Peru's 'copper mountain' in Chinese hands (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By John Simpson
BBC News, Mount Toromocho

At 15,000 feet (4,600m), Mount Toromocho, 86 miles (138km) from Lima, is comparable to any mountain in Europe.


It gets its name from its shape - The Bull With No Horns. And it is composed almost entirely of copper ore: two billion tonnes of it.

It could become the most productive copper mine anywhere on earth. Now it belongs, in effect, to China.

When open-cast mining begins, in three or four years, a Chinese mining company, Chinalco, will send the copper back home to be turned into electrical wire.

The plan is to use it to carry out the electrification of the whole of China.
***
more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7460364.stm

Mmmmm great. Now all they need is a two-billion ton mountain of coal. EACH YEAR.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5382/is_200512/ai_n21385871

[Doctor Cynic]

1. How dare China develops its infrastructure! Only white people are entitled to good lifestyles!

[aquart]

2. Would you understand it better if it were blond, blue-eyed Russians?

There is only so much to go around. If they get it, we don't. They aren't starving anymore. And we are about to be.

[dieselrevolver]

3. Check out the video

3 really important things to consider:

1) They're relocating an entire town and are only paying each family a few thousand dollars per household to leave.
2) Mining two billion tons of copper from this mountain is going to have a considerable environmental impact.
3) The Peruvian union leaders are complaining about worker abuse and extremely low wages. The Chinese mining company is paying 20 times less than what the rest of the world pays for copper by exploiting miners.

I realize that this country was built very much in the same way, but it doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye and accept that it's China's turn to exploit people and natural resources for its benefit. The families deserve fair compensation and the miners deserve a decent wage and safe working conditions.

[DCKit]

4. It's the same model they're using in Africa.

They're colonizing everywhere there are resources and I haven't seen a single example where "the people" benefit - though I'm sure there are many newly wealthy politicians.