Peruvian town rejects planned gold mine.

• Author: Runyan, Curtis
• Position: Environmental Intelligence - Brief Article

Residents of the town of Tambogrande in northern Peru on June 2 voted overwhelmingly against a planned $315 million copper and gold mine that would dig up a number of buildings and homes and displace more than half of the 16,000 inhabitants.

Toronto-based Manhattan Minerals, which estimates its mining concession in Tambogrande could be worth $1 billion, plans to press ahead with the mine. The company predicts that the operation will bring 300 mining jobs and 1,500 spin-off jobs to the community. But Tambogrande residents fear the project would pollute the vital river in the region and undermine the current agricultural livelihood of the valley. The region produces more than $100 million each year in limes and mangoes, both for domestic consumption and for the export market.

About 37,000 residents of the Tambogrande...