Peru declares state of emergency at Canadian mine site

[Judi Lynn]

Source: CBC News

Peru declares state of emergency at Canadian mine site
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 | 10:07 PM ET


The Peruvian government has declared a state of emergency at the site of a mine owned by a Vancouver company, saying its toxic chemicals are putting the capital's water supply at risk.

~snip~
Government officials said the mine's storage dump is unstable and at risk of collapse, which could release arsenic and other toxic chemicals into the Rimac River, Lima's main water source.

~snip~
Both company and government experts say farmers overwatering their crops have made the hillsides around the mine soggy, cracking its cement foundation and increasing the risk of landslides.

Oxfam representative critical of mining practices
Farmers say, however, that there has been a local decree in place for the past three months that forbids them to irrigate, according to a representative of Oxfam America in Peru.

"So they lost crops in order to not add more to the overall risk of the mine while the mine continued to add to the tailing dump," Fran Boern told CBC News.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/07/23/peru-mine.html?ref=rss

---

http://www.goldhawkresources.com.nyud.net:8090/en/gallery/coricancha/mine/Mine_mina007.jpg

http://www.goldhawkresources.com.nyud.net:8090/en/gallery/coricancha/nature/Nature_min_dining_room.jpg

Gold Hawk Mine, Coricancha, Peru.

[Bobbieo]

1. I do believe another toxic chemical used to leach gold is cyanide.

That is the Canadian mine owners' favorite.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Really! Now that would blend nicely with the other toxic chemicals headed for their water supply.

They probably aren't wild to acknowledge they've included that one, as well.

You have to wonder about these guys, and why they wouldn't think it all out in advance to make CERTAIN this couldn't happen. It must not really matter that much to the mine owners, just like safety regulations for the miners.

[ensho]

3. make the money and run

the more public this coming disaster is will keep the Canadians from running.