Three foreign experts appointed by the Peruvian government turned over a highly-anticipated evaluation of the controversial Conga copper-gold mining project on April 18, but despite its recommended changes, opposition over the project’s potential social and environmental impacts continue.
The US$4.8-billion project, owned by US mining company Newmont, Peru’s Buenaventura and the International Finance Corporation, a World Bank affiliate, sparked massive protests from residents in the northern Andean department of Cajamarca in recent months due to threats to their water supply. The company has proposed building reservoirs to replace the four natural lagoons that thousands depend on, so that it can drill for gold.
