Protestors converge on Hudbay’s Constancia project

Click to Enlarge. Detailed map of Hudbay’s Constancia mine showing location of key infrastructure. Source: Hudbay Investor Presentation, Oct 2, 2014.

Two protestors were arrested Monday at Hudbay Mineral’s Constancia mine site in Peru after local residents converged on the $1.7 billion open-pit copper project to protest Hudbay’s failure to fulfill commitments to the local community, according to a news release issued by CooperAccion and distributed by MiningWatch Canada.

“According to local media, a group of residents crossed the company’s security fence,” CooperAccion stated in its media release. “Two individuals were detained by the significant police force that protects the camp.”

Hudbay’s $1.7 billion Constancia project in Peru. Source: Hudbay Minerals

Hudbay negotiated a contract to lease 635 acres from residents in Uchuccarco for its mining operations in March 2012.

According to CooperAccion, Hudbay agreed to promote community development through a series of projects concerning education, health, housing and other issues. Uchuccarco community leaders are now claiming Hudbay has failed to comply  with the agreements.

“The community calls an end to the contract and demands the withdrawal of the company and the return of its communal land,” the press release states.

Residents claim that promises for employment, and other benefits have not been fulfilled. “On the contrary, workers from the community and our brothers micro-enterprises are being kicked out of the mining project,” the release states.

The residents are claiming Hudbay has failed to pay $1.9 million in salaries to community members, and an additional $7.75 million in other payments owed to the community. Hudbay’s also angered the community over its failure to implement an environmental management plan.

“On the contrary, in the community, since exploration work began, we have been suffering from multiple negative environmental impacts (the destruction of our ecosystems, our native flora and fauna, the contamination of our river Makaray, the disappearance of streams and wetlands, etc) without HudBay or the state taking measures to avoid this,” the release stated.

Community leaders are demanding that Hudbay’s executive leadership meet with local residents. “We will never again allow this company, which has been found to be abusing the rights of other Indigenous peoples in the world, to abuse our rights,” according to a declaration from community leaders that accompanied the CooperAccion news release.

Hudbay projects that Constancia will begin full production next year. The mine is expected to process 80,000 tons of copper ore per day. It is one of the largest mining projects in Peru.