, at 4200metres above sea level. Friday, March 5th 2010, a group of people from CooperAccin(Peru) and Diakonia (Sweden) visited the city of La Oroya and met with a group of

representatives from Morococha. The visitors

group divided itself into three smaller groupsto facilitate a better exchange of opinions and experiences. The following briefing reflectsone of these conversations. It would be good to add more scientific data - in a secondmoment - to this report.

The union representatives of Morococha have talked about the various dimensions inwhich the Chinese mining company Chinalco influences the lives of Morocochasinhabitants (Chinalco adquired in 2007 all shares of Peru Copper Inc.):

social impact: very negative; the company is attracting workers from outside the city

(even from Chile), with the government condoning of this situation; the people fromMorococha would like to work for the mining company - its already enough that thecompany is taking away their homes (the company wants to relocate the people inPucar, according to the Environmental Impact Study), and now theyre taking away theirjobs on top of that; the people have been involved in mining activities for a long timealready (albeit in coal mining), which is why they dont have the required capacities andskills at the moment to work for the copper mine which Chinalco envisages; the peoplewould like to learn the skills, but the company nor the government is investing ineducation and training for them to be able to work in the company; it is this kind ofinjustice that hurts the people of Morococha most.

environmental impact: the copper mine will only aggravate the present contamination ofthe environment (water, air and land) in Morococha; moreover, the tailings (miningwaste) are dumped too close to the peoples houses and create therefore even worsehealth conditions; not only is the relocation site on land that is already under Volcanconcession, Pucar is located in a flood area - that is, when it rains excessively, this areagets flooded.

legal impact: the communication between the company and the people isnt going well;all discussions and promises happen orally, without leaving anything written on paper asevidence; the people understand that there is no other option but to leave their current

town, but they want that the company and the government commit themselves in alegally binding way to sustainably relocation programmes, including housing, health andeducation facilities; until now, nothing of the like exists.

for all these reasons, the people of Morococha have stages several protests and strikes;9 of the community leaders have been charged with legal complaints and various legalcases are pending; therefore, the community got quite scared and doesnt dareprotesting that heavily anymore.

Mining and Metallurgy in Junn: the cases of Morococha and La Oroya Tom Van den Steen (CATAPA)

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In Actualidad Minera del Per (no. 130), 24 February 2010, Editorial by J. De Echave (p.3):

THE DISTRICT OF MOROCOCHA AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

STUDY OF A MINING PROJECT

Jos De Echave

Morococha is a small district located in the province of Yauli, in the Junn region. On its territory,the company Chinalco is developing one of its biggest mining projects, Toromocho.The mining project has stirred some controversy. For example, 15 January, at a public hearing onthe Environmental Impact Study (EIS), police forces clashed with inhabitants of this area, whowere protesting against the refusal to let them enter the room where the hearing was taking place.Confronted with this situation, the mayor of Morococha declared this hearing void at the Ministry ofEnergy and Mining.The Morococha authorities and a team of experts from CooperAccion have gone through the EISin detail. They presented their findings at the Ministry of Energy and Mining. Their observationsincluded the following:

- The drainage network of the Huascacocha and Rumichaca basins, located in this district, as wellas the fauna and flora of the area will be directly affected by the infrastructure location of theToromoco project.

- The place where the company intends to build the tailings depository is a so-called humidecosystem, with swamps, lakes and wells, which make up an significant water reservoir for thisregion in the high Andes. The EIS also mentions the posible loss of the Tunshuruca laguna and ofbofedales (hydric regulators), on top of affecting the water quality of the Rumichaca river.

- On the other hand, until present there is no agreement between the people and the miningcompany regarding the relocation, even though the EIS presents the Pucar estate as the agreedupon relocation site.

- In the observations made by CooperAccion, it is pointed out that the selected relocation site iscurrently under concession of the Volcan mining company. Therefore, there is no guarantee thatin the future a new mining project will develop in the area where the population is supposed torelocate.

