The Peruvian government will send a delegation to the International Mining and Resources Conference to be held in Sydney over October 29鈥31, to promote foreign investment in the country鈥檚 mining sector.
Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianz茅n will give a titled 鈥淧eru, a strategic destination for mining and energy investment鈥, while finance minister Jos茅 Arista will give another called 鈥淧eru, a world-class country for mining investors鈥, presumably to offer up more of the country鈥檚 land for pillaging by transnational fossil fuel corporations.
For decades, transnational mining companies have polluted ecosystems and contaminated entire communities in Peru鈥檚 highlands. Corporations from the United States, Canada and Britain extract billions of dollars in profits and leave behind legacies of environmental destruction.
Australian-headquartered MMG Limited operates the Las Bambas mine, one of the world鈥檚 biggest copper mines. Despite local communities the mine for years, Las Bambas continues operating, contaminating the air, soil and waterways.
US-based Newmont Corporation operates Yanacocha, South America鈥檚 biggest gold mine, which has caused a wide range of .
British-based mining giant Anglo American started extraction in 2022 of one the world鈥檚 biggest copper deposits in its Quellaveco mine, despite years of from local communities. The mine is diverting an entire river for use in mining operations, compounding in an already water-scarce region.
US-based The Mosaic Company controls , an open-cut phosphate mine in the north, which impacts the local fishing and agriculture industry, as well as contaminating nearby communities.
Local communities in San Mart铆n have been against Canadian mining giant Hannan Metals鈥 plans to exploit copper and silver in the region, and blockaded a major road on October 19.
By now, many communities are aware of the profoundly negative impacts that mining operations leave behind.
Cerro de Pasco, a city of 80,000 people located next to a gigantic open-cut mine, is considered one of the in the world. Studies have found extremely high levels of heavy metal contamination in water, soil and food, which has severe health impacts.
About (almost a third of the population) are contaminated with heavy metals, which mostly impacts indigenous communities.
The impacts of mining are expected to intensify due to the global demand for certain minerals, as mining companies seek to profit from the transition to renewable energy.
Peru produces so-called 鈥溾 鈥 copper, iron, lead, molybdenum, silver, zinc, indium and graphite 鈥 used in renewable energy technologies.
But the energy transition of rich countries in the Global North should not come at the expense of the health, environment and social wellbeing of Peru鈥檚 communities.