The struggle for and against Tía María, the giant copper mining project in Arequipa region, reached a new level of bellicosity last week, with the government struggling to find a way to reach some sort of negotiated compromise. As readers of the PSG Update will remember, three weeks ago Southern Peru Copper, the Mexican-owned company that also owns Cuajone (in Moquegua) and Toquepala (in Tacna) threatened to walk away from the project, faced by massive mobilisation of opposition in the Tambo valley (province of Islay).

Prime Minister Pedro Cateriano, alongside the ministers of agriculture, interior and energy/mines, travelled to the town of Mollendo in a bid to seek a mediated settlement. However, representatives of aggrieved communities in the Tambo valley refused to give him the time of day. After 23 days of strikes and road blocks, agricultural production there had ground to a halt, at a considerable cost to farming communities. Many think this is a price worth paying to stop a project which they believe will destroy agricultural production in this fertile valley. The slogan ‘agro sí, mina no’ is to be found pinned to many houses across the valley.

Opposition to Tía María is particularly strong in the districts of Cocachacra, Deán Valdivia and Punta de Bombón. People there have resorted to blocking the strategically important Panamerican Highway which runs through the province of Islay. They have been involved in a constant play of cat and mouse with the local police. Not all people in the province are against Tía María; some see it as a source of necessary employment. For many too, the road blocks make life difficult to maintain livelihoods.

The project has been a source of conflict in the valley for years. In 2011, three people were killed in protests and conflicts with the police. Southern Peru was obliged to go back to the drawing board and produce a new environmental impact assessment. Notwithstanding this, local communities continue to assert that the open cast mine will contaminate water sources and produce acid rain, positions that the company denies. The recently elected mayors of Cocachacra, Deán Valdivia and Punta de Bombón are among the leaders of the protest, providing the movement with added legitimacy.

Assuming the project finally goes ahead, it is unlikely to come on stream before 2018.