Residents of the Combayo community, located in the Cajamarca department of northern Peru, announced a protest for February 6, 2019, against Minera Yanacocha, owned by Colorado’s Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE: NEM), Peru’s Buenaventura, and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation.
According to local media, people are blaming the miner for polluting the Mashcón river and its tributaries, thus causing severe water shortages in the area.
They also said that the company, which has been operating there for 25 years, has created more poverty and economic disparities.
Since 2005, the town of Combayo has been opposing Yanacocha’s Carachugo II expansion project and the construction of El Azufre dam, and this new protest is seen as a continuity of their longstanding opposition.
This, despite the fact that in November 2005 authorities, officers from the Ministry of Energy, Combayo residents, and Yanacocha signed an agreement to work jointly to monitor air and water quality in the area and to guarantee a steady water supply. Yanacocha has said it fulfilled its commitment by building three water reservoirs that have benefitted 75 families.
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