Cultural issues – is the company respecting Western Shoshone’s right to free, prior and informed consent to mining activities, including the right to say NO to projects that threaten culturally significant areas?
Environmental issues
Access to company studies, information, research on land studies and cultural resources.
Position on the title issue
Fair compensation ”as described in treaty. In any other situation, the company would negotiate user fee or royalty agreements with local communities. The U.S. government may be denying Western Shoshone rights but does the company want to be seen as participating in these violations?
Financial and technical resources to deal with “after effects.” The effects of mining will be around for a long time. How is the company assisting communities?
Funds available for community education programs and/or cultural preservation programs . Not for mitigating damages – but rather as part of compensation for use.
Employment/management positions. Training and placement of Western Shoshone.
Joint venture work between company & communities?
Transfer of areas back to Western Shoshone after mining is completed?
Western Shoshone Defense Project
P.O.Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
(775)468-0230
(775)468-0237
wsdp@igc.org |
Newmont’s Yanacocha Gives Up On Peru’s Quilish Deposit Thursday November 4, 8:41 AM EST
LIMA (Dow Jones)—Newmont Mining Corp.’s (NEM) Yanacocha gold mining company on Thursday publicly asked the Peruvian government to revoke its
license to explore on the Cerro Quilish mountain. In full-page newspaper advertisements, Minera Yanacocha SRL said that widespread protests in September had led it to “understand the true dimension of the concerns.”
“Because of this, dealing with the concerns and the desire of the people of Cajamarca, we have asked the Ministry of Energy and Mines to revoke
the exploration permit for Cerro Quilish,” the advertisement said.
In September, local residents started protests against Minera Yanacocha after the company began exploring for gold on Cerro Quilish. Local residents blocked the road to the mine, concerned that exploration would pollute their water supply, something the company denies would happen. The government then temporarily suspended Minera Yanacocha’s permission to explore for gold there while studies of the water system were undertaken.
More recently, the government was pushing for a taskforce, involving company, government, and local representatives, in order to ensure that the Cerro Quilish protests didn’t flare up again. Local representatives had said that clear action was needed to avoid further protests.
Minera Yanacocha has mined the Yanacocha site in northern Peru for more than a decade and could produce about 3.0 million ounces of gold this year, making it South America’s largest gold mine. Officials earlier estimated that development work at Cerro Quilish could start in 2007 with production beginning in 2008. The deposit has proven and probable gold reserves of 3.7 million ounces.Newmont has a 51.35% stake in Yanacocha, while Peru’s Buenaventura SAA (BVN) has a 43.65% stake. The World Bank’s IFC has a 5.0% holding in Minera Yanacocha, although it has said it wants to reduce that stake. |