Mining’s old guard needs strong medicine
A new report details subpar investor returns in the mining industry over the last decade, particularly big cap diversified companies which have not adapted to new realities.
Peru’s Minister of Energy and Mines Jorge Merino Tafur said Doe Run Peru has submitted new conditions to complete environmental cleanup at its metallurgical complex at La Oroya, including a new restructuring plan in the hopes to restart operations this year, reports local newspaper La República.
The minister added the government is working hard on creating social programs for the communities and towns of La Oroya, which has been severely affected by the closure of Doe Run Peru’s metallurgical complex three years ago.
He said it is the Government’s position to support the re-opening of the plant, as far as the company respects the legal framework, local workers, the health of the population and the environment.
The complex consists of smelters and refineries that process minerals mined from the Andes Mountains into copper, lead, zinc and other metals.
Mineweb reports that the Missouri-based parent company Renco Doe Run has suggested that the Peruvian government take responsibility for third-party claims and the costs of litigation filed against Renco in U.S. courts.
Renco has long insisted that Peru’s government appears in lawsuits filed against Renco and its affiliates over environmental contamination at the polymetallic smelters at La Oroya. As part of Doe Run Peru’s 1997 privatization agreement, the government agreed to assume responsibility for third-party claims related to contamination in La Oroya until the company had completed its environmental clean-up program.
Due to financial difficulties Doe Run Peru halted operations in 2009 without completing the environmental clean-up program.
Minister Merino said the company has pushed the deadline for resuming operations at La Oroya from May 1st to the end of June.
Prior consultation law
Yesterday Peru approved its prior consultation law, designed to comply with the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) agreement 169 on the rights of indigenous communities to participate in development projects on their land.
Under the new regulation, companies and local communities such as those in La Oroya, must reach agreements that make investment projects compatible with the customs of the indigenous population within 120 calendar days.
The outcome of the consultation process will not be binding unless an agreement is reached between the parties involved.
Mining companies have seen increasing social opposition to their projects in recent months in Peru and the new consultation law could help to reactivate their activities.
(Photo: A father with his daughter in La Oroya, Peru. Visible in the background is the now closed plant. Courtesy of Parker Waichman LLP law firm)
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Donald
great picture