It is paramount that the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Chinalco take these observations intoaccount. Moreover, we recommend that the debate on the EIS of the Toromocho project and the

relocation of the town should truly be a participatory and transparent process.


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Morococha;below: tailings


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Pucar; the construction of new houses


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The lake nearby Morococha: the place where the mining waste is dumped is above (inthese pictures); one can clearly note how the water colour changes from blue to brown


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The case of La Oroya

In the province of Yauli, department of La Oroya, lies the city of La Oroya, at 3745 metresabove sea level. Friday, March 5th, a group of CooperAccin (Peru) and Diakonia(Sweden) met with a group of representatives of the MOSAO (Health Movement of La

Oroya) and with Maribel Chvez, delegate of CooperAccin in La Oroya. The groupdivided itself into three smaller groups to facilitate a better exchange of opinions andexperiences. The following briefing reflects one of these conversations. It would be good toadd more scientific data - in a second moment - to this report.

La Oroya has a long metallurgic history. In 1922, the American company Cerro de PascoCorporation began with its metallurgic activities. In 1974, the Peruvian state took over theorganisation of these activities via the state-owned company Centromin Per. In 1993, thiscompany was privatised into Doe Run Per (DRP), which is the company that currently isin charge of the metallurgic activities in La Oroya.

Despite this long history, the people never connected the presence of such metallurgicactivities with their health conditions, until, in 1997, a new non-governmental organisationCooperAccin took the initiative to investigate in a public enquiry the impact of themetallurgic activities on the peoples health. Such a study had already been undertaken in1993, but its results have never seen the day light (in order not to scare or mobilise peopleagainst the metallurgic presence in La Oroya). The 1997 study (conducted over a period ofthree years) was not without danger itself: all researchers and everybody else involvedwith it were threatened by the company or its affiliates. It was clear that DRP did not wantthe people to know how badly its presence influences the peoples health.

For this very reason, DRP organised several workshops and gave many presentations(even in the parish), telling the people that thanks to the metallurgic company La Oroyawould turn into the second city of light in the world, that the company would invest morethan $ 180 million in city infrastructure and that it would generate work for more than 4000people. In other words, the company was buying the people through its investmentpromises.

In reality, none of these promised changes took place. La Oroya is one of the ten mostpolluted cities in the world. The people are realising the harms done to them and valuingtheir health more than their economic situation (which allegedly depends on the companys

presence). The truth is that almost no one of the 2000 people working at DRP are from LaOroya (before the privatisation more tnan 8000 people were working at the plant). Theeconomic impact of the company is, thus, more indirect: the people earn a living throughthe sales of snacks, lunches and the like, bought by the people actually working in theplant. It is clear that their situation is not as economically stable as that of the workers.This can be very well seen now that the plant had to shut down its activities due to lack ofinvestment: while the workers keep on receiving up to 70% of their salary, the people of LaOroya are losing their income as DRP workers are absent.

When DRP bought de metallurgic plant of La Oroya, it also inherited the PAMA, orSuitability Plan for Environmental Management. DRP had to comply with this plan by 2006,

but already in 2004 it admitted that it would not be able to meet this deadline. Itsuccessfully filed a request with the Peruvian authorities to prolong the PAMA deadlinewith another three more years. In fact, DRP used a tactic of intimidation to generate


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support for its request among La Oroyas population (organising festivities at thecompanys anniversary), DRPs workers (saying they would lose their jobs) and the mayor(bribing him), in order to influence the Ministry of Energy and Mines decision.

In 2009, DRP requested another time a prolongation of the PAPA deadline, and gotanother extention - this time for 30 months. However, it lost the support of important

investors and got kicked out of the National Mining, Petrol and Energy Society. The planthad to shut its doors for several months, but financial problems seem to be over with thepromised investment of a Swiss company, Glencore.

Throughout this period of non-compliance with the PAMA, the population made itself heardby organising strikes and road blocks, during which two people got killed. Several of theprotagonists of these protests have received death threats.

However, the people refused to shut up. 65 people have filed a complaint against thePeruvian state for not providing the right medical treatment. Out of the three cases so far,they have won one. Moreover, they filed another complained at the Interamerican Court forHuman Rights in 2009, suing the Peruvian state for not complying with a specific medicaltreatment.

At the end of the conversation, the MOSAO representatives summarised their story intothree specific requests towards international organisations: capacitation

internationalisation (these requests originate from the criminalisation and ridiculisation ofthe protests, and from the new legal way of raising their voices in national andinternational courts)

technical-scientific support for purifying the water of the Mantaro river (in 2009 the

Environment Ministry issued a Supreme Order (No 023-2009-MINAM) to guaranteequality standards for water resources in the country, in particular for the basins that are incritical shape such as the ones of the Chili river in Arequipe, Rmac in Lima, the Titicacalake in Puna, the Ferrol bay in Chimbote and the basin of the Mantaro riverwhich spansacross three departments in the Peru highlands; see also Proyecto El Mantaro Revive)


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http://www.elmantarorevive.com.pe/index.php?action=mantaro0&id_cate=2http://www.elmantarorevive.com.pe/index.php?action=mantaro0&id_cate=2http://www.elmantarorevive.com.pe/index.php?action=mantaro0&id_cate=2


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In Actualidad Minera del Per (no. 130), 24 February 2010 (p. 9):

REALLY? DOE RUN TO RESTART OPERATIONS IN JULY

Doe Run Pers vicepresident, Jos Mogrovejo, explained that the deadline for restartingoperational activities at the plant in La Oroya is July 27th, 2010. According to the spokesman, the

company has got enough time to overcome its financial and labour problems: it is not just anagreement with the government, by law the company has time until July 27th to restart operationsat our plant in La Oroya.When asked about the decision of the National Mining, Petrol and Energy Society (SNMPE) to banthem from this society, Mogrovejo maintained they have abided by all standards of this society andinvited its presidents to visit La Oroya so that they can see the work they have realised.On the other hand, Doe Run Per and the labour unions representatives have agreed upon aTemporary Suspension of Activities of 85 days, in attendance of the conclusion of a frameworkagreement between the company and its possibly strategic allies.According to the companys spokespeople, the agreement seeks to finance and start up againoperations at the Metallurgic Complex of La Oroya. The complex of La Oroya has been paralysedsince June last year.Part of the agreements is the payment of 70% of the workers wages throughout the period oftemporary suspension, including their corresponding social benefits.The Regional Labour Management of Junn facilitated the process, indicating that thecompromises will become effective starting on February 4th, until April 29th, 2010. RobertoGuzmn, secretary general of the Doe Run Labour Union, confirmed that the recent agreementwith the company is not subject to prorogation and definitive in form; April 30th all workers will

return to their jobs without exception: we are aware that activities need to resume and we willremain open for dialogue.


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Welcome to La Oroya;the new hospital of La Oroya


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Maribel Chvez (above, right) and Victor Manuel Gamonal (below) fromCooperAccin presenting the two cases of La Oroya and Morococha


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New refining factories for copper and lead;in the back, right: mountains contaminated by the smoke from the plants mainchimney (turning them white/grey), on the left: mountains already recovered a little

from the plants pollution due to the temporal suspension of activities


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In front of the new factories, a school; below, a 9 year old boy who had thephysical appearance of a 6 year old (due to the contamination)


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Mountains contaminated bythe smoke of the main chimney


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La Oroya, metallurgic capital of Peru and South America;the black hills in the back (middle) are waste coming from the last part of themetallurgic process and are highly contaminating - the toxic wast goes straight into

the air


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The main plant and chimney, and the Mantaro river (contaminatedwith zinc, lead, arsenic, ...; the following pictures show a panorama of180 degrees starting on the right of the picture above


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People from Diakonia, CooperAccin and the representatives from La Oroya;Limite del Derecho de Via - indicating where the public road ends and whereyou enter concessioned land

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