Reuters cited the new head of President Mr Ollanta Humala's Cabinet as saying that Peru wants rural towns to be partners with clear economic benefits in new mining projects as it seeks to secure investment without spurring protests.
Mr Oscar Valdes PM of Peru said that Cooperation between companies and towns is needed to avoid stalemates like the one in northern Cajamarca, where US based Newmont's USD 4.8 billion gold and copper project is on hold after weeks of protests.
Mr Valdes said that "In all mining projects we have to achieve a consensus with the public, we can't carry out a mining project with a state of emergency and troops on the sidelines."
Conga erupted into the biggest crisis of Mr Humala's young presidency and caused a broad Cabinet shake up in December. The protests put in doubt his campaign pledge to end rural strife and give a better life to the rural poor that had propelled him to victory in a June 5 election.
Critics said that the appointment of Valdes, a former military instructor, would result in increased militarization and less tolerance for dialogue. As interior minister, Mr Valdes reportedly urged former army officer Mr Humala to send troops to Cajamarca in December when the state of emergency was implemented.
Mr Valdes said that a national board for preventing and solving conflicts will launch in mid February to try to pacify some 200 social conflicts in Peru, the world's No 2 copper, silver and zinc producer and the sixth largest gold producer.
Protests frequently break out, threatening some USD 50 billion in pledged mine and energy investments, in part because one in three Peruvians have not benefited from a decade long commodities boom and have been left behind in poverty.
Mr Valdes said that a model project is Peruvian miner Milpo's USD 400 million Magistral copper project which is controlled by Brazil's Votorantim. Two communities near the mine will receive some USD 14 million from the project and also get 1.5% of future minerals sales. That's how things should be done.
(Sourced from Reuters)
