Tintaya

V. STU KA RA RI NGAN OO BR BA KE ON RT RE EQ EZ UI THE FIC CO Corporate Responsibility & Community Engagement at the Tintaya Copper Mine (A) As I boarded the helicopter borrowed That would take him and the mine's senior management to safe haven in Arequipa, Lucio Rios reviewed journal silently That the protests had Begun two day's earlier on May 23, 2005. The deputy general manager for BHPBilliton's Tintaya mine in Peru, Rios had spent The Last Five Years Working to Improve Relations Between the mine and the Indigenous Communities surrounding it. Peering down at the mob That still lingered at the mine's front gate, Rivers asked himself what I Could have done to avoid the conflict That led to the looting and subsequent evacuation of one of the country s most profitable copper mines.The Tintaya Copper Mine Located 13.000 feet above sea level in Peru's Espinar province (see Exhibits 1 and 2 for maps), the Tintaya copper mine had long been a source of intense friction local Quechua-speaking Between community members and mine operators. Established in 1985 as a state-owned enterprise, the mine originally stood on 2.368 hectares of land expropriated from 125 families to in TintayaMarquiri, an indigenous farming community. 1 In return for the land, the Peruvian government Reportedly Offered farmers as little as 10 soles per hectare (about 2.45 acres for $ 3) and the promise of mining-related jobs. 2 The jobs PROVED few in number, and the Widespread loss of land soon plunged many local families into poverty. In 1994, as part of Peru's Structural Adjustment Program, the minewas privatized and sold to US- based Magma Copper for $ 215.7 million. In 1996, Australia-based BHP Billiton (at the time, Broken Hill Proprietary or BHP) acquired Magma Copper and with it the Tintaya mine. to The displaced families Were subsequently moved to a single, four-hectare plot just outside the mining property. Over the next 20 years, These families slowly adapted to semi-urban Their newliving conditions and made ​​Their living mostly through non-agricultural work. In the years since Their displacement, managed to persuade the community to build a mine Officials primary school and a health facility near the town, the provincial government Which subsequently maintained.
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506-023 Corporate Responsibility & Community Engagement at the Tintaya Copper Mine (A) 2 ThePeruvian Context In 2005, Peru was one of the world's top mineral Exporters and had seen a rebound in economic growth, with real GDP growth from 0.2% Increasing in 2001 to 5.1% in 2004. 3 Although Considered one of Latin America's Economic better performers, Peru's average per capita income hovered around $ 2,000, 4 and 54% of Peruvians Were classified as "poor" (defined as caloric and barely meetingbasic housing needs). 5 The country's rural population was worse off, with 78% classified as "poor" and 51% classified as "extremely poor" (defined as not meeting basic daily caloric intake requirements). 6 Also had geographical dimensions Poverty in Peru, with the highest Incidence of poverty and extreme poverty found in the country's arid Andean mountain range, a region home to the Majority Alsoof Peru's Quechua-speaking indigenous people. 7 The Peruvian Mining Sector In the early 1990s, the Peruvian government, led by President Alberto Fujimori, undertook a series of Reforms Aimed at Reducing the country's debt, Increasing foreign investment, and stabilizing its foreign exchange reserves. With the assistance of the World Bank, the country liberalized its foreign investment code and theMajority of privatized state-owned enterprises. In the course of These Reforms, the mining industry was radically restructured and a variety of laws passed Were to Promote foreign investment in mining through more favorably taxation, repatriation, and foreign exchange policies. Their Intended Reforms had the effect. Foreign investment in Peru's mineral industry soared soon- and buoyed by rising...