La Rioja Argentina – January 28, 2012. On the heels of community protests in Perú surrounding Newmont’s Conga project, local community stakeholders in Andean province of La Rioja Argentina, concerned over the likely environmental impacts of Osisko’s Famatina gold project, came out in droves to protest against the investment. La Rioja Governor Beder Herrera caved in to the massive uprising which spontaneously mobilized over 10,000 local residents before the government house calling for the suspension of the recent contract signed with the Canadian mining company to search for gold reserves at an old mine site called La Mexicana, in the Famatina mountain range. Barrick Gold had already been ousted by community opposition to the same project several years earlier. Governor Beder Herrera announced yesterday he will not reopen discussions on Osisko’s Famatina project if the community doesn’t want it.
Making headlines the same day, in neighboring Catamarca province, Xstrata Copper faces multiple road blocks to bring provisions into their Mina La Alumbrera mine. La Alumbrera, one of the first large scale gold mining projects in the region, has faced strong social pressure since it launched operations years ago. A new project expansion proposal by Xstrata Copper has drawn large resistance, however, from Catamarca’s population. Yesterday, 17 local community members calling for the permanent closure of the project were arrested for barring entry to trucks bringing supplies to the mine. Also in Catamarca, a judge recently ordered the suspension of works at Yamana Gold’s Agua Rica project (Xstrata has bid to take over Agua Rica),
which is still in preparatory phases, as police repression of social opposition to the mine in the town of Andalgalá got violent and nearly ended in tragedy.
In Argentina’s Mendoza province, Canadian Coro Mining saw hopes to move forward with San Jorge, a copper mine near the Chilean border, completely vanish as the local legislature, bowing to community pressure against the mine, decided to permanently close the project.
In Córdoba, a traditional mining province for non-precious metals, but interested in exploring uranium resources, and also in reaction to community opposition to large scale mining, the provincial legislature recently passed a law banning open pit operations. Legal action to reverse the
ban has been so far unsuccessful.
Social opposition to mining operations in the region are growing like wild fire, and government officials, as well as legislatures are beginning to head the call of their communities, suspending projects, adopting more restrictive mining codes, and calling for larger benefits for local communities if projects are to go forward. This raising flags of warning for mining investments which during the 1990s considered Argentina as a new mining frontier.
The 2010s instead, offer a scenario of growing social conflict and opposition, increasing royalties and taxes, and stricter environmental legislation, such as the new glacier protection law, which greatly limits mining operations in some of Argentina’s more sensitive environmental areas.
Jorge Daniel TaillantFor more information:
tel. +54 9 351 507 8376