Peru: Public protests over social and environmental effects of Chinalco metal mining on peasant community in La Oroya
"With blockade on the Central Highway, peasant community of Morococha protests against Chinalco" – March 24, 2022
... Community members, settlers and former mining workers of the Pucará annex, in the district of Morococha, in the province of La Oroya, in Junín, are currently blocking Km 104 and 146 of the Central Highway on the first day of the 48-hour strike against the mining company Chinalco... According to RPP Noticias, they denounce that the company failed to comply with environmental commitments with the Pucará annex, which generated the extinction of three lagoons that affected grazing and irrigation in the area. In addition, they indicate that they are not benefited with the resources generated by this mining extraction... The protest is due to the breach of commitments, refers the peasant community as not promoting employment in the district. They were also against the hiring of workers and companies that provide services from other regions and countries... Another reason is the mass dismissal of workers after the closure of the operations of the companies Austria Duvaz and Argentum... Morococha operates a mill with a capacity of 803,000 tons per year that uses selective flotation technology by foaming to produce silver in zinc, lead, and copper concentrates. The flow of the mill consists of two stages of crushing, grinding in ball mill, selective flotation of the ore to produce concentrate, followed by thickening and filtering of the concentrates...