Article 1B9BM Peruvian farmer wins David-and-Goliath battle against US mining giant

Peruvian farmer wins David-and-Goliath battle against US mining giant

by
Oliver Balch
from Environment | The Guardian on (#1B9BM)
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The story of Acuna - a subsistence farmer from Peru - is a lesson that even the world's largest companies can be held to account by activists

As owner of some of the largest and most lucrative gold mines in the world, Newmont Mining Corporation is used to getting its own way. Not in Peru though. In a David-and-Goliath battle, community activists have, so far, succeeded in seeing off the creation of a $5bn (3.8bn) open-caste mine next to a pristine lake.

At the centre of that battle is Mixima Acuna de Chaupe, a 47 year-old subsistence farmer who owns an 60-acre plot of land precisely where Newmont's local joint-venture, Yanacocha, wants to dig. Acuna's refusal to sell up, despite huge pressure and persistent threats, has effectively stalled the proposed Conga mine. A spokesperson for Newmont has said that it does not anticipate developing the mine in the foreseeable future.

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