LASC ran a campaign on Goldmining and its effects on the rural communities in Latin America. The campaign came out of LASC's Latin America Week conference on "The effects of Commodification of Health in Latin America" in April 2004 when our guest was Dr. Nilton Deza from the community of Cajamarca in Northern Peru, the site of the largest Goldmine in Latin America.

Background

LASC's working theme in 2004 was Health in a Globalised World. It was a timely reminder of the losers in the mining/industrial activities in lesser developed economies across the world. With ostentatious displays of wealth at the time being the norm here in Ireland, the question was whether those who adorned themselves with earrings and necklaces made of Gold had any idea of the providence of their bling? Probably not.

It is worth taking a moment to consider the price being borne by the poorer members of the Southern nations such as Peru where the primary material for the jewellery trade is extracted. According to Oxfam America up to eighty per cent of the gold extracted from the world is done unethically. In Cajamarca and at least five other major mining locations across Latin America the methods of extraction is such as to destroy the very basis of mainly subsistence farming communities i.e. the water and soil they rely on for their very existence.

The methods utilised by the major mining corporations involves the wide-spread use of chemicals such as Cyanide and Mercury. The process known as lixivation of low-grade ores to separate the gold from the rock is outlawed in the developed world. Lixivation is a euphemism for the washing of hill-sides with poisons such as cyanide which no matter how the mining companies declare in their annual reports to the contrary contaminates the water table in watersheds near the mines. This is the case in Cajamarca where farmers have reported the destruction of natural pasture, the wool of their sheep falling and dirty drinking water.

Oxfam AMERICA and Earthwork initiated the nodirtygold campaign in February 2004 and since then have been extremely successful in raising consciousness in North America with the gold buying public and putting the spotlight on the Jewellery trade to come clean about its practices. The no dirtygold campaign is calling on retailers to identify and disclose the source of the gold they sell-and to ensure that Jewellry, watches, cell phones, computer chips, and other products do not contain gold mined at the expense of communities, workers and the environment. Now there are signs that the Jewellery retail trade is starting to take seriously the concerns of the public about the operations of the large mining operators on campesino communities.

In Tambogrande also in Northern Peru and the proposed site of another gold mine the local community unitied from the start in their opposition to any gold mining in their fertile agricultural valley. Their determination and unity paid off, for in the last two weeks Manhattan Segura, the Canadian company granted the concession to exploit the area have formally pulled out.

In 2004 LASC ran a series of talks and seminars on Goldmining highlighting the issues and the social mobilisations by the local populations.  

Further information: www.nodirtygold.org

